Chinese Tea Classics

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A Short list of Chinese Tea Classics Since Tang Dynasty

-- martin (gisling@hotmail.com), February 14, 2005

Answers

Chinese Tea Classics Tea was discovered in China as a beverage. The earlist book on tea in the world was written by Lu Yu in Tang dynasty. China also has a large number of ancient classic treatise on tea, there was even one tea treatise written by an emperor: Song Huizhong. There were all together one hundred monographs/treatises on tea published from Tang dynasty to Qing dynasty[1]. There are several thousand poems on tea in ancient Chinese literature.

The more famous books on tea are listed below

½Óð ²è¾­ Cha Jing, Classic of Tea by Lu Yu in 760 AD Lu Yu ½Óð Cha Jing, The Classic of Tea, between 760 AD-780 AD. Lu Yu was an orphan of Jinling county( now Tianmen county in Hubei province), brought up by a buddhist monk. When he grew up, he used I Ching to find a name for himself as Lu Yu. At age 14, Lu Yu was discovered by the local governor Li Qiwu, he introduced Lu Yu to study with a teacher. During the An Lushan and Shi Siming rebellion period, Lu Yu retired to Shaoqi ( now Wuxing county, Zhejiang ). During this period, Lu Yu made friend with many literati, including caligrapher Yian Zhenqing, poet Huang Pu Zheng. Lu Yu was a prolific writer, he wrote many books. Only his best known book: Cha Jing survived

Huang Pu Zheng's poem about Lu Yu

Saw Luk Yu off to Pick Tea

Thousand mountains greeted my departing friend

When spring tea blossoming again

With indepth knowledge in picking tea

Through morning mist or crimson evening clouds

His solitary journey is my envy

Rendezvous in a temple of a remote mountain

We enjoyed picnic by a clear pebble fountain

In this silent night

Lit up a candle light

I knocked a marble bell for chime

While deep in thought for old time.

---Translated by martin tai, 1996/11/21

.

Content of Cha Jing Lu Yu: The Classic of TeaLu Yu's Cha Jing²è¾­ was the earlist treatise on tea in the world. Cha Jing²è¾­ has 10 chapters

chapter 1. Origin The botanic description of tea plant, orginal of the words for tea, method of the planting, quality of tea, and usage of tea.

chapter 2. Tea Tools Fifteen tools for manufacturing of tea cake, from picking, steaming, pressing,drying and storage.

chapter 3. Manufacture Manufacture processof of tea cake

chapter 4. Tea Wares Twenty eight tea wares for brewing and drinking tea

chapter 5. Brewing Preparation of proper fire and water, source of water, guideline in brewing

chapter 6. Drinking Tea Property of tea, history of tea drinking,type of tea

chapter 7. Anecdotes Anecdotes and history of tea in ancient Chinese records, from Shenong to Tang dynasty

chapter 8. Places Eight tea producing district in China, and their ranking.

chapter 9. Omission Listed some procedures which can be omitted under certain circumstances.

chapter 10. Diagrams Draw all the previous content on four or six silk scrolls for hanging on the wall of study. (Unfortunately, no such drawing survived today )

Other Tang Dynasty Tea Classics ÕÅÓÖРZhang Yiuxin: ¼å²èË®¼Ç,Report on Water for Brewing Tea, 814 AD ¼å²èË®¼Ç Jian Cha Shui Ji: Report on Water for Brewing Tea, 814 AD

¼å²èË®¼Ç: Report on Water for Steeping Tea, 814 AD. This is the earlist monograph on water for tea. Content

A short list of water ranking from seven locations:1. Nanling of Yangtse river,2. Wuxi Hui Mountain Temple Spring,3. Suzhou Tiger Hill Temple Spring, 4.Danyang Guanyin Temple, 5.Yangzhou Da Ming Temple,6. Wuzhong River, and 7. Huai River. An anecdote about Lu Yu's magical ability as water connoisseur. Ranking for water from twenty locations. ÎÂÍ¥óÞ Wen Tingjun ²É²è¼ Chai Cha Lu Report on Picking Tea, 860 AD

Sung Dyasty Classics on Tea ²ÌÏå Cai Xiang ²è¼ Tea Notes 1049AD. Part I About Tea Properties of tea,On Storage, On Bake, On Press, On Seeve, On Boiling Water, On preheat, On Tea Spotting.

Part II Tea Utensils Tea warmer,Tea canister,Tea Hammer, Tea Clamps, Tea Grinder,Tea Sieve,Tea Vessel,Tea Spoon, Tea Bottle.

In this essay, Cai Xiang critized the traditional pratice of mixing small amount of Borneo Camphor (Dryobalanops aromatica ) into tea cake, he wrote: "Tea has intrinsic aroma. But tribute tea manufacturers like to mix in small amount of Borneo camphor, supposely to enhance the aroma of tea. The local people of Jian'an never mix any incense into tea"

ËÎ×Ó°² Song Zhi An:¶«ÏªÊÔ²è¼ Report on Tasting Tea of East Brook, 1064 AD ¶«ÏªÊÔ²è¼ Dong Qi Shi Cha Lu, Report on Tasting Tea of East Brook.

ËλÕ×Ú Emperor Song Huizong:´ó¹Û²èÂÛTreatise on Tea 1107 AD ´ó¹Û²èÂÛ,Da Guan Cha Lun ,Treatise on Tea, 1107 AD Emperor Song Huizong was a great connoiseur of tea with masterful skill in tea ceremony, often engaged in tea tasting and tea competition with his subordinates in Song Imperial Court

Content of ´ó¹Û²èÂÛ

Preface Places of Origin On Climate On Picking Tea On Steaming and Pressing Manufacture Assessment White Tea Grinding Tea vessel Tea brush Tea Cake Tea spoon Water Tea Spot Palate Aroma Color Storage Brand Name Non official product Emperor Huizong provided the most detail, vivid and masterful description of the Song dynasty technique of tea spotting competition. The Emperor also laid down seven criteria for tea competition. Emperor Huizong Da Guan Cha Lu ( Treatise on Tea) is a key document for understanding the the most sophisticated tea ceremony in Chinese history. A monumental treatise on tea after Lu Yu's Classic of Tea.

ÐÜÞ¬ Xiong Fan:ÐûºÍ±±Ô·¹±²è¼,Record of Xuan He Era Tribute Tea in Bei'yuan District Xuan He Bei Yuan Gong Cha Lu ÐûºÍ±±Ô·¹±²è¼ Record of Xuan He Era Tribute Tea in Bei'yuan District

»ÆÈåHuang Ru Æ·¡¡²è¡¡Òª¡¡Â¼ Pin Cha Yiao Lu Essential Record of Tea Tasting 1075 AD

Éó°²ÀÏÈËShen'an Laoren : ²è ¾ß ͼ ÔÞ Tea Ware Pictorial, by The Old Man Shen'an Pictorial of Tea Ware 1269 AD

Ming Dynasty Tea Classics ÖìȨ Zhu Quan ²èÆ× Tea Scroll 1440 Zhu Quan, aka Prince Ning, 17th son of Ming Emperor Hongwu. Following his father Emperor Hongwu's ban on manufacutring of tea cake, Prince Ning advocated a simpler way of steeping lose tea, a radical departure from the sophisticated tea cake ceremony of Tang and Song dynasty, thus pioneered a new era in Chinese Tea Culture.

Content: On Property of Tea,Storage,Brewing,Flower Tea, Ten teawares, Fire, Ranking of water.

A milestone work

¹ËÔªÇì Gu Yuanching²èÆ× Cha Pu, Classification of Tea 1514 ½Ê÷ÉùLu Shusheng²èå¼¼Ç Cha Liao Ji, A Report on Tea House,1570 ÍÀ¡ Tu Long¿¼˜„ÓàÊ Kao Pan Yu Shi Desultory Remarks on Furnishing the Abode of the Retired Scholar,ca 1590

¸ßå¥ Gao Lian ×ñÉú°Ë¼ã Jun Shen Ba Jian, Eight Discourses on the Art of Living/ Tea, 1591

ºúÎÄ»À Hu Wenhuan ²è¼¯ Tea Collection, 1593 ³Âʦ Chen Shi ²è¿¼ Cha Kao Research on Tea,1593 ³Â¼ÌÈå Chen Jiru ²è»° Tea Talks 1595 ÕÅÇ«µÂ Zhang Qiande ²è¾­ The Book of Tea,1598 ÐÜÃ÷Óö Xiong Ming'yuÂÞŒô²è¼Ç Luo Jie Cha Ji, Report on Lu Jie Tea, ca 1608 ·ëʱ¿É Feng Shi Ke ²è¼ Cha Lu. Tea Record 1609 ÎÄÕðºà Wen Zhenheng ³¤ÎïÖ¾ Zhang Wu Zhi Wen ZhenhengTreatise on Superfluous Things/ Incense and Tea, 1621 Content

On Adantage of Tea Quality of Tea Tiger Hill Tea and Heaven Pool Tea Jie Tea Liu An Tea Song Luo Tea Dragon Well Tea and Heaven Eye Tea Wash Tea Preparation of Water Cleaning Tea Ware Tea Washer Tea stove and water kettle Tea Pot Tea Cup Choice of Charcoal Laid forth the preference and practice of tea culture in Ming dynasty elite circle. See full translation : [Zhang Wu Zhi /On Tea (http://www.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=00CdIu)]

ÎÅÁúWen Long ²è¼ã Cha Jian, Tea Notes, 1630 ÖܸßÆð Zhou GaochiÑôÏÛÜøºøϵ ÑôÏÛÜøºøϵ Yangxian Min Hu Xi, Treatise on Yixing Tea Pot, 1640 Content

Yixing Tea Pot Series Origin of Yixing Tea Pot Orthodox school Yixing Tea Pot Masters Famous Yixing Tea Pot Experts Elegant styles Magical Items Diverse Schools of Yixing Tea Pot makers ÖܸßÆð Zhou Gaochi ¶´É½Œô²èϵ Tongshan Jie Cha Xi, Treatise on Tongshan Jie Tea,1640 Qing Dynasty ê‘ÑÓ N Lu Yianchan Àm²è½›The Sequal to Classic of Tea Àm²è½› Xu Cha Jing, The Sequal to Classic of Tea

Japan Tea Treatise Ã÷ÈC–ÑÎ÷ Eisai:†Ë²èðBÉúÓ›, Treatise on Tea Drinking for Health, 1193 AD My¨­an Eisai Ã÷ÈC–ÑÎ÷†Ë²èðBÉúÓ› Kissa Yojoki, Treatise on Tea Drinking for Health. Ã÷ÈC–ÑÎ÷ Eisai( Yosai): came to Tiantai mountain of Zhejiang to study Chan (Zen) buddhism(1168 AD); when he returned home in 1193 AD , he brought tea from China to Japan, planted it and wrote the first Japanese treatise on Tea:Kissa Yojoki,†Ë²èðBÉúÓ›, Treatise on Drinking Tea for Health. This was the beginning of tea cultivation and tea culture in Japan

Tea Classics Book Translations Modern Chinese ½Ó𡶲辭¡· £­½â¶ÁÓëµãУ, ³ÌÆôÀ¤ÑîÕÐé¦ Ò¦¹úÀ¤. ÉϺ£ ÉϺ£ÎÄÒÕ³ö°æÉç 2003 ISBN7-80646-567-7 ²è¾­,ISBN 957-763-053-7 ×ñÉú°Ë¼ã¡ª¡ª°×»°È«Òë, ÖØÇì´óѧ³ö°æÉç Czech Lu J¨¹ : Kniha o čaji. Translated by Olga Lomov¨¢. Spolek milců čaje, Praha, 2002. English WILLIAM UKERS£º ALL ABOUT TEA (with only an abridged translation of Lu Yu: Cha Jing)

The Classic of Tea: Origins & Rituals (ISBN:0880014164)Lu, Yu; Yu, Lu; Carpenter, Francis Ross; New York, U.S.A.: Ecco Press. 1995. This is a complete translation. French Vianney, Soeur Jean-Marie:Le Classique Du The Par Lu Yu,Morel - 1977

Italian Lu Yu: IL CANONE DEL TÈ,Traduzione (dal cinese) di Marco Ceresa,Leonardo, novembre 1990 Marco Ceresa,Ph.D. Dissertation:I trattati sul t¨¨ di epoca Tang (Tang Dynasty Monographs on Tea) Far Eastern Studies, Istituto Universitario Orientale of Naples.1992

[edit] See also History of Tea in China

[edit] Reference Preface to Cha Jing ²è¾­, Wu Zhihe ISBN 957-763-053-7 [edit] External Links / Classic Books on Tea (http://www.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-one- category.tcl?topic=Tea%20Forum&category=Classic%20Books%20on%20Tea)



-- Martin tai (gisling@hotmail.com), February 18, 2005.


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