Daguan chalun 大觀茶論

Daguan chalun 大觀茶論 is a book on tea written by Zhao Jie 趙佶 (1082–1135), i.e., Emperor Huizong 宋徽宗 (r. 1100–1126) of the Song dynasty 宋 (960-1279). Even is Huizong is notorious for his bad governance and the influence of factionalism on his political decisions, he is also admired as a great painter and patron of the arts, to which the preparation of tea belongs. The title of his book includes the title of the reign-period Daguan 大觀 (1107–1110), during which the book was created. The oldest print dates from the late Ming period 明 (1368-1644) as part of the series Chashu shisan zhong 茶書十三種. It is also found in the series Shuofu 說郛 and quoted in Lu Tingcan's 陸廷燦 (c. 1700) Xu chajing 續茶經. The bibliography Junzhai duzhu zhi 郡齋讀書志 lists it with the title Sheng-Song chalun 聖宋茶論.

Each of the 20 chapters is dedicated to one aspect of tea production, preparation and consumption, like places of origin, influence of seasons and weather, plucking, roasting and oxidation, quality assessment, white tea, grinding tools, bowls, sieves, spoons, the importance of tea water, appearance, smell, colour, types, etc. The book is therefore an important document of the tea culture in China during the Northern Song period 北宋 (960-1126).