The life story of Tea King Lu Yu

Lu Yu (733-804), courtesy name Hongjian; Han nationality, a native of Jingling, Fuzhou (today's Tianmen City, Hubei Province) in the Tang Dynasty. His first name was Jizhi, his courtesy name was Jizhi, and his nicknames were Jinglingzi, Sangjuweng, Donggangzi, also known as "Chashan Censor". He has been addicted to tea all his life and is good at tea ceremony. He is famous for writing the world's first tea monograph - "Tea Classic". He has made outstanding contributions to the development of Chinese tea industry and world tea industry. He is known as the "Tea Fairy" and respected as "Tea Fairy". "Tea Saint", worshiped as "Tea God". He was also good at writing poetry, but not many of his poems have survived in the world. He has a strong interest in tea and has conducted long-term investigations and research. He is familiar with tea tree cultivation, breeding and processing technology, and is good at tea tasting. In the early Yuan Dynasty of the Tang Dynasty (760 AD), Lu Yu lived in seclusion in various places in the south of the Yangtze River and wrote three volumes of the "Tea Classic", which became the world's first tea book. "Quan Tangwen" contains "Autobiography of Lu Yu". Of course it is his great contribution to our country and world culture in tea science or tea industry. This point, whether at home or abroad, has always been the main aspect for future generations to study and introduce Lu Yu. Since everyone is familiar with Lu Yu’s contributions in these aspects, this article mainly discusses his academic achievements in other aspects besides tea science. Lu Yuzhi was revered as the "Tea Sage" or what we now call a tea expert, basically after his death. During his lifetime, although he was well-known in society for his love of tea, fine tea and the book "The Book of Tea", and was nicknamed the "Tea Fairy", among the people of his time, he was not a tea person but a scholar. and admired. This is because at that time, although tea had formed an independent knowledge after the publication of the "Tea Classic", it was still in its infancy, and its influence and status could not be compared with that of ancient literature. Secondly, the book "The Book of Tea" was written after Lu Yu had already emerged in the literary world, that is, Lu Yu's attainments in tea science were only revealed after he became a famous literati, which is the second achievement. . There are many opinions on when the "Tea Classic" was written. The author said it was written by Wanguo Ding in "around 758 AD"①. When Li Qiwu was demoted to Jingling in the fifth year of Tianbao, Lu Yu was still in the acting world. After being discovered by Li Qiwu, he abandoned Ling and went to "Zou Fuzi Villa" in Huomen Mountain to study. But in the eleventh year, when Cui Guofu was relegated to the post of Sima Jingling, Lu Yu became famous in his studies and became the first scholar in the imperial court. According to records, after Cui Guofu arrived in Jingling, he and Lu Yu "traveled around for three years", "bantered about eternal life", and compiled their harmonious poems into a collection. According to records of Cui Guofu, one year before he was demoted to Jingling Mausoleum, Du Fu presented "Three Great Rites". Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty was so talented that he ordered Cui Guofu and Yu Xiulie to be the officials to examine the articles. Cui Guofu is famous for his poetry, especially ancient poetry. "Heyue Yingling Collection" records: Cui Guofu's poems are "clear in gracefulness, profound and suitable for satirical chants, and short Yuefu chapters, which are inferior to those of the ancients." ① Lu Yu and Cui Guofu traveled together for three years. Not only did his reputation become more prominent due to Cui, but he also became more famous from Cui Guofu. Cui Guofu obviously learned a lot more knowledge. Not only was Lu Yu famous as a literati before he wrote the "Tea Classic", but even after the "Tea Classic" became famous throughout the country, and even in Lu Yu's later or later years, he was still known as a literati. As Quan Deyu recorded, when he moved from Xinzhou (today's Shangrao, Jiangxi) to Hongzhou (today's Nanchang), "Every country he went to would have thousands of horses working in the suburbs, and the five would be hot first." Later, when he went to Hunan from Nanchang, "Don't be afraid of the long journey, and you will receive great gifts when you are destined. New knowledge is given by breaking willows, and old friends are sent in baskets."②. Everywhere he went and every time he left, he was greeted grandly by the masses and friends. The reason why Lu Yu is treated with such courtesy in the society, as Quan Deyu said, is not because of his contribution to tea science, but because of his "excellent poetry skills and being famous at that time"③, which is due to his status in literature. Therefore, judging from the above situations, Lu Yu seems to have two completely different images during his lifetime and after his death. If after his death, his achievements in literature were "overshadowed by the Book of Tea" and he became an idol in the tea industry, then, during his lifetime, on the contrary, his achievements in tea science were overshadowed by literature. , he is famous for his "excellent word skills". During his lifetime, Lu Yu was friends with eminent monks and celebrities, and was active and prestigious in the literary world. But maybe he was influenced by the thinking of some celebrities in the society at that time: "If you are not famous in one profession, you will not stay in one place". His attitude towards literature and tea was also the same, and his preferences were not biased. Therefore, reflected in his knowledge, he is not limited to one profession, but has a wide range of knowledge and abilities. In the past, based on Lu Yu's life activities and writings, the author once proposed that Lu Yu was not only a tea expert, but also a famous poet, phonology and primary school expert, calligrapher, actor, playwright, historian, biographer, travel and Geographer①. If we call Lu Yu a historian in general, apart from the fact that he has compiled some historical works such as "Jiangbiao Four Surname Genealogy", "Characters of the North and South", "Wuxing Official Records" and "Wuxing Governor Records", he is also a historian. An archeology or cultural relic connoisseur. According to Jiao Ran's preface to "Ode to the Pillars of Lanting Stone Bridge", in the spring of the eighth year of the Dali calendar (773), Lu Youping was ordered to offer sacrifices to Mount Kuaiji and invited Lu Yu and others to go to Shanyin (today's Shaoxing, Zhejiang) and found an ancient lying stone. According to Lu Yu's identification, it is the "abandoned bridge pillar of Zhonglan Pavilion in Yonghe, Jin". Why did you ask Lu Yu to make an appraisal? Why does Lu Yu have so much knowledge? Jiao Ran made it very clear: "Those who love the past (Lu Yu) are my comrades." ① Another example is that we call Lu Yu a geographer. If we break it down, he can also be said to be an expert in studying landscapes and compiling local chronicles. . For example, when Dugu and Changzhou were assassinated, the magistrate of Wuxi County specially invited Lu Yu as a "consultant" in order to renovate Huishan's scenic spots. This shows that Lu Yu, in the minds of people at that time, was interested in geography, especially landscapes.

While living in western Zhejiang, Lu Yu wrote "Wuxing Ji", "Wuxing Illustrated Classics", "Huishan Ji", "Huqiu Mountain Ji" and "Lingyin Tianzhu Two Temples" for Huzhou, Wuxi, Suzhou and Hangzhou. ", "Wulin Mountain Chronicles" and many other geographical and mountain chronicles show that he is also very interested in and researches the knowledge of local chronicles. The Book of Tea, three volumes (collected by Bao Shigong’s family in Zhejiang), written by Lu Yu of the Tang Dynasty. Yu's courtesy name is Hongjian, his given name is Ji, his given name is Jizhi, and his nickname is Sangjuweng. He is a native of Jingling, Fuzhou. At the beginning of the Yuan Dynasty, he hid in Tiao River. The imperial edict was issued to pay homage to the prince's literature, and he moved to Taichang Temple to congratulate him, but he did not take office. He died at the beginning of Zhen Yuan Dynasty. The deeds are recorded in "Tang Shu·Yin Yi Biography". Cheng Yu was fond of tea and wrote three classics. The novelist was recorded in "Yiwenzhi" and composed in three volumes, the same as the current edition. Chen Shidao's "Houshan Collection" has a preface to the "Tea Classic": Lu Yu's "Tea Classic", one volume of "Family Letters", three volumes of Bi's and Wang's books, four volumes of Zhang's books, and eleven volumes of inner and outer books. Traditional and simplified are different. Wang and Bi's books are complicated, meaning they are old editions. Zhang's letter is concise and consistent with the family letter, but contains many errors. Family letters are from ancient times and can be verified. The following is said to be seven things, and the text is composed of three books, recorded into two chapters, and kept at home. This three-volume volume is written by Wang and Bi. There are many errors in the biography of "Houshan Collection", and three chapters are mistaken for two. His books are divided into ten categories: one is the source, two is the implement, three is the creation, four is the utensil, five is cooking, six is ??drinking, seven is matter, eight is coming out, nine is outline, and ten is diagram. Those called utensils are all used for gathering and making; those called utensils are all used for cooking and drinking, so the two are different parts. What they call pictures refers to the nine categories of paintings. They are written on silk and stretched out. They are not unique pictures. There are ten types of it, and nine of its writings are true. Those who talk about tea are not good at Yu Yu, and his writing is also simple and elegant with ancient meanings. Qi Shi refers to many ancient books, such as Sima Xiangru's "General Chapter" with 38 words, which is not found in other books, and it is only one part of it that can be examined and analyzed based on other sources.

---Publish "Summary of the General Catalog of Four Treasurys"