Chapter One Cha Jing

The Origin

Tea is a fine plant which grows in Southern China. Its height varies from one foot, two feet to even dozens of feet. (Note: one foot=29.5cm in Tang Dynasty). It grows in areas like the Ba Mountain, in gorges and on plains. Some tree trunks can only be embraced by two people. And its branches can only be reached after the trunk is cut down. The body of the tea tree looks like that of Ilex kudingcha Tseng. The leaf looks like a gardenia. The flowers look like that of a rose. The seeds look like a palm. The stems look like that of a clove and the root looks like a walnut.

The character (Chinese word) of tea can either be composed of the radical "grass", "wood" or the two combined. It has five names: the first one is "cha", the second one is "jia", the third one is "she", the fourth one is "ming" and the fifth one is "chuan".

The most suitable soil for planting tea is completely decayed rock. After that gravel soil that contains crushed rock. While yellow clay is behind.

Generally speaking, if the skill of planting is not grasped well, the tea tree can seldom flourish. The way of planting is similar to that of planting melon.  After three years the first harvest can be reaped. The quality of tea which grows in the wild is better than that which grows in garden. A purple bud is better than a green bud when it grows on a southern slope and in the shade. Slender leaves with the shape of a bamboo shoot are better than thin leaves. Curled leaves are better than flat leaves. Tea which grows on a shady slope or valley is of low quality and does not deserve to be picked. Its sluggish quality can cause lumps in the stomach.

For medicinal purpose, tea is cold in nature. For the purpose of drinking, tea is best for attentive, devoted, frugal and virtuous people. When a person suffers from a fever, thirst, distress in the chest area, a headache, dry eyes, tired limbs or uncomfortable joints, four or five sips of tea can refresh one’s spirit, alike sweet dew. However, untimely picking, coarse handling or intermingling grass can cause a person to fall ill.

The quality of tea is to a great extent determined by its origin. The same holds true for ginseng. Superior ginseng is produced in Shangdang*, Average ginseng is produced in Paekche and Silla*. Inferior ginseng is produced in Corea. Ginsengs that grow in Zezhou, Yizhou, Youzhou and Tanzhou don’t have the curative effects of medicine, those more inferior even less. When Adenophora trachelioides Maxim is taken as ginseng, disease cannot be cured. As one understands the example of ginseng, one can also understand the effects of tea.

(nowadays located in southeastern Shanxi Province)*,
(two ancient countries in the southwestern Korean Peninsular)