Tea classics

Tea classics
Lu Yu: The Classic of Tea
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese茶書
Simplified Chinese茶书
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyinchá shū
Japanese name
Kanji茶書

Tea as a drink was first consumed in China and the earliest extant mention of tea in literature is the Classic of Poetry, although the ideogram used (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.

Chinese

Tang dynasty

Song dynasty

Ming dynasty

  • Zhu Quan (朱权): Cha Pu (茶谱), 1440. Translation by Global Tea Hut. Translation by John Thompson.
  • Gu Yuanqing (顾元庆): Classification of Tea (茶谱 Cha Pu), 1541. Translation by Global Tea Hut.
  • Lu Shusheng (陆树声): A Report on Tea House (茶寮记 Cha Liao Ji), 1570.
  • Tu Long (屠隆): Kao Pan Yu Shi (考槃余事), or Desultory Remarks on Furnishing the Abode of the Retired Scholar, ca 1590.
  • Gao Lian (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 Yuan (张源): Tea Notes (茶录), 1595. Translation by The Leaf.
  • 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 Zhenheng (文震亨): Treatise on Superfluous Things/ Incense and Tea (长物志 Zhang Wu Zhi), 1621. Translation by Martin Tai. Translation by Global Tea Hut.
  • Wen Long (闻龙): Tea Notes (茶笺 Cha Jian), 1630. Translation by Global Tea Hut.
  • Zhou Gaoqi (周高起): Treatise On Yixing Teapots (陽羨茗壺系 Yángxiàn Mínghú Xì), c.1640.
  • Zhou Gaoqi: Report on Tongshan Jie Tea (洞山岕茶系 Tongshan Jie Cha Xi), 1640.

Qing dynasty

  • Lu Tingcan (陸廷燦): The Sequel to Classic of Tea (續茶經).

Japanese

  • Myōan Eisai (明菴栄西): Treatise on Tea Drinking for Health (喫茶養生記), 1193.

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, called 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

Translations

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.

French

  • Vianney, Soeur Jean-Marie: Le Classique Du The Par Lu Yu, Morel - 1977

Hungarian

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

See also

References

  1. ^ Popova, Maria (14 May 2013). "How to Make the Perfect Cup of Tea: George Orwell's 11 Golden Rules". The Marginalian (formerly Brain Pickings). Archived from the original on 25 October 2021. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
  2. ^ Orwell, George (12 January 1946). "A Nice Cup of Tea". The Orwell Foundation. Archived from the original on 25 February 2018. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
  3. ^ BSI Group (31 October 1980). "Preparation of a liquor of tea for use in sensory tests" (PDF). zx85 (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 April 2016. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
  4. ^ "How to make a perfect cuppa". BBC News. BBC. 25 June 2003. Archived from the original on 10 October 2003. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
  5. ^ Royal Society of Chemistry (2003). "How to make a Perfect Cup of Tea" (PDF). ZME Science. Archived (PDF) from the original on 24 January 2021. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
  6. ^ Hitchens, Christopher (1 January 2011). "How To Make a Decent Cup of Tea". Slate. The Slate Group. ISSN 1091-2339. Archived from the original on 26 September 2018. Retrieved 29 August 2022.

Further reading

  • Okakura Kakuzo, The Illustrated Book of Tea (Okakura's classic illustrated with 17th-19th century ukiyo-e woodblock prints of Japanese tea culture). Chiang Mai: Cognoscenti Books. 2012. ASIN: B009033C6M
  • Preface to Cha Jing 茶经, Wu Zhihe ISBN 957-763-053-7
  • Shapira, et al., Book of Coffee and Tea, 1996.