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Zhuquan xiaopin 煮泉小品

Jun 20, 2013 © Ulrich Theobald

Zhuquan xiaopin 煮泉小品 "A small classification of boiling source waters (for tea)" is a book on water for cooking tea compiled by the Ming period 明 (1368-1644) scholar Tian Yiheng 田藝蘅, courtesy name Tian Ziyi 田子藝. He came from Qiantang 錢塘 (modern Hangzhou 杭州, Zhejiang) and was a teacher in a local school in Ningxian 寧縣. For his wide knowledge and high education he was compared to Yang Shen 楊慎. His collected writings are called Daming tongwen ji 大明同文集.
The short Zhuquan xiaopin assesses the quality of water used for cooikng tea. The waters are divided into ten different kinds: sources (yuanquan 源泉), stony creeks (shiliu 石流), cold and clear waters (qinghan 清寒), sweet and fragant water (ganxiang 甘香), waters befitting to tea (yicha 宜茶), numinous water (lingshui 靈水), extraordinary wells (yiquan 異泉), riverine waters (jiangshui 江水) and waters from wells (jingshui 井水). The last chapter (Xutan 緒談) is a final discussion. More than half of the book consists of quotations from ancient writings, and the author does actually not add any novelties in his arguments. The Zhuquan xiaopin was owned by the library of the Imperial Household Department. It is included in the reprint series Chongding Xinshangbian 重訂欣賞編, Baoyantang miji 寶顏堂秘笈, Xianqing xiaopin 閒情小品, Shuofu 說郛 and Shuoku 說庫.

Source:
Li Xueqin 李學勤, Lü Wenyu 呂文郁, eds. (1996). Siku da cidian 四庫大辭典 (Changchun: Jilin daxue chubanshe), Vol. 2, 1863.
蜀漢 (221-263)