Blue Willow

Blue Willow is a traditional story that’s based on a style of tableware. In the late eighteenth century, English artists tried to imitate Chinese pottery styles. The pattern Blue Willow is an iconic example of this design style. It’s been reproduced and copied by a wide variety of companies throughout the world.

Blue Willow depicts a scene with a large house or pagoda, a bridge with three figures walking over it, two birds flying overhead, and a variety of other features. While the selection and arrangement of these elements in the picture were originally random, over the years a story emerged that gave a narrative framework for the scene on the plates. This romance originated in nineteenth century marketing, but eventually folklore took over. And like all good folklore it changed with time. The tale of Blue Willow has been told and retold over many family dinners, so that now there are several different versions of the story.

The Mandarin was a wealthy merchant. His warehouse was conveniently located near the harbor, where the river met the sea. He lived with his foster-daughter, Koong-se, in a large house right next to the warehouse.

The Mandarin spent most of his time in the warehouse or down at the harbor, looking after his business affairs. Koong-se was often alone. She liked to spend her time walking along the river and sitting underneath the spreading branches of the giant blue willow tree that grew there. Sometimes when she sat underneath the swaying leaves, she’d sing songs to keep herself company. She was very lonely and more than a little bored.

One day, to her surprise, a bird sat nearby and joined in her song, warbling and chirping as she sang. She laughed and fed him some of the bread she brought with her. When she came back the next day, she was delighted to see that not only had the bird returned, but it also brought a friend as well. The second bird joined the chorus when Koong-se began to sing. Koong-se thought this was incredibly fun. Soon she went down to the river every day, bringing a picnic lunch to share with her friends, the birds.

Chang worked in the Mandarin’s warehouse. He spent long hours at the abacus, managing the Mandarin’s accounts. The Scribe was his colleague. Whenever the Mandarin was about, they each worked diligently in silence. Sometimes, however, the Mandarin would leave the warehouse, for example to supervise the work of the stevedores who were unloading the latest shipment. At such times, Chang and the Scribe had the opportunity to chat with each other. 

One day, when the Mandarin had left to renew his import license at the town registry, Chang looked up from his abacus and the Scribe from his tablet. After some discussion about the weather and mutual agreement on the incompetence of local governing officials, their talk turned to more personal matters.

“I’m curious,” the Scribe asked. “How did you come to be working for the Mandarin?”

“There’s not much to tell. I grew up with my parents in a faraway province; I came here to find my fortune. One day I saw the Mandarin at the harbor. I offered my services, and he hired me as his secretary,” Chang explained.

“Now that you found a good job, you must have everything you need to live happily ever after,” the Scribe suggested.

Chang disagreed, “Not really.”

“Why not?”

“I’m very lonely,” Chang said. “I wish I had someone to share my life with. I hope sometime soon I can fall in love with a nice girl and get married.”

It was late in the day and time to go home. Chang put his abacus in his bag and slung it over his shoulder, bidding good evening to the Scribe. He walked from the warehouse past the blue willow tree near the riverbank. There he saw the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen in his life. She was feeding bread to the wild birds.

He watched her, gathering the courage to speak. After a while, she noticed him standing near the path.

“Hello,” she said.

“Hi,” he replied. “My name is Chang. Are you… are you talking to the birds?”

“Yes, I am.” She smiled, “Maybe it’s foolish, but I think they understand me. They’re like friends.”

“Oh, I don’t think it’s foolish,” Chang said earnestly. “Animals can be very good friends. Almost as good as people.”

“Almost,” Koong-se replied. Chang laughed. Their eyes met. Koong-se thought he was the most handsome man that she had ever seen.

After their first encounter, Koon-se and Chang met beneath the willow branches many times. They fed the birds. They walked along the riverbank holding hands. And eventually, they fell in love. 

Chang thought about Koong-se all of the time, all day, every day. Even at work, he would look up from his abacus and heave a sigh, wishing that Koong-se could be with him there at the warehouse. The Scribe was quick to notice this behavior. When the Mandarin left the office to go down to the docks to receive a shipment, the Scribe took the opportunity to ask Chang about his frequent sighing.

“Is there something on your mind? You seem preoccupied.”

“Yes, indeed I am. I have love on my mind. I met a girl.”

“Why, this is wonderful! This is just what you wanted. Have you spoken to her parents? I’m sure you’ll wish to marry as soon as you can.”

“Ha! I would love to get married. I’d do it tomorrow. But I dare not. I’m afraid I will never marry my true love. She is an aristocrat and well beyond my station. Her guardian is a tyrant, and never would give her hand to a poor boy like me.”

The Scribe was a nosey sort of fellow. He thought about Chang’s new romance, and he became curious about this mystery lady. When the day ended, and Chang rose to leave, the Scribe bid him good day. Then, after Chang was out of the warehouse, the Scribe rose up and secretly followed him. He snuck just out of sight as Chang walked down the path to the blue willow. He hid behind a large tree and watched as Chang met Koong-se and kissed her.

The Scribe stifled a gasp. As quietly as he could manage, he hurried away back up the path and ran to the warehouse. The Mandarin sat in his office. The Scribe bowed to his employer and immediately told him what he had seen.

“Chang is secretly in love with Koong-se. Every day after work they meet by the blue willow tree.” 

The Mandarin was furious. His face turned beet red.

“I will not allow it!” he yelled. “I did not give her permission to fall in love with anyone, let alone with a commoner!” 

The Mandarin decided to nip this romance in the bud. He fired Chang, and warned him to stay away from Koong-se. To make sure the lovers couldn’t see each other, he built a strong fence around his land.

It was as if Koong-se now lived in a big cage. She couldn’t walk down to the river and see the blue willow tree. She couldn’t even leave the house, as the Mandarin forbade her from stepping foot on the porch.

It happened that around this time the Mandarin received a visit from his friend, the Duke. The Duke was an elderly man who walked with a cane. He held his chin high and had the air of someone who was completely convinced of his own importance.

  The Duke and the Mandarin sat in the parlor and sipped tea, catching up with one another.

“Oh, I have had such problems with Koong-se!” the Mandarin complained. “That girl was an orphan. I only agreed to raise her so that I could earn a large bride-price when she got married to a wealthy man. I have raised her so carefully. And now she tries to fall in love with a poor man. Imagine that!”

“You need to get that young lady married as soon as possible,” the Duke advised. A sudden thought occurred to him. “Say, maybe you could marry her off to me. I would pay a lot of money for a good bride.”

The Mandarin thought that this was an excellent idea. 

“That’s an excellent idea!”

“I’ll just go down to the harbor where my boat is waiting. I have a fortune in loose jewels stashed in the hold,” the Duke said.

When Koong-se learned that the Mandarin would force her wed the Duke, she wrote a letter and gave it to the bird who hopped on her windowsill.

“Take this to message to Chang as fast as you can fly, little bird.”

Chang was at the harbor, watching the great boats pull out to sea. The bird hopped up and down in front of Chang before dropping the note. Chang bent over and picked it up. He read:

My Beloved Chang,

The Mandarin has imprisoned me inside the house. He says I must marry his friend, the Duke. Please help me escape! 

Your true love, Koong-se

Just as Chang read the note, the Duke happened to saunter by. It would have been hard to ignore him. He traveled like a very important person, with secretaries and aides and assistants following his every step. He had retrieved the jewels to pay Koong-se’s bride price. There were three private security guards who did the actual work of transporting the jewels. Or rather, one carried the jewels in a wooden box while the other two looked on nervously.

The large group clamored down the street. They didn’t notice Chang watching them from the alley. Suddenly, Chang had an idea.

He drew the abacus from his bag and followed after the Duke’s retinue. If anyone noticed that the Duke had a new member of staff, they didn’t say anything.

The group walked to the Mandarin’s house. When they got to the new fence, the whole group was let in together. Chang had to be careful, because everyone on the Mandarin’s staff would recognize him if they saw him. He stayed near the back of the pack and hoped for an opportunity to sneak off and find Koong-se. 

They entered a cloakroom. One of the guards sat on a chair and held the chest of jewels in his lap. 

“There’s going to be a party to celebrate my engagement!” The Duke announced. “Our generous host, the Mandarin, has invited us all to a magnificent feast. I’m told there will be every manner of delicacies and entertainments.”

His staff were excited. Everyone was in a hurry to leave for the dining hall. One unlucky guard was given the task of staying in the cloakroom and guarding the treasure. 

Chang held back until he was alone in the room with the guard who had the box of jewels.

“It’s a shame you have to stay behind like this,” Chang said. “While everyone else goes to the party.”

“Yes, well. It’s my job. There were three of us and we drew straws to see who had to stay back with the jewels. I lost fair and square. Nothing to be done about it.”

“Still, I bet you’d like to get a taste of the exquisite food. The Mandarin is famous for his table. I’ve heard that the lobster mousse is incredible. Ah well. At least you might be able to hear a little of the music out here.”

The guard had a distinctly dissatisfied expression on his face.

“Say, I tell you what,” Chang seemed to have an inspiration. “You go out there and have yourself a glass of wine. Just one small glass of wine. I’ll stay here and guard the jewels. No one else needs to know. It’ll be our little secret.”

The guard decided this sounded good. He handed Chang the jewels, “Don’t go anywhere. Stay here. I’ll be right back.”

When he was gone. Chang put the box of jewels in his pack. He stood in the doorway for a while, watching from the shadows where no one could see him. He watched as the partygoers ate and drank and sang and danced. And then they drank some more. 

Chang scanned the room. Amid the sea of inebriated faces, he saw her. Of all the people in the room, she was not smiling. Her eyes were downcast and red, as if she had been crying.

Just then, the servants brought a large roast pig with an apple in its mouth. The crowd gasped collectively at the size of the beast. The distraction was just what Chang had been waiting for. He darted out from the doorway and approached Koong-se.

“Come away with me!” he whispered.

“Oh, my love, yes!”

They quickly headed for the door. They ran past the empty cloakroom and out the front door.

“Hey look- its eyes are made of raisins!” the Duke marveled at the roast pig.

The Scribe had been invited to the party, but he had to work late to finish the quarterly report. This should have been Chang’s job, but with him gone, it fell to the Scribe. As soon as he was done with the report, he left the warehouse and headed for the Mandarin’s home. Just as he arrived, the doors flew open. Chang and Koong-se ran out. They were in such a hurry they didn’t even notice the Scribe standing on the porch.

Seeing Chang, the Scribe realized that Koong-se was escaping with him. He shouted, “stop,” but of course the couple kept running. There were no guards to catch them, because the guards were all at the feast. The Scribe ran into the house, past the cloakroom and into the banquet hall. As quickly as it could be done, he found the Mandarin and the Duke.

“Sire! You must hurry. Koong-se is escaping with Chang. I just saw them on the porch, running away.”

The Mandarin turned red with anger. “I have been betrayed!” He pulled a large whip from the wall and declared, “I will flay them both alive!”

The Mandarin and Duke both yelled orders to their respective staffs, “Find them! Stop them!

“Drop everything! Yes, everything! Forget the damn pig. You must find them; that’s all that matters now!” After a moment of pure chaos, everyone ran from the room to search for Koong-se and Chang.

Koong-se ran over the bridge with her lover, Chang. They ran as fast as they possibly could, all the way to the harbor. They found the Duke’s ship at anchor. There was a small rowboat pulled up to the shore. Climbing in and pushing off, they made their way to the larger vessel. The entire crew had gone off to the party at the Mandarin’s house, with the exception of the first mate. He had been left on board to look after the ship. With only the slightest persuasion, they traded the first mate the ship for the rowboat. The two cast off while the mate rowed to shore.

The couple sailed away from the port. Koong-se guided the ship with a light hand on its massive wheel while Chang stowed the ropes on deck. At the same time that they fled in the ship, the Duke and the Scribe and the Mandarin ran over the bridge. The Duke with his staff, the Scribe with his tablet, and the Mandarin with his whip were racing to the harbor to try to stop Koong-se and Chang.  When they reached the center of the bridge, the Duke cried, “Look!” and pointed across the water.

There was the Duke’s ship. Chang was on deck. As the ship pulled away, the Mandarin thought he could hear Chang laugh.

The lovers sailed away on the wide blue ocean. Two birds flew down from the sky and perched on the ship’s main mast. 

They sailed for a very long time, until one day the birds from their position in the crow’s nest spotted land. It was an island, a beautiful place with large trees. Nobody else lived there, so Koon-se and Chang decided to make it their home. They built a new house together. The birds sat in the branches of the trees in their island home and sang to them. And they all lived happily ever after.