Chajing 茶經

Chajing 茶經, the "Classic of Tea", is the oldest and the most famous ancient Chinese book on tea. A list of Chinese books on tea can be found at the bottom of this page.

The 3 juan "scrolls" long book was written during the Tang period 唐 (618-907) by Lu Yu 陸羽 (733－804). Lu Yu never occupied a post in the government, although he had been offered the position of Great Supplicator (taizhu 太祝) of the Office of Imperial Sacrifices (Taichangsi 太常寺). Instead, he lived a private life in a very rural style. Because of his deep knowledge of tea, he was also called the "God of Tea" (chashen 茶神). The book was written around 760, as can be guessed from several place names mentioned in chapter 8. The text was probably slightly revised later.

The Chajing describes, in ten chapters, the origin and spread of the tea plant (Camellia sinensis), the shapes of the leaves of different kinds of tea plants, and the various qualities of tea; the harvest of leaves and the array of tools used for the preparation of tea leaves; as well as the method of tea oxidation. The second part is dedicated to the preparing of the beverage and the use of different tools to serve tea. In the last part, Lu quotes from stories about oxidising, preparing and drinking tea, different matters around tea, places of origin, concise statements about types of tea, and – very concise – an outline of the book.

In the first fascicle, Lu Yu explains the characteristics, designations, and quality of tea, the tools for picking leaves and processing tea by oxidation and grinding, the types of teas and their qualities, and their methods of preparation. In the middle fascicle, the book discusses the tools used for brewing and drinking tea, introducing the description of 28 different tea utensils. The last section contains five chapters: the fifth chapter discusses the methods of preparing the beverage and the standards for selecting water; the sixth chapter focuses on the customs and methods of tea drinking; the seventh chapter quotes from ancient texts related to tea, including anecdotes and historical facts. Some of these ancient texts have long been lost and are only seen in Lu Yu's Chajing. The eighth chapter discusses the tea-producing regions and evaluates the quality of tea from each place. The ninth chapter informs the reader which tools for brewing, drinking, and tea processing can be omitted. The tenth chapter, titled "Illustrations" (Shi zhi tu 十之圖), is a kind of summary of the book, imagined to be written on silk and hung up. It never contained actual illustrations.

In spite of its shortness, the Chajing is renowned for its beautiful and concise language. During the Northern Song period 北宋 (960-1126), the book was very popular, and there existed many prints and versions of different lengths. Chen Shidao 陳師道 (1053–1101) rearranged these versions to the transmitted one and added a preface. Original prints of Chen's version have only survived in the series Baichuan xuehai 百川學海. This basic version was again the blueprint for about 25 different versions as identified by Wan Guoding 萬國鼎 (1897–1963). The book was also immensely popular in Japan.

It is included in many series, like Baichuan xuehai, Shuofu 說郛, Tang-Song congshu 唐宋叢書, Xuejin taoyuan 學津討原, Gezhi congshu 格致叢書, Bai mingjia shu 百名家書, Tangren shuohui 唐人說薈, Chongding Xinshangbian 重訂欣賞編, Shanju zazhi 山居雜志, Wuchao xiaoshuo 五朝小說, Wuchao xiaoshuo daguan 五朝小說大觀, Tangdai congshu 唐代叢書 and Siku quanshu 四庫全書.

A commentary and translation into modern Chinese produced by Ouyang Xun 歐陽勛 is included in the Hubei xianzheng yishu 湖北先正遺書, published in 1983 by the Hubei Renmin Press 湖北人民出版社出.

There are several translations of the Chajing into Western languages, for instance, Francis Ross Carpenter (1974), The Classic of Tea (Boston/Toronto: Little, Brown and Co.).

Another book with the title Chajing was written during the Ming period 明 (1368-1644) by Xu Wei 徐渭 (1521–1593), courtesy name Wenchang 文長, Wenqing 文清 or Tianchi 天池, style Qingteng 青藤, from Yinshan 山陰 (today part of Shanxing 紹興, Zhejiang). His book of 1 juan length is quoted in the Zhejiang caiji yishu zonglu 浙江采集遺書總錄. The book catalogue Wenyuanxou cangshu lu 文選樓藏書記 mentions it, along with Xu's book on wine, Jiushi 酒史. It seems that Xu's Chajing consisted of quotations from older texts.

A further Ming-period product was created by Zhang Qiande 張謙德 (1577–1643), who is also known as the author of the history book Mingshanzang 名山藏, the art books Qinghe shuhua fang 清河書畫舫 and Zhenji rilu 真跡日錄, and a book on ornamental fishes, Zhushayu pu 殊砂魚譜. The preface of his Chajing is dated 1596. It consists of three chapters discussing the places of origin, production, colours, fragrances, tastes, methods to identify teas (chapter one), methods of cooking tea, the selection of water, use of coal and vessels, storage, methods to support the enjoyment of the beverage, and issues to be avoided (chapter two), objects related to tea, its preparation, and consumption (chapter three). The text of Zhang's Chajing is found in the series Meishu congshu 美術叢書, where the author's name is Zhang Chou 張丑.

Huang Qin 黃欽, courtesy name Zi'an 子安, from Nancheng 南城, Jiangxi, spent part of his life in the mountainous regions of Xiaoqu Summit 簫曲峰 in the province of Fujian. His book Chajing is mentioned in Huang's biography in the local gazetteer Jianchang fu zhi 建昌府志, and in the bibliographical chapter of the Jiangxi tongzhi 江西通志.

The Chajing of Guo Long 過龍, courtesy name Yuncong 雲從, style Shizu Daoren 十足道人, from Wuxian 吳縣, Jiangsu, is lost. It is mentioned in the bibliographical chapter of the local gazetteer (Tongzhi) Suzhou fu zhi 同治蘇州府志.

Bu chajing 補茶經

Bu chajing 補茶經, also called Chayuan zonglu 茶苑總錄, was a brief book on tea written by Zhou Jiang 周絳, courtesy name Ganchen 干臣, from Liyang 溧陽 in the prefecture of Changzhou 常州. Zhou lived for some time as a Daoist monk, but decided to return to worldly life. In 983, he obtained his jinshi degree and was appointed erudite under the Chamberlain for Ceremonials (taichang boshi 太常博士). Later on he was ministerial vice director (yuanwailiang 員外郎), and then prefect of Changzhou. Around 1010, he was prefect of Jianzhou 建州, and during that time compiled his book on tea.

The book was intended as a supplement to Lu Yu's famous Chajing from the Tang period, particularly referring to tea in the region of River Jianxi 建溪 in what is today the province of Fujian (Jiancha 建茶). Only two sentences survive that are quoted in Wang Xiangzhi's 王象之 (1163—1230) Yudi jisheng 輿地紀勝, and Xiong Fan’s 熊蕃 (early 12th cent.) Xuanhe beiyuan gongcha lu 宣和北苑貢茶錄, respectively. The book is only mentioned in the book catalogue Mishusheng xubian dao siku que shumu 秘書省續編到四庫闕書目. The bibliographical chapter in the official dynastic history Songshi 宋史 lists the book Bu shanjing 補山經, which is perhaps a clerical error for Bu chajing. There was once a commentary by Chen Gui 陳龜 on a book called Bu chajing. Whether this was on Zhou's book or on another text, is not clear.