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An Illustrated Modern Reader of 'The Classic of Tea'
This commentary on the Chinese masterpiece, The Classic of Tea, offers a fascinating perspective on this ancient pastime and art.
The Classic of Tea, the first known monograph on tea in the world, was written in the 8th century by Lu Yu who devoted his entire life to the study of tea and is respected as the Sage of Tea. Wu Juenong, an agronomist and economist specializing in agriculture, has studied tea all his life. This book is the culmination of lifelong research on Chinese tea culture and history, introducing the readers to modern findings of effects and properties of tea, types of tea preparations, the evolution of tea growing regions and tea drinking customs across China, in addition to extensive annotation. Both scholarly and informative, An Illustrated Modern Reader of 'The Classic of Tea' has been acclaimed as a New Classic of Tea.
An Illustrated Modern Reader of 'The Classic of Tea' also includes vivid illustrations and pictures of tools and utensils for the making and drinking of tea, either hand-drawn or collected by him, which the original The Classic of Tea lacked. Selected Chinese traditional paintings in the book illuminate the elegant art of brewing and drinking tea, the social rituals associated with tea drinking, and the reformative and cultural significance of tea ceremonies.
The Classic of Tea, the first known monograph on tea in the world, was written in the 8th century by Lu Yu who devoted his entire life to the study of tea and is respected as the Sage of Tea. Wu Juenong, an agronomist and economist specializing in agriculture, has studied tea all his life. This book is the culmination of lifelong research on Chinese tea culture and history, introducing the readers to modern findings of effects and properties of tea, types of tea preparations, the evolution of tea growing regions and tea drinking customs across China, in addition to extensive annotation. Both scholarly and informative, An Illustrated Modern Reader of 'The Classic of Tea' has been acclaimed as a New Classic of Tea.
An Illustrated Modern Reader of 'The Classic of Tea' also includes vivid illustrations and pictures of tools and utensils for the making and drinking of tea, either hand-drawn or collected by him, which the original The Classic of Tea lacked. Selected Chinese traditional paintings in the book illuminate the elegant art of brewing and drinking tea, the social rituals associated with tea drinking, and the reformative and cultural significance of tea ceremonies.
148 pages, Hardcover
Published December 1, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
December 16, 2020
I saw this in the NLB and was very intrigued because I wanted to know what kind of illustrations were inside. And also because I’ve never read The Classic of Tea (茶经) and really need to remedy that. This modern reader was great because it provided both a translation and a commentary on The Classic of Tea.
The Classic of Tea is divided into ten short chapters:
The origins of tea
Tools used in the picking and manufacturing of tea
The manufacture of tea
Vessels for making and drinking tea
Roasting tea and boiling tea
Tea drinking
Historical material on tea
Tea producing areas
Omitting tea implements and vessels
Hanging scrolls for The Classic of Tea
Each chapter comes with a translation of the original text, followed by an abridged commentary by Wu Juenong (1897-1989), an agricultural scientist and economists who was also “the founding figure in the revival and development of the modern Chinese tea industry.”
Because the Classic of Tea was written in the Tang dynasty, all the information is centred around how tea was drunk during that time. This does leave a pretty big gap as to how things have changed and I found that the commentaries play a valuable part in linking the tea practices from Tang to modern-day (or more accurate, 20th century).
The only part of the commentary that caught my eye is the claim that “no other nation has discovered documentary records of tea earlier than those of China, so that it’s possible to say with some certainty that China was the earliest country to harvest, process, and drink tea.” If I’m comparing this claim to what van Driem has researched in The Tale of Tea, the origins of tea being consumed in a more general sense might lie in Laos, Myanmar, Northern Thailand and the Yunnan province before it became part of China. And while we could argue that tea drinking culture first developed in Southern China, we do have to remember areas like Yunnan have been governed as an autonomous region in the past. So a part of me wonders if Juenong was being a bit overly specific here to lay claim to tea as a solely Chinese product rather than sharing credit that there were various people, not all of whom would be considered Chinese today, who had discovered the tea plant and perhaps consumed it in various forms for its various properties before it became The Chinese Drink.
My personal opinion (I am allowed to digress this is my review) is that the tea tree’s natural home would be in the Yunnan/Myammar/Northern Thailand area and it would have been used in various ways by the people living there. From there, tea made its way into China gradually, first becoming a Southern drink and then around the Tang dynasty, a Chinese drink. Could we say that tea is purely Chinese? It is a little bit arguable, given the borders of China was in flux for so long, but I think we can agree that China established a tea-drinking (emphasis on the drinking part, since the eating part is not as clear for me) habit first.
In other words, if we take another statement in the book, i.e. that “botanists in China […] have concluded that the theory that the tea tree originated in southwest China is correct” and modify to say that ‘botanists have concluded that the theory that the tea tree originated in regions now known as southwest China is correct’, we would be a lot more accurate in drawing attention to the origins of tea and acknowledging the fact that borders do change as time passes.
Pedantic point* aside, An Illustrated Modern Reader of The Classic of Tea is a great work for anyone who wants an introduction to this classic. The illustrations are mainly pictures of people drinking tea and come with fairly detailed explanations of how the picture would have reflected tea culture at that point in time, enhancing the content of the book.
*Note: I did wonder about whether I should leave three long paragraphs about how we can define the True Origin of Tea in a book review but I do feel that as we slowly gain a more holistic understanding of tea and its history, accuracy becomes important especially since Northern Thailand and Myammar aren’t talked about much when we’re talking about tea areas and tea history.
This review was first posted at Eustea Reads
The Classic of Tea is divided into ten short chapters:
The origins of tea
Tools used in the picking and manufacturing of tea
The manufacture of tea
Vessels for making and drinking tea
Roasting tea and boiling tea
Tea drinking
Historical material on tea
Tea producing areas
Omitting tea implements and vessels
Hanging scrolls for The Classic of Tea
Each chapter comes with a translation of the original text, followed by an abridged commentary by Wu Juenong (1897-1989), an agricultural scientist and economists who was also “the founding figure in the revival and development of the modern Chinese tea industry.”
Because the Classic of Tea was written in the Tang dynasty, all the information is centred around how tea was drunk during that time. This does leave a pretty big gap as to how things have changed and I found that the commentaries play a valuable part in linking the tea practices from Tang to modern-day (or more accurate, 20th century).
The only part of the commentary that caught my eye is the claim that “no other nation has discovered documentary records of tea earlier than those of China, so that it’s possible to say with some certainty that China was the earliest country to harvest, process, and drink tea.” If I’m comparing this claim to what van Driem has researched in The Tale of Tea, the origins of tea being consumed in a more general sense might lie in Laos, Myanmar, Northern Thailand and the Yunnan province before it became part of China. And while we could argue that tea drinking culture first developed in Southern China, we do have to remember areas like Yunnan have been governed as an autonomous region in the past. So a part of me wonders if Juenong was being a bit overly specific here to lay claim to tea as a solely Chinese product rather than sharing credit that there were various people, not all of whom would be considered Chinese today, who had discovered the tea plant and perhaps consumed it in various forms for its various properties before it became The Chinese Drink.
My personal opinion (I am allowed to digress this is my review) is that the tea tree’s natural home would be in the Yunnan/Myammar/Northern Thailand area and it would have been used in various ways by the people living there. From there, tea made its way into China gradually, first becoming a Southern drink and then around the Tang dynasty, a Chinese drink. Could we say that tea is purely Chinese? It is a little bit arguable, given the borders of China was in flux for so long, but I think we can agree that China established a tea-drinking (emphasis on the drinking part, since the eating part is not as clear for me) habit first.
In other words, if we take another statement in the book, i.e. that “botanists in China […] have concluded that the theory that the tea tree originated in southwest China is correct” and modify to say that ‘botanists have concluded that the theory that the tea tree originated in regions now known as southwest China is correct’, we would be a lot more accurate in drawing attention to the origins of tea and acknowledging the fact that borders do change as time passes.
Pedantic point* aside, An Illustrated Modern Reader of The Classic of Tea is a great work for anyone who wants an introduction to this classic. The illustrations are mainly pictures of people drinking tea and come with fairly detailed explanations of how the picture would have reflected tea culture at that point in time, enhancing the content of the book.
*Note: I did wonder about whether I should leave three long paragraphs about how we can define the True Origin of Tea in a book review but I do feel that as we slowly gain a more holistic understanding of tea and its history, accuracy becomes important especially since Northern Thailand and Myammar aren’t talked about much when we’re talking about tea areas and tea history.
This review was first posted at Eustea Reads
March 21, 2021
An excellent upgraded version of the Cha Jing with gorgeous pictures and explanations. Amazing research work by Wu Juenong. Highly indebted to his work and Tony Blishen's English translation.
If you're looking for a good (and quite literal) translation of the Cha Jing (Classic of Tea) in English, this is a great modern option.
If you're looking for a good (and quite literal) translation of the Cha Jing (Classic of Tea) in English, this is a great modern option.
April 13, 2024
The classic of tea was the first book ever written specifically dedicated to tea, from plant to production to drinking. This modern reader is a must read for anyone interested to learn more about tea and its historical context (focussed on China). While some of LuYu's knowledge is still relevant today it is necessary to view the classic of tea in its historical context. This modern reader provides additional information for the current reader and makes the text more relevant for today's tea enthusiast. It bridges the gap between 750 AD and today.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews