Classical tea books
Through reading the classical Chinese tea books one comes to understand that there is much more to tea than just a drink or medicine. The content of classical Chinese tea books is intertwined with the entire Chinese culture. Likewise the changes in culture with the coming of each new emperor or dynasty are clearly reflected in the tea culture. Furthermore at the base of the Chinese tea culture there are traditional moral values and the concept of cultivation, which directly has a relation with universal themes of mankind.
Like with every profession or skill, one can improve one’s skills through practicing but in classical China it was believed that this must go along with an improvement in character as well. Therefore much emphasize is placed upon virtue and on maintaining a clean and pure mind in everything one does. This is not only a moral code of conduct but a requirement to truly have insight into a certain matter or subject.
In the most famous classical tea book written by Lu Yu in the Tang dynasty it is stated that:
' 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.´ (Chapter 1, Tea Classic. Lu Yu)
This quote already seems to suggest that the effects of drinking (the same) tea will be different depending on whether this person him or herself is virtuous or not. Therefore in perfecting one’s skills and knowledge one cannot only look outside oneself. And this is also where you can see that the subject of tea is not limited to external factors or to a certain time or place. Classical tea books can give many insights yet it is up to each and everyone to put them into practice and have an own understanding and experience.
The translation of classical Chinese tea books is not an easy task, we are not professional translators, furthermore it is possible to interpret the classical Chinese language in multiple ways. Therefore we are sure that our translations of the tea books are far from perfect and it is even very possible that things have been misinterpreted or wrongly translated. We will constantly strive to perfect these imperfections and greatly appreciate any suggestions readers might have. Up to date we have translated part of Tea Classic and the entire book On Tea.