The Classic of Tea
《茶经》
The Classic of Tea is the first treatise on tea in the world, writfen by the Chinese writer Lu Yu between 760 and 780 in the Tang Dynasty. According to the popular legend, Lu Yu was an orphan of Jinling county ( now Tianmen county in Hubei Province) who was adopted by a Buddhist monk of the Longgai Temple. At age 14, Lu Yu was discovered by the local governor Li Gtiwu who of fered Lu Yu the use of his library and the opportunity to study with a teacher,During the An Lushan and Shi Siming Rebellion period, Lu Yu lived in seclusion in Shaoxi ( now Huzhou City, Zhejiang Province).During this period, Lu Yu made friendswith many literati, including the calligrapher Yan Zhenqing, and wrote his master-piece The Classic of Tea.For Lu Yu, tea symbolized the harmony and mysterious unity of the Universe. He invested The Classic of Tea with the concept of Bud-dhism, Taoism, or Confu-cianism that dominated the religious thought of his age. The Classic of Tea is divided into the following 10 chapters: 1.Origin; 2.Tea Tools; 3. Manufacture; 4. Tea Wares；5.Brewing; 6. Drinking Tea;7.Anecdotes; 8. Places;9. Omission；10. Diagrams.It covers a series of subjects ranging from tea culture, tea art, tea history, botany, biology, agriculture, medicine, geography, hydrology, pottery, tea farming machinery to tea production.
《茶经》是世界上第一部有关茶的专著，为中国唐朝文人陆羽在公元760-780年间所著。陆羽，唐竞陵（今湖北天门）人，传说从小是个孤儿，被当地龙盖寺和尚收养。14岁时被当地太守李齐物看中，带他到自己的书房读书，并给他请来一名老师。安史之乱爆发后，陆羽隐居苕溪（今浙江湖州），其间结交很多文人，其中包括书法家颜真卿，并完成了巨著《茶经》。在陆羽看来，茶象征着宇宙万物的和谐与神秘的统一。他将当时的主流宗教“儒释道”中的思想赋予到《茶经》之中。《茶经》共分为以下十章：一之源；二之具；三之造；四之器；五之煮；六之饮；七之事；八之出；九之就；十之图。共涉及茶文化、茶艺、茶史、植物学、生物学、农学、医学、地理、水文学、陶器工艺、农具、制茶等一系列的领域。