The original text of "Yi Qi Ling·Tea" by Yuan Zhen of the Tang Dynasty:
Tea.
Fragrant leaves, buds.
I admire poets and monks.
Crafted white jade and woven red yarn.
Cho-fried yellow pistils are the color of yellow pistils, and the bowl is turned into dusty flowers.
The queen of the night invites you to accompany the bright moon, and you face the morning glow alone.
I have washed away all the people of the past and present without getting tired, and I will know how to praise after being drunk.
Translation:
Tea.
Fragrant in taste and beautiful in shape.
He was deeply loved by poets and monks.
The mill made of white jade is used to grind tea, and the tea roll made of red yarn is used to sift.
Before making tea, fry it in a pot until it turns yellow pistil color, and then put the foam in the bowl.
Drink tea with the bright moon late at night, and drink tea alone in the morning facing the morning glow.
Drinking tea can eliminate the tiredness of ancient and modern people, especially after drinking tea.
Appreciation
Yuan Zhen’s pagoda poem expresses three meanings: first, it talks about people’s love for tea from the nature of tea; second, it talks about the decoction of tea. The second part talks about people's tea drinking customs; the third part talks about the functions of tea, saying that tea can refresh people and sober up. Emerald green, high fragrance, sweet and fresh taste, resistant to brewing. This tea can not only relieve heat, quench thirst and promote body fluids, but also has a strong digestive effect and curative effect.
At the beginning of this poem, it is pointed out that the theme is tea, and then it writes about the nature of tea, that is, taste, fragrance and beauty. The third sentence is an inverted sentence, saying that tea is deeply loved by "poets" and "monks". Tea and poetry always complement each other. The fourth sentence is about cooking tea. Because in ancient times, cake tea was drunk, so the tea leaves were first crushed with a mill carved from white jade, and then the tea was sieved with a tea bag made of red gauze.
The fifth sentence says that when cooking tea, it must first be fried in a pot until it becomes "yellow pistil color", and then the foam is placed in a bowl. The sixth sentence talks about drinking tea, not only at night, but also in the morning. At the end, he pointed out the wonderful benefits of tea. No matter ancient or modern people, drinking tea will always talk about being full of energy, especially drinking tea after drinking can help sober up.
Extended information
Creative background
This is a farewell poem. Because Bai Juyi was to be promoted to Luoyang, the eastern capital, the poet held a farewell party with Wang Qi and other princes. At the banquet, each person had to write a poem chanting things with "one to seven characters", and the title could only use one character, so Yuan Zhen wrote the poem "One Seven Ling·Tea", and Bai Juyi also wrote a poem "One Seven Ling·Tea" on the spot. "One Seven Order·Bamboo".
This one to seven-character poem is commonly known as pagoda poem. There are not a few poems written in pagoda style, but tea poems written in pagoda style are relatively rare among ancient Chinese poems and are extremely precious. .
Bai Juyi and Yuan Zhen were equally famous poets in the Tang Dynasty at that time. Their theoretical viewpoints on poetry were similar. They both advocated New Yuefu and formed a close friendship. The world calls them both "Yuan Zhen". white". There were often poems sung between the two, and even if they were in different places, they often exchanged letters, and they invented the method of "passing poems through the mailbox".
Once, when Yuan Zhen was on an envoy to Dongchuan, Bai Juyi and his good friend Li Jian visited Ci'en Temple. They missed Yuan Zhen during the dinner, so he wrote "Drunk Recalls of Yuan Jiu with Li Shiyi". At this time, Bai Juyi was Yuan Zhen of Liangzhou also missed Bai Juyi, and he wrote a song "Dream of Liangzhou" on the same night.
Later, both of them were demoted one after another and were assigned to serve as officials in other places, so they kept in touch frequently to encourage and comfort each other. As Bai Juyi said, the two were "literary friends and poetic enemies" with extremely deep friendship throughout their lives.
Baidu Encyclopedia--Tea