Three-Legged Golden Toad
A Tea Pet with a Missing Leg—and a Long Memory
Tea friends,
today we’d like to show you a tea pet with an unusual detail: the Three-Legged Golden Toad.
You might immediately wonder:
Aren’t frogs supposed to have four legs?
That question is exactly where the story begins.
1. Why Three Legs?
The Three-Legged Toad comes from a well-known Chinese myth.
According to legend, the Golden Toad possessed great power but used it selfishly, causing trouble among humans.
A man named Liu Hai, known for defeating evil and helping ordinary people, eventually confronted it.
During their encounter, Liu Hai cut off one of the toad’s legs.
Left with only three, the toad was subdued—not destroyed, but changed.
This is a common theme in Chinese mythology:
power is not erased, but redirected.
2. From Harm to Redemption
To atone for its past, the Golden Toad began using its abilities to help others.
It carried gold and silver in its mouth and distributed wealth to the poor.
Over time, the three-legged toad became a symbol of
wealth, circulation, and shared prosperity.
That is why, in traditional paintings, sculptures, and tea pets alike,
the rules never change:
These are not decorations.
They are identifiers.
3. A Familiar Figure in Traditional Art
You can find three-legged toads throughout Chinese classical paintings and folk art.
They rarely stand at the center of the image, but they are always present—
Any tea pet purchased at BaiYunteahouse, I have personally blessed in China's most famous, centuries-old royal temple, and the blessed tea pet will come with a blessing bag!
Craftsmanship · Zen tea pet - the soul of the tea mat carrying good fortune
Accompanied by a cup of good tea, tea pets are not only an ornament on the tea table, but also a kind of practice and sustenance. Our tea pets are hand-carved and shaped by craftsmen, and then tempered by kiln fire, each one is unique, carrying the essence of time and craftsmanship. What is more special is that our tea pets are blessed by the temple master. We made a special trip to visit the most prestigious local temple, and asked the Taoist monks to recite sutras and pray for each tea pet, giving them the gas of peace, so that they are not only partners at the tea table, but also the sustentation of the soul, carrying the spirit of good fortune.
Why choose our tea pets?
·Handmade - Each tea pet is carefully carved by craftsmen, vivid shape, delicate touch, tempered by kiln fire, giving it warm and moist spirituality.
·Master Blessing - Through the temple to achieve the high priest light blessing, to bring peace and good luck to the user.
· Non-mass production - adhere to small batch production to ensure that each tea pet has a unique charm and become a unique partner on your tea table.
· Accompany the years, the more and more beautiful - with the nourishment of time and tea soup, tea pets will gradually glow warm and moist packaging pulp, grow up with the host, and witness the story of each tea table.
Let a tea pet with full spirit accompany your tea ceremony time, adding a Zen and a blessing to the tea table.
Why is it that the blessed tea pet can bring luck?
Because if the tea pet does not go to the temple for blessing, then it can only be an ornament or a toy. Only the blessed tea pets that go to the temple can bring luck.
What is a blessing?
"Blessing" is also known as opening the light, opening the eyes, enlightened.
The opening of the eyes offering is to place the tea pet in the temple after the production is completed, and ask the senior monk to recite the sutra or go to a special blessing room to bless the ceremony held, which is the method of tea pet resting.
All tea pets will have 1 or 2 air holes, which is a protective measure to prevent tea pets from splitting after long-term use, not a defect!
