1. Overview of ancient and modern tea science classics. From the publication of the first "Tea Classic" by Lu Yu in the Tang Dynasty of China in 780 AD to the publication of the "Chinese Tea Classic" edited by Chen Zongmao in 1991, more than 1,200 years have passed. During these more than 1,200 years, many dynasties and generations published many classic tea books. These works are rich in content, covering everything from science to economics, from philosophy to literature. The team of authors ranges from emperors to common people, and they are eclectic. During this period, 13 types of tea books were published, 4 of which are now extant. Lu Yu's "The Classic of Tea" is the most famous, pioneering tea books with extremely high standards. It comprehensively summarizes the knowledge and experience about tea in the Tang Dynasty and before, vividly describes the production, drinking, and tea affairs of tea, deepens and improves the deep aesthetic and cultural connotation of tea drinking, and is known as the encyclopedia of ancient tea affairs. .
After the "Tea Classic", there are Pei Wen's "Tea", Zhang Youxin's "Jiancha Shuiji", Su Geng's "Sixteen Soups", and Wen Tingyun's "Tea Picking Records", but most of them are Some are topical discussions. For example, Zhang Youxin's "Jiancha Shui Ji" mainly talks about the water used for making tea. During this period, 31 types of tea books were published, 12 of which are now in existence. An overview of its books shows that there are many regional and professional tea books. In addition to "Daguan Tea Theory" and "Bucha Jing", there are 14 species belonging to these two categories. For example, "Beiyuan Tea Records" is dedicated to Jian'an tea, and "Tea Sets Illustrated Praise" is dedicated to tea sets.
The most famous tea book of this period is "Daguan Tea Theory" written by Song Huizong Zhao Ji. He was the only one among the more than 300 emperors of China's feudal dynasty who had thousands of years of history to write a tea book. Tea fighting became a common practice in the Song Dynasty. The "Daguan Tea Theory" records in detail the complex procedures, strict requirements and delicate techniques of tea fighting.
In addition to "Daguan Tea Theory", there are also "Beiyuan Tea Records" by Ding Wei, Cai Xiang's "Tea Records", Shen Kuo's "Tea Law of this Dynasty", and Tang Geng's "Tea Fighting Records" ", Sang Qing's "The Sutra of Tea", etc. The Ming Dynasty was the era when most tea books were published in China. In 250 years, 68 kinds of tea books were published, and 33 kinds are now in existence. The Ming Dynasty was a period of reform and development that "launched the ancient tradition of tea drinking", especially the reform that abolished group tea and advocated loose tea, which was of great significance to the development of tea making and the production of famous tea in China. Reform calls on tea people to write tea books that meet the needs of the times. Tea books in the Ming Dynasty have three characteristics: first, they attach great importance to the inheritance and development of predecessors' achievements, and also pay attention to the collection of predecessors' materials. For example, Zhu Youbin's "Tea Book" is a collection of predecessors' works on tea, and Tu Ben's "Ming Ji" is a collection of predecessors' works on tea. It is composed of excerpts from more than a dozen tea books such as Lu Yu's "The Book of Tea" and Cai Xiang's "Tea Records". Lin Dashou compiled Zhang Youxin's "Jiancha Shui Ji", Ouyang Xiu's "Da Ming Shui Ji" and "Fucha Shanshui Ji" into "Tea Classics and Water Bian"; secondly, some tea books took a new approach, were unconventional, and were based on previous tea books. Different perspectives were presented. For example, Zhu Quan's "Tea Book" opposes the mixing of steamed green group tea with various fragrances, and advocates the drinking method of steamed green leaf tea. Third, many ancient classics have been revised and abridged. For example, Yu Zheng's "The Complete Works of Tea Books" was compiled by the editor by adding and deleting other people's tea books.
In short, the tea books of the Ming Dynasty blended plagiarism and innovation, and were closely integrated with the times. The period from the demise of the last feudal dynasty to the present can be divided into two stages.
The first is from 1912 to 1949. During these 37 years, due to war, people were in dire straits, tea gardens withered, and tea culture fell into a low ebb, with only 10 kinds of books published. One of them is the translation of "The Complete Book of Tea" by American Wei Jian Oux. It is worth mentioning that 3 of these 10 books were personally written by the contemporary tea sage Wu Juenong, who also organized the translation of The Complete Book of Tea.
Second, from the founding of New China to the present, tea culture has begun to recover and develop during this period. Especially after the reform and opening up, tea culture has experienced unprecedented prosperity, becoming the best period for the development of tea science in Chinese history. In the past 55 years, according to incomplete statistics, more than 600 tea books have been published (including tea books published in Hong Kong and Taiwan), with diverse genres and rich content. It involves education, food, medicine, ethics, philosophy and many other aspects.
In summary, 13 kinds of Chinese tea books were published in the Sui, Tang and Five Dynasties; 33 kinds were published in the Song and Yuan Dynasties; 68 kinds were published in the Ming Dynasty; 17 kinds were published in the Qing Dynasty; and more than 600 kinds were published in the modern and contemporary times; ***About 740 species.
2. Several representative tea book classics
In the Tang Dynasty, "The Book of Tea" and "The Story of Sencha Shui" were introduced.
In the Song Dynasty, "Daguan Tea Treatise" and "Tea Records" were introduced. In the Ming Dynasty, the "Tea Book" among the "Four Books" (i.e., "Tea Records", "Tea Manual", "Tea Book" and "Tea Interpretation") was introduced. In the Qing Dynasty, "The Sutra of Tea" was introduced.
Contemporary, introducing the "Chinese Tea Classic", "Chinese Famous Teas", "Chinese Tea Dictionary" and a series of tea books. Written in 780 AD, it is the first tea book in China and the world. The book is divided into three volumes, upper, middle and lower, with about 7,000 words. This book summarizes the tea science before the Tang Dynasty and the mid-Tang Dynasty from all aspects. "The Origin of One" explains the origin of tea, the growth characteristics of tea trees and the functions of tea. "Two Tools" introduces 15 tools for picking and making tea. "San Zhi Zao" describes the time of tea picking and the tea making process. "Four Utensils" introduces 26 utensils and usage methods for making tea and drinking tea at that time. "Five Boils" introduces the method of making tea. "Six Drinks" says that tea drinking began with Shennong, was heard by Zhou Gong, and flourished in the Tang Dynasty. It also introduced the method of drinking tea. "Seven Things" introduces some people, events and documents related to tea. "Eight Out" introduces the eight major tea-producing areas in the Tang Dynasty. "Nine omissions" means when the utensils for making tea can be omitted, and when they cannot be omitted.
The "Ten Pictures" are drawings of the above nine aspects on white silk, which look clear at a glance.
The "Tea Classic" is a tea encyclopedia with rich content, covering biology, cultivation, tea making, taxonomy, ecology, pharmacology, etc. The Book of Tea also records myths, fables, historical books, poems, biographies, geography and other books before the Tang Dynasty. It is a treasure house of ancient Chinese culture.
The "Tea Classic" is China's and the world's first tea classic. It is 411 years earlier than Japan’s first tea book, "Eating Tea and Preserving Health" (published by Japanese Zen Master Eisai in 1191), and 1155 years earlier than "The Complete Book of Tea" (compiled by William Ux of the United States, published in 1935). Year. These three tea books are called the world's three major tea monographs and are classics in tea books.
Lu Yu, the author of "The Book of Tea", was born in the 21st year of Kaiyuan of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty (733). He was an abandoned child and was adopted by the monk Zhiji of Xita Temple in Tianmen, Hubei. Before the age of 12, he was A young monk in the temple, he later escaped from the temple and studied opera in an opera troupe. In the tenth year of Tianbao (742), he met Cui Guofu, a doctor in the Ministry of Rites, and received funding to conduct a tea inspection. It took 38 years from study and inspection to the writing of the "Tea Classic". Lu Yu grew from an outcast to a world-famous tea expert, influencing the world and being called the "Tea Saint" and "Tea God" by the world. He died in the late Zhenyuan year of Tang Dynasty (804) at the age of 71 and was buried in Zhushan, Huzhou. Zhang You's new work was written in the Tang Dynasty and was completed around 825. The main content says that Lu Yu inspected famous springs and waters across the country while inspecting tea, and ranked 20 famous springs that are the best for making tea. In order to increase the credibility of Mingquan, the book also wrote a story about Lu Yu recognizing water. Li Jiqing, the governor of Huzhou, once met Lu Yu on the way from Huzhou to Yangzhou. He invited Lu Yu to taste tea and ordered the sergeant to take Nanling water from the river. The sergeant went to the river to fetch water. When he came back, due to the bumps of the boat, half of the water in the bucket was left when it reached the shore. The sergeant was afraid that the owner would blame him, so he filled it up by the river. After Lu Yu tasted the water, he said, this is not Nanling water. Li Jiqing didn't believe it, so Lu Yu poured out half of the water in the bucket and tasted it again, saying that this was Nanling water. Li Jiqing finally knew the whole story and everyone admired him.
Zhang Youxin, a native of Shenxian County, Hebei Province, was a Jinshi in the ninth year of Tang Yuanhe. He was born in a eunuch family and liked to drink tea and comment on water. It was compiled by Emperor Zhao Ji of the Song Dynasty and completed in 1107. The book has 2900 words, and the main text is divided into origin, weather, selection, autoclaving, manufacturing, identification, white tea, Luo Nian, cup, chopper, bottle, ladle, water, point, taste, fragrance, color, Tibetan baking, tea tasting, and external baking. Waiting for 20 articles. The place of origin, harvesting, processing, and cooking are discussed in great detail. In the evaluation of color, flavor and flavor, "Daguan Tea Treatise" is more clear and detailed than Lu Yu's "Tea Classic". In terms of the spirit of the tea ceremony, Lu Yu proposed "the virtue of refinement and frugality", while Zhao Ji proposed "purity, harmony and tranquility", which further deepened the realm. This is an objective reflection of the more profound tea drinking in the Song Dynasty.
The author of "Daguan Tea Theory" is Zhao Ji, the eighth emperor of the Northern Song Dynasty, Huizong. This man lived a luxurious life and was incompetent in governing the country. He was finally kidnapped by the Jin soldiers and died in Five Kingdoms City (today's Yilan, Heilongjiang). But he is a romantic literati, good at all kinds of music, chess, calligraphy and painting, and is especially famous for his poetry, calligraphy and painting. When he was 25 years old, he painted "Peach Dove Picture" and it became a national treasure. He is the only Chinese emperor who wrote tea books. Author Cai Xiang. This book is a list of books given to the emperor by the author in the first year of Zhiping in the Song Dynasty (1051). The full text is about 1,000 words. The tribute tea in the Song Dynasty was mainly Beiyuan tea (produced in Jian'an, Fujian). Cai Xiang was the transport envoy of Fujian at that time and supervised the production of Beiyuan tribute tea. After Ding Wei presented Longtuan tea, he made Xiaolongtuan and presented it to the emperor, which was deeply appreciated by the emperor. He became famous in the court and public for being good at understanding and making tea, so the emperor often asked him some questions about making tea. However, Lu Yu's "The Book of Tea" did not discuss the construction of tea, while Ding Wei's "Tea Picture" only talked about its harvesting and processing. So he wrote "Tea Records" and submitted it to the emperor to answer questions. The whole book has a preface and a follower. The middle text is divided into two parts. The first part discusses tea and the second part discusses tea utensils. The preface is about why he wrote "Cha Lu", and the later preface is about how the manuscript of "Tea Lu" he wrote to the emperor was stolen by his secretary, and was later purchased and published, but there were many errors. Therefore, after the revision, it was engraved on the stone in May of the first year of Jiping (1064) to be passed down forever.
Another "Cha Lu" was written by Zhang Yuan around 1595 in the Ming Dynasty. The book has 1,500 words, including picking tea, storing tea, heat, distinguishing soup, brewing method, pouring tea, drinking tea, color, aroma, taste, unusable tea, tasting springs, unsuitable for using well water, tea cups, and wiping cloths , divided into 23 sections including tea boxes, tea ceremony, etc. Each section is not long, some only have a few sentences, but the writing style is concise and innovative. Many contents break through the formulations in Lu Yu's "Tea Classic", such as the understanding of soil. The method of making fried green tea is written concisely and concisely in the book, and it is very popular. It also pointed out the relationship between the quality of tea leaves and tea making, which was a great progress in tea processing. He put forward a different view from Cai Xiang on making tea, and put forward the view that "the soup needs to be boiled five times, and the tea plays three wonders". The five boils are: shrimp eyes, crab eyes, fish eyes, continuous beads, surging boils, "initial sound, turning sound, vibrating sound, sudden sound, and silent sound". You should listen to their sounds to see the soup. The "three wonders" are the order in which the tea is put, that is, "top, middle, and bottom." These three methods of tea are still in use today. It was also proposed that before tasting tea, one must warm the pot and scald the cup. When tasting tea, the less is more valuable, "Sipping alone is called Shen, two guests are called Qu, five or six is ??called Pan, seven or eight is called Shi."
"Tea Record" describes the color, aroma and fragrance of tea, and the taste of tea. Detailed scientific discussions were put forward on the water and utensils used for tea, and there were breakthroughs and innovations based on Lu Yu's "Tea Classic". The last section of the book proposes the "Tea Ceremony" and gives a high-level summary of the "Tea Ceremony": "The essence is made when it is made, the essence is stored when it is dry, the tea is clean when it is steeped, and the essence and dryness are clean, and the tea ceremony is complete."
"Zhang Yuan was the third person in ancient times to propose the term "Tea Ceremony" (first, Tang Jiaoran "who knows that the tea road is completely true, only Danqiu has it", and second, Feng Yan "so the tea ceremony became popular"), and also The person who mentioned it most comprehensively. This book can be said to be a complete collection of ancient tea art. It is very instructive to tea art. I suggest teahouse owners take the time to read it. It was written by Xu Cizhu in the 25th year of Ming Dynasty (1597). The whole book is about 4700 words. It is divided into tea production, ancient and modern tea making, tea frying, collection, storage, use, packaging, daily storage, water selection, sipping, guest discussion, tea house, children, drinking time, and difficulty in use. 36 chapters, including Good Friends, Traveling, Expediency, Festivals, and Testimonials. These chapters are all written based on the author's experience, and he puts forward the idea of ??"famous tea from famous mountains" and summarizes the advantages of fried green tea. The method of preserving tea is proposed in a practical and scientific way. The book also proposes the basic setting of a teahouse (the original type of teahouse) for the first time. The "tea ceremony" is proposed in the book, which elevates tea drinking from material to spiritual.
The author Xu Cizhu, courtesy name Ranming, was born in Qiantang (now Hangzhou). He was good at writing, good at poetry, and good at storing things. Qishi is addicted to tea, has lived in tea gardens for a long time, and can grow tea and make tea. It is the largest tea book in the Qing Dynasty and the largest ancient tea book in China. It has 100,000 words and almost collects everything before the Qing Dynasty. All the information in the tea book is called "The Sutra of Tea" because it is divided into the upper, middle and lower volumes according to the writing method of Lu Yu's "Tea" in the Tang Dynasty. , the fourth is the utensil, the fifth is the cooking, the sixth is the drinking, the seventh is the matter, the eighth is the coming out, the ninth is the outline, the tenth is the picture, and finally there is a volume of "The Tea Book". The collected tea book information is classified and compiled into 10 contents to facilitate readers to gather and compare, and some lost tea book information is retained. Therefore, the "Summary of the General Catalog of Sikuquanshu" states: "The number of tea books has been read since the Tang Dynasty. For hundreds of years, in the tea-producing land, the methods of making tea have changed throughout the ages, and the cooking utensils have also varied from ancient to modern times. Therefore, as Lu Yu said, although his book is ancient, many of its methods are not feasible today. Yancan has compiled a supplement , quite practical, and attracting wealth. "This book is worth reading.
The author Lu Yancan, whose courtesy name is Manting, is from Jiading. He once served as magistrate of Chong'an County (now Wuyi City). He was an official in the tea area and was good at tea affairs. He picked tea, steamed tea, and tested it. It is representative of modern tea books and has a high level among comprehensive tea books. It took more than 50 tea experts from across the country to compile it in 1992. Published in 2017. The book is divided into seven parts: tea history, tea properties, tea types, tea techniques, tea drinking, tea culture and appendix. The book comprehensively and systematically introduces the origin and development of tea. Communication, the nature and function of tea, the categories and colors of tea, the cultivation and storage of tea, tea drinking and etiquette, and the relationship between tea and culture, are focused, simple and traditional, and are both scientific and cultural. A classic work. The whole book embodies the highest level of contemporary Chinese tea research in terms of breadth, depth, and accuracy. It is a new "Tea Classic" with a modern level after the publication of Lu Yu's "Tea Classic" in the Tang Dynasty more than 1,200 years ago. .
It is worth mentioning that two large tea books were later published, one was "Chinese Tea Dictionary" and the other was "Chinese Famous Tea Chronicles", both in December 2000. Published in March. Both are compiled by hundreds of tea experts across the country. The "Chinese Tea Dictionary" has 9,972 entries, and the "Chinese Famous Tea Chronicles" contains 1,017 famous teas.