Tea Classics
Encyclopedia
Tea
as a beverage was first consumed in China
no later than the fifth century BCE
. The earliest extant
mention of tea in literature is in the Shih Ching or Book of Songs, written circa 550 BCE, although the ideogram
used (Tu, 荼) in these texts can also designate a variety of plants, such as sowthistle
and thrush.
Chinese literature
contains a significant number of ancient treatises on tea. Together, there exist approximately one hundred monographs or treatises on tea published from the Tang dynasty through the end of the Ming dynasty. The more famous books on tea are listed below.
See full translation :
Zhang Wu Zhi /On Tea
Myōan Eisai 明菴栄西喫茶養生記 Kissa Yojoki, Treatise on Tea Drinking for Health.
明菴栄西 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,喫茶養生記, Treatise on Drinking Tea for Health.
This was the beginning of tea cultivation and tea culture in Japan
Tea
Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by adding cured leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant to hot water. The term also refers to the plant itself. After water, tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world...
as a beverage was first consumed in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
no later than the fifth century BCE
Common Era
Common Era ,abbreviated as CE, is an alternative designation for the calendar era originally introduced by Dionysius Exiguus in the 6th century, traditionally identified with Anno Domini .Dates before the year 1 CE are indicated by the usage of BCE, short for Before the Common Era Common Era...
. The earliest extant
Extant literature
Extant literature refers to texts that have survived from the past to the present time. Extant literature can be divided into extant original manuscripts, copies of original manuscripts, quotations and paraphrases of passages of non-extant texts contained in other works, translations of non-extant...
mention of tea in literature is in the Shih Ching or Book of Songs, written circa 550 BCE, although the ideogram
Ideogram
An ideogram or ideograph is a graphic symbol that represents an idea or concept. Some ideograms are comprehensible only by familiarity with prior convention; others convey their meaning through pictorial resemblance to a physical object, and thus may also be referred to as pictograms.Examples of...
used (Tu, 荼) in these texts can also designate a variety of plants, such as sowthistle
Cicerbita
Cicerbita is a genus of plants in the Asteraceae family.- Description :Cicerbita are mostly quite strong, perennial herbaceous plants. Their leaves are lyre-shaped or toothed pinnate with a terminal lobe which is clearly larger than the side lobes. Some species have only one pair of rather small...
and thrush.
Chinese literature
Chinese literature
Chinese literature extends thousands of years, from the earliest recorded dynastic court archives to the mature fictional novels that arose during the Ming Dynasty to entertain the masses of literate Chinese...
contains a significant number of ancient treatises on tea. Together, there exist approximately one hundred monographs or treatises on tea published from the Tang dynasty through the end of the Ming dynasty. The more famous books on tea are listed below.
Tang Dynasty
- The Classic of TeaThe Classic of TeaThe Classic of Tea or Tea Classic is the very first monograph on tea in the world, written by Chinese writer Lu Yu between 760 CE and 780 CE during the Tang Dynasty....
(茶经) by Lu YuLu YuLu Yu is respected as the Sage of Tea for his contribution to Chinese tea culture. He is best known for his monumental book The Classic of Tea , the first definitive work on cultivating, making and drinking tea.-Biography:...
, 780. - Report on Water for Brewing TeaReport on Water for Brewing TeaReport on Water for Brewing Tea is a tea monograph by Tang dynasty author Zhang Youxin from 814. This book is the earliest monograph wholly devoted to the quality of water for brewing tea.-Content:...
by Zhang Youxin, 814. - Records of Tea Picking (采茶录 Chai Cha Lu) by Wen TingyunWen TingyunWen Tingyun born as Wen Qi , styled Feiqing was an important Chinese lyricist of the late Tang Dynasty. He helped establish the Ci in chinese poetry.He was born in Qin, Shanxi province, China.Yu Xuanji was among his followers....
(温庭筠), 860.
Song Dynasty
- The Record of TeaCha Lu (Cai Xiang)The Record of Tea is a Chinese tea classic by Cai Xiang written in AD 1049.Reputed as one of the greatest calligraphers of the Song dynasty, Cai Xiang was also a great tea connoisseur. During the Qingli period of the Renzong emperor , Cai Xiang was the Officer of Transportation in Fujian...
(茶录) by Cai XiangCai XiangCai Xiang was a Chinese calligrapher, scholar, official, structural engineer, and poet. Cai Xiang had the reputation as the greatest calligrapher in the Song Dynasty.- Life :...
(蔡襄), 1049. - Report on Tasting of East Brook Tea (东溪试茶录 Dong Qi Shi Cha Lu) by Song Zian (宋子安), 1064.
- Treatise on TeaTreatise on TeaThe Treatise on Tea is a book written by the Chinese Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty in 1107.Emperor Huizong was a great connoisseur of tea, with masterful skill in the art of tea ceremony. He often engaged in tea tasting and tea competitions with his subordinates at the Song imperial court....
(大观茶论) by Emperor Song Huizong (宋徽宗), 1107. - Record of Xuan He Era Tribute Tea in The North FarmXuan He Bei Yuan Gong Cha LuRecord of Xuan He Era Tribute Tea in Bei Yuan District is a book written by Xiong Fan during the Song Dynasty.The book contains detailed descriptions of the names of various tribute tea cakes and their packaging, some even with dimensions...
(宣和北苑贡茶录 Xuan He Bei Yuan Gong Cha Lu ) by Xiong Fan (熊蕃). - Essential Record of Tea Tasting(品茶要录 Pin Cha Yiao Lu) by Huang Ru (黄儒), 1075.
- Pictorial of Tea WarePictorial of Tea WareTea Ware Pictorial is a book by Shenan .It was compiled in 1269, and is the earliest picture book on tea ware used in preparation of Song dynasty tea cake for drinking. Tea during the Song Dynasty was prepared by using the whisking tea method...
(茶具图赞) by The Old Man Shenan (审安老人).
Ming Dynasty
- Zhu QuanZhu QuanZhu Quan , The Prince of Ning , was the 17th son of Ming Emperor Hongwu Zhu Yuanzhang; a military commander, historian and playwright, great tea connoisseur and a qin player....
(朱权): Cha Pu (茶谱), 1440. - Gu Yuanqing (顾元庆): Classification of Tea (茶谱 Cha Pu), 1541.
- Lu Shusheng (陆树声): A Report on Tea House (茶寮记 Cha Liao Ji), 1570.
- Tu LongTu LongTu Long , was a playwright and essayist who lived during the Ming Dynasty. He was born in Yin county ....
(屠隆): Kao Pan Yu Shi (考槃余事), or Desultory Remarks on Furnishing the Abode of the Retired Scholar, ca 1590. - Gao LianGao Lian (dramatist)Gao Lian , was Chinese writer, dramatist and encyclopedist.Gao Lian was born in Qiantang . His style name was 'Shen Fu' and his pseudonym was 'Ruinan Dao Ren' . He is known to have written the plays Jiexiaoji and Yuzanji...
(高濂): Eight Discourses on the Art of Living/ Tea (遵生八笺 Jun Sheng Ba Jian), 1591. - Hu Wenhuan (胡文焕): Tea Collection (茶集), 1593.
- Chen Shi (陈师): Research on Tea (茶考 Cha Kao), 1593.
- Chen Jiru (陈继儒): Tea Talks (茶话), 1595.
- Zhang Qiande (张谦德): The Book of Tea (茶经), 1598.
- Xiong Mingyu (熊明遇): Report on Lu Jie Tea, (罗岕茶记 Luo Jie Cha Ji), ca 1608.
- Feng Shike (冯时可): Tea Record (茶录 Cha Lu), 1609.
- Wen ZhenhengWen ZhenhengWen Zhenheng was a Ming dynasty scholar, painter, landscape garden designer, and great grandson of Wen Zhengming, a famous Ming dynasty painter....
(文震亨): Treatise on Superfluous Things/ Incense and Tea (长物志 Zhang Wu Zhi), 1621.
See full translation :
Zhang Wu Zhi /On Tea
- Wen Long (闻龙): Tea Notes (茶笺 Cha Jian), 1630.
- Zhou Gaoqi (周高起): Treatise on Yixing Tea Pot (阳羡茗壶系 Yangxian Ming Hu Xi), 1640.
- Zhou Gaoqi: Report on Tongshan Jie Tea (洞山岕茶系 Tongshan Jie Cha Xi), 1640.
Japanese Tea Classics
- Sen no Rikyu千利休 (1522 - April 21, 1591) : Southern RecordSouthern Recordis a book of secrets describing the teachings of the tea saint, Sen no Rikyū.After the death of Rikyu, the book was lost with its author, Nanbo Sokei, a Zen priest and Rikyu's leading disciple. About one hundred years later, in 1686, Tachibana Jitsuzan, the chief vassal of the Kuroda clan happened...
《南方录》 - Myōan Eisai (明菴栄西): Treatise on Tea Drinking for Health (喫茶養生記), 1193.
Myōan Eisai 明菴栄西喫茶養生記 Kissa Yojoki, Treatise on Tea Drinking for Health.
明菴栄西 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,喫茶養生記, Treatise on Drinking Tea for Health.
This was the beginning of tea cultivation and tea culture in Japan
English Tea Classics
- Okakura KakuzōOkakura Kakuzowas a Japanese scholar who contributed to the development of arts in Japan. Outside of Japan, he is chiefly remembered today as the author of The Book of Tea.-Biography:...
(岡倉 覚三): The Book of TeaThe Book of TeaThe Book of Tea The Book of Tea by Okakura Kakuzō , is a long essay linking the role of tea to the aesthetic and cultural aspects of Japanese life....
(originally written in English, not translated), 1906
Modern Chinese
- 陆羽《茶经》 －解读与点校, 程启坤 杨招棣 姚国坤. 上海 上海文艺出版社 2003 ISBN 7-80646-567-7
- 茶经 ISBN 957-763-053-7
- 遵生八笺——白话全译, 重庆大学出版社
Czech
- Lu Jü : Kniha o čaji. Translated by Olga Lomová. Spolek milců čaje a DharmaGaia, Praha, 2002, ISBN 80-86685-01-2.
- Karel Valter : Vše o čaji pro čajomily, Granit s.r.o., Praha, 2000
English
- The Classic of Tea (ISBN 0-316-53450-1) Lu, Yu; Intro & Translation By Francis Ross Carpenter, Illustrated by Hitz, Demi;Boston, MA: Little, Brown & Co. 1974
- The Classic of Tea: Origins & Rituals (ISBN 0-88001-416-4) Lu, Yu; Yu, Lu; Carpenter, Francis Ross; New York, U.S.A.: Ecco Press. 1995 reprint of 1974 edition. This is a complete translation.
Italian
- Lu Yu: IL CANONE DEL TÈ, Traduzione (dal cinese) di Marco Ceresa, Leonardo. November 1990.
- Marco Ceresa,Ph.D. Dissertation:I trattati sul tè di epoca Tang (Tang Dynasty Monographs on Tea) Far Eastern Studies, Istituto Universitario Orientale of Naples.1992
Russian
- Лу Юй: Канон чая; перевод с древнекитайского, введение и комментарии Александра Габуева и Юлии Дрейзис. Москва: Гуманитарий, 2007. — 123 с. ISBN 978-5-91367-004-5