The legend of the Willow Plate

My Willow ware plate has a story, Pictorial, painted in blue From the land of the tea and the tea plant And the little brown man with a queue. What ever the food you serve, daughter Romance enters into the feast, If you only pay heed to the legend, On the old china ware plate from the East. Koong Shee was a mandarin’s daughter And Chang was her lover, ah me, For surely her father’s accountant Might never wed pretty Koong Shee So Chang was expelled from the compound, The lovers’ alliance to break, And pretty Koong Shee was imprisoned In a little blue house by the lake. The doughty old mandarin reasoned it was time that his daughter should wed, And the groom of his choosing should banish That silly romance from her head. For years had great artists been stitching In symbols the dress she should wear, Her headband of scarlet lay waiting, She should ride in a gold wedding chair. He was busily plotting and planning, When a message was brought him one day, Young Chang had invaded the palace, And taken his sweetheart away. They were over the bridge when he saw them, They were passing the big willow tree, And a boat at the edge of the water. Stood waiting for Chang and Koong Shee. The furious mandarin followed The groom with revenge in his eyes, But the little boat dance on the water And traveled away with the prize. But vengeance pursued to their shelter And burned the pagoda, they say From out of the flames rose the lovers A pair of doves winging away. They flew toward the western heaven The pretty Koong Shee and her Chang Or so says the famous old legend From the land of the Yangtse Kiang, I wouldn’t be one to deny it, For the little blue dove and her mate Forever are flying together Across my Willow ware plate.

There are a number of versions of the Blue Willow legend, and this particular one was found on the International Willow Collector’s web site.