Lu Yu (733-894), known as Hung-chien, is sometimes a defective disease. They are called elves in Jianghu. When he lived in seclusion, he called himself Sangzhuweng. When he lived in Shangrao, Xinzhou, he called himself Donggangzi and Chashan Shi Yu. Tang Fuzhou Jingling (now Tianmen City, Hubei Province) people.
"Feather loves tea and has written three classics, saying that the origin, methods and equipment of tea are specially prepared, and the world knows the way to drink tea." Lu Yu, a legendary figure who has been called "tea fairy" since the Tang Dynasty, is an outstanding scholar. On the bumpy journey of life, he worked hard, read classics and history, and devoted himself to practice; Travel the rivers and lakes and taste the famous springs in the world; Travel around the mountains and enjoy the fragrant teas in the south of the Yangtze River; Writing a book says that literary talent is eternal. His life experience and career seem to be shrouded in mystery, and there are many thought-provoking and lamentable places.
Lu Yu's life
Lu Yu had a strange, mysterious and unfortunate childhood. According to the literature, Lu Yu, who was about three years old, was found by the abbot of Jingling Longgai Temple under a small stone bridge at dusk in late autumn and early winter, and brought back to the temple for raising.
Why was Lu Yu abandoned at the age of 3? This is the eternal mystery of Lu Yu's life experience, which may never be revealed.
After adopting the abandoned child, Master Zhiji cut his hair and accepted him as an apprentice, expecting him to inherit the mantle in the future. However, the unchangeable solemn statues in the temple, the cold faces of monks, monotonous uniform robes, eternal vegetarian tea and strict Buddhist rules and regulations all made Xiao Luyu, who was stubborn and self-respecting, feel unbearable, so he had the idea of "cutting his head and feeling ashamed of himself".
When Zen Master Zhiji realized that little Lu Yu was not enthusiastic about Buddhist scriptures and often read Confucian books, he decided that he had to give some advice to this little disciple. Thus, this great debate between Buddhism and Confucianism began from the temple. In this debate, Xiao Luyu showed amazing courage and eloquence, as well as his indomitable strong personality. Master and apprentice are tit for tat and do not give in to each other. In the end, everyone held their own opinions and broke up in discord.
In the later days, Master Zhiji kept him under strict control and tortured Lu Yu with heavy hard labor and severe punishment. At this time, Lu Yu, struggling in suffering, resolutely chose the road of escape. He wants to escape from the temple, return to the secular world, strive for freedom, display his ambition and realize his long-cherished wish. This year, Tianbao was four years old (745), and Lu Yu was about thirteen years old.
After Lu Yu fled, he went to a small troupe to be an actor. He is ugly, stutters, doesn't perform on stage, and works as a screenwriter. Because Lu Yu is honest, helpful and clever, he has won the trust of the troupe.
In the fifth year of Emperor Xuanzong's reign (746), Lu Yu's chance finally came. Rich, the magistrate of Henan Province, has a good eye for things and talents. He saw that Lu Yu was an exceptionally clever boy who would become a useful talent one day. Therefore, Gong Li decided to leave Lu Yu in the county government and teach him to write poetry himself. Lu Yu, wandering on the wrong path of life, really started her student career at this time. Lu Yu, who is lonely and helpless, has been cared for and cared for by Gong Li in her study and life, which is of inestimable significance for Lu Yu to become a famous scholar and tea scholar in the Tang Dynasty.
After about five or six years, Tianbao was eleven (752). At that time, Cui was demoted to Jingling Sima. During this period, Lu Yu and Cui Gong had frequent contacts, drinking tea and feasting all day long, and their friendship became deeper and deeper, and they became friends for the last year. This also shows that Lu Yu's talent, moral character and budding tea-making skills were appreciated by people at that time, and she will certainly be given corresponding help in her studies and economic life.
To sum up, Lu Yu's experience in the first half of his life was greatly influenced by four personal influence, namely, two monks and two officials: Zhiji and Jiaoran, and Richie Wu and Cui.
In the 14th year of Tianbao, the Anshi Rebellion broke out, and another experience of Lu Yu began. Around the autumn and winter of Deyuanzai (756), Lu Yu crossed the Yangtze River with a large number of refugees from Shanxi, and made a field trip along the south bank of the Yangtze River to rivers, mountains, landscapes and specialties in some coastal areas, especially tea gardens and famous springs.
When I first came to Jiangnan, I met Huang Furan, then a captain of Wuxi, and they forged a profound friendship during their travels with Jiangnan. Huangfuran was the first bosom friend Lu Yu met when he traveled to the south of the Yangtze River, but he was better than his brother and a real confidant.
In 757, Lu Yu came to Xing Wu from Tang Suzong to make friends with Jiao Ran people of Jueshan Temple West Temple in Wucheng County. He lived in Miaoxi Temple, lived with Jiao Ran and Che Ling, and tried a new life in Chu Shi in the living room. Since the friendship between Lu Yu and Master Jiao Ran began in Zhide, we knew that they had passed away one after another. For more than forty years, their friendship has never changed. It can really be said that it has reached the realm of knowing each other in life, following each other in death, loving Buddha and transcending life and death. This family friendship can be called a rare story throughout the ages.
Lu Yu entered the Yan Zhenqing shogunate in Huzhou, Tang Daizong for eight to nine years (773-774), participated in the large-scale book Hai Yun Yuan Jing edited by Yan Zhenqing, and presided over the daily work.
Lu Yu occupies a very prominent position in the editorial board of Hai Yun, ranking second in the editorial board list, but actually he presides over the daily work of the editorial team. This shows that Lu Yu's profound attainments and profound knowledge in ancient Chinese phonology have won the appreciation of Yan Zhenqing, who is proficient in Chinese studies, and the support of editorial board members. This is just as Jiao Ran said in a poem praising Lu Yu: "Zuo Rong pushes his brother, and the poem flows to his friends."
After more than 30 years, more than 50 scholars worked hard to compile Hai Yun Yuan Jing, and it was finally completed in Dali nine years (774). This is also a matter for Lu Yu forever.
Lu Yu, from the first year of Shangyuan, built a mansion in Tiaoxi until the middle of Dali. Because of his honest personality, he devoted himself to the exploration of Buddhism and poetic rhyme, especially his profound knowledge of tea science and superb tea-making skills, which won a reputation in all walks of life in Huzhou. In addition, the "Sangui Pavilion" designed and built by Lu Yu himself was completed in the eighth year of Tang Daizong Dali (773), which was located next to Miaoxi Temple where his good friend Jiao Ran lived, and became one of the scenic spots in Huzhou at that time.
Where did Lu Yu spend his later years? He did not return to Shangrao, Xinzhou, but returned to Jiangnan, and chose Suzhou, his last residence near his twilight years, a beautiful water town in the south of the Yangtze River and an ancient cultural city in the southeast of China. The scenery here is beautiful, and it has the reputation of "the table of hills and valleys in the south of the Yangtze River" and "the first scene in Wuzhong". There are clear springs to taste and hills to grow tea. It can be said that this is the most suitable place for Lu to live in his later years.
Lu Yu commented that the local stone spring on Huqiu Mountain is cold and sweet, and is called "the fifth spring in the world". During this period, Lu Yu also deeply studied the influence of water quality on tea planting, cultivated Suzhou loose tea with Huqiu spring water, and explored a set of cultivation and harvesting methods.
According to legend, the news that Lu Yu studied spring products and tea in Suzhou once again spread to Beijing. When Dezong knew this, he called Lu Yu to the palace and asked him to make tea. After drinking, the emperor praised him and named him "Cha Sheng". This is why Lu Yu is called "Cha Sheng".
Like Lu Yu's mysterious life, his fate is an eternal mystery. Master Jiao Ran, a good friend of Lu Yu, died in the 16th year of Zhenyuan in Tang Dezong (800), and Lu Yu passed away quietly five years later. However, it is not recorded in Huzhou Fuzhi, and it is not detailed in other biographies. Therefore, a generation of tea sage Lu Yu left a mystery that could never be solved.