Lu Yu, Cha Jing: Treatise on Tea - "Tea Canon" (1 - 3 chapters)

The Origins of Tea

Tea comes from a great tree in the South. The tree can grow from one or two chi [1 chi = 31.5 cm] to twelve. In the rivers and gorges of Pa Shan [present-day Sichuan] there are trees whose girth is such that it would take two men to encircle them [the trunk]. Such trees must be cut down to collect [the leaves].

Its [tea tree's] trunk resembles a gourd [the 17th-century London version of the Cha Ching: "The tea sapling resembles the Kua Lu [unclear which plant this is], a tree growing in Canton, the leaves of which are bitter and pungent in taste"], and its leaves resemble the gardenia. The flower resembles the flower of the wild red rose turned white. The seeds resemble those of the coconut palm. The leaves have a clove-like scent, while the roots are like those of the walnut. [the London version has the additional sentence: "The roots of the two plants grow downwards until they reach gravel and stones, and then the tender plants send forth shoots."]

The character for tea, which we call cha, is sometimes shown with the sign for grass as the essential [principal] element [radical, sometimes with wood, and sometimes both are used. Its [tea's] common name is distinguished [interchangeably] by cha, che, ming, or ch'uan. [The London version adds: "The character with the grass radical is Cha, and is found in the Kai Yuan Wen Zu [dictionary]. The character with the wood radical is Tu, and is found in the Pen Tsao [a medical treatise attributed to Shen Nung]. The character having both the grass and wood radicals is found in the Er Ya [an ancient dictionary made by Prince Chou about 1050 B.C., with the commentary of Kuo Po, who added the designation for tea as Kia, K'u T'u]. As for the names given to tea, it is called Ch'a, Kia, She, Ming, and Ch'uan. Chou Kun said [wrote] that Kia was bitter Tu. Yan Xun [scholar, 53 BC – 18 BC] said [wrote] that people in southeastern Pa Shan [Sichuan] spoke of Ch'a as She. Kuo Po said [wrote] that that picked early [in spring] was Ch'a, and that picked later was Ming, which is otherwise known as Ch'uan.]

Tea grows best in a soil that is somewhat rocky, while gravelly and rich soil is second in merit. Yellow clay is the worst, and bushes planted in it will not bear fruit. In planting and transplanting tea, the same methods are used as with melons, but the tea leaves should not be picked until the plant is three years old. Tea that grows wild is superior; that of the garden is second. Grown on sunny slopes or in shady groves, the best leaves are reddish-brown. They are superior to green leaves. Tea from the young and tender first shoots is better than buds. The best leaves are those that are more folded. Leaves that are open and unfolded are second in quality. Tea gathered on the slopes or in the valleys of a mountain side that does not receive sun is not worth the trouble. Tea is of a cold nature and can be used in cases of blockage or stagnation of the intestines. In this case it is the most suitable drink. If one is generally temperate, but feels hot or warm, melancholy, suffering from headache, burning eyes, troubled in the limbs, or afflicted in a hundred joints, he may take tea four or five times. This drink is compared to the sweetest dew of Heaven. [In the London version: "The drink resembles dark red wine and the pure dew of Heaven."]

Care must be taken against unseasonable [picking] of tea, production that does not capture its essence, or adulteration with other plants or herbs. Drinking such tea can only lead to illness. The harmful properties of tea are not much different from ginseng. We know that the best ginseng is produced in Shang T'ang, the average grades in Po Chai or Sin Lo [both areas of Korea], while the poorest varieties come from Korea. Ginseng from Tse Shou, Yi Shou, Yu Shou, or T'an Shou has no medicinal properties. And even worse, if the plants from those areas are not actually ginseng but something like bells [Nan Sha Shen Chinese; Radix Adenophorae Latin], they can lead to the six diseases without the restorative virtue [of ginseng] at all. Our knowledge of the harmful properties of ginseng teaches us of similar ones in tea.

Tea making tools

Basket
There are several kinds of baskets: one called Yin and another called Lan. There are also Long and Chu. All are made of bamboo. Tea pickers carry baskets with a capacity of one to four tou [1 tou is about 4.5 liters] or five, ten, twenty or even thirty shen [1 shen is about 0.5 liters] on their backs when picking tea.

Furnace and boiler
Avoid using a stove with a chimney and always choose a boiler with a wide lip.

Steaming Pot The steaming pot, like that used for steaming rice, called Tseng, is made of wood or baked clay. It has no waist [it is not flattened in the middle], but has a receptacle made of clay designed to catch what falls out of the holes at the base of the pot. The two are connected by bamboo. To begin steaming, first place the tea in the receptacle. Then pour [the tea] into the steaming pot. Continue stirring with a three-branched branch to spread the shoots and buds [over the surface of the pot] and allow the juices to flow.

Pestle
A pestle called Tui, such as is used for husking rice, is perfect, especially if it has seen long use.

Form
The shape may be of two kinds, called Mo or opoka, or Ch'uan, which is curved into the shape of a cup. They are made of iron, and some are round and some are square. Sometimes they are also decorated.

Holder
One is called T'ai or scaffold. The other is Chan or block. They are made of stone, but if this is not possible, then of pagoda or mulberry wood. Half of the holder must be dug into the ground so that it will be completely stable during the manufacturing process.

Cover
The cover is called Yi and is made of oiled silk or a single [unjoined] piece of rain cover that has been worn out. To make [press] the tea, place the cover on top of the holder and then place the mold on top of the cover. [The mass of tea leaves falls directly onto the holder.] After the tea has been set [pressed], it can be moved [taken out of the mold] by lifting the cover cloth.

Sieve
The sieve, called either Ying-tzu or P'ang-lang, is made of two pieces of young bamboo about three chi long. The body of the implement is two and a half chi [1 chi = 31.5 cm.] and the handle is five tsun [10 tsun = 1 chi] [long]. The bamboo strips are made into square holes, like a gardener's sieve for soil. The sieve should be about two chi in diameter. It is used for sorting tea.

Awl Called Ch'i, it is shaped like a knife and the handle is made of hard wood. It is used to make holes in [pressed] tea for [subsequent] binding.

Chain
It is called Pien and is made of bamboo. It can also be used to insert into the tea [tea stove] to loosen it.

Drying pit
To dry the tea, make a hole in the ground about two chi deep, two and a half chi wide, and ten chi long. On top of the hole, build a wall two chi high and seal it with wet clay.

Bowstring
The bowstring is called Kuan. To make it, use strips of bamboo about two and a half chi long. The bowstring is used to thread through the tea before drying.

Drying shed
P'eng or Chan is a wooden structure built over the drying pit. The wood should be covered [with something heat-resistant?] and joined together to form two platforms, each a chi high [one above the other], used alternately during drying.
When the tea is half dry, it is raised to the lower platform, and when it is completely dry, it is raised to the higher platform.

Ligaments
The people of the lands east of the Yangtze and south of the Hui Rivers used split bamboo to bind [slabs of] tea. In the mountains of Sichuan, people make bundles by braiding the bark. In Jiangsu, the largest amount [of tea] bound together is one chin [1 chin = 538.8g]; half a chin is the average size of a packet. A packet of a fifth of a chin is the third size. In the valleys and mountains, the largest load is 120 chin, the average load is 80 chin, and a load of 50 chin is the smallest.
In the old days, the character for a bundle was Ch'uan, meaning bracelet. Sometimes Ch'uan was used from the expression Kuan-Ch'uan, meaning "to pull together," but this designation is no longer used. The character now used to designate a tea bundle is Ch'uan, meaning "to bore through." When written this way, one assumes an even tone, but is pronounced with a falling tone.

Storage containers
The storage containers are called Yu. [Their invention is attributed to Lu Yu.] Their frame is made of roots tied together with bamboo and paper pasted on top. Inside there are horizontal divisions and a lid on top. At the bottom there is a storage section, on the side of which there is a door. Inside one of the door panels there is a vessel designed for a small fire to keep [the tea] warm and dry. In Chang Nan, during times of heavy rain, special care is taken of the tea by means of a fire in these containers.

Tea making

The tea is harvested during the second, third and fourth lunar months. The young and tender shoots [of the tea bush], growing in rich, fertile soil, should not be plucked until they resemble ferns or bracken and are four or five inches long. In any case, the shoots should be picked only while the dew is still cool.

When the tea shoots have grown into a dense undergrowth, select the thickest shoots with three, four or five branches, pluck them and pluck them.

Do not choose a day that has seen rain, nor [a day] when clouds cover the sky. Pick tea only on a clear day.

All that is required to produce tea is to pick it, steam it, beat it, shape it, dry it, tie it and seal it.

Tea has a myriad of forms. If I may speak vulgarly and rashly, tea may shrink and crumple like the boots of a Mongolian. Or it may resemble the dewlap of a wild ox, and some [tea leaves] are sharp, some curled like the eaves of a house. They may resemble a mushroom in swirling flight, just as clouds do when they emerge from behind a mountain peak. Its leaves may swell and leap as if they were spinning lightly in wind-troubled water.

Others will resemble clay, soft and yielding, ready for the potter's hand, and will be as clear and pure as if filtered through wood. Others will twist and turn like streams cut by a heavy rain in a newly ploughed field. [London version: "The best leaves should be folded like the boots of a Mongol horseman, curled like the dewlap of a mighty ox, undulating like the mist rising from a ravine, shimmering like a lake touched by a gentle breeze, and moist and soft like fine earth newly washed away by the rain."]

These are the finest of teas.

But there are also teas like bamboo husks, [the leaves] difficult to separate from the stem and too resistant to be steamed or crushed. They [when made] take the form of a sieve. Then there are those that resemble lotuses after frost. Their stem and leaves become dry and soft, their appearance so changed that they resemble rubble piled up. Such teas are old and worthless.

From selection to sealing there are seven steps, and there are eight categories of shapes, from leaves that resemble Mongolian boots to those that look like a lotus flower killed by frost.

Among the would-be connoisseurs there are those who praise the excellence of the tea, noting its smoothness and commenting on the glossy hues of the drink. They are the least capable of judging. Others will say it is good because [the tea] is yellow, wrinkled, and has dents and mounds. They are the best judges. But the truly superior taster will judge the tea in all its features and comment on both the good and the bad.

There is a reason for each individual criticism. If the tea leaf is oozing its natural juices, it will be glossy and black. If oils are left [in the leaf], it will appear wrinkled. If it has been brewed for a long time, [the leaf] will be black. Tea on which the sun has barely set will be yellow. Steamed and crushed, it will be smooth. Allowed to remain loose [unpressed], it will have hollows and mounds.

There is nothing unnatural about this, as tea is similar to other herbs and leaves in this respect.

The mouth decides the perfection of tea.