A brief description of Datang tea culture
Wen Jingming
I. Introduction
The strange thing is that the history books are inexhaustible, so the colored pen will compose strange texts. This is the verse of "Romance of the Sui and Tang Dynasties: The First Chapter". Chinese tea culture is profound, prosperous, is the crystallization of the Chinese nation's diligence and wisdom, but also because there has always been a literati and scholars, color pen composing strange texts, leaving a vast literature about the cultivation of tea, tea art and tea ceremony, entertainment exchanges, scriptures and calligraphy and paintings, poems and songs, but its origin is all based on the Tang Dynasty. This article summarizes what he says, and makes a slight derivation of the Tang tea culture to show the clues.
Speaking of the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD), it was the peak period of ancient China's political, economic and cultural development, and the poetry, painting, ** and dance of the Tang Dynasty reached a very high level, and many outstanding cultural celebrities such as Du Fu, Li Bai, Wang Wei, etc. also lived in the Tang Dynasty. The Tang Dynasty was also an important period in the development of Buddhism, which was widely spread in society and also had a profound impact on tea culture. The formation of tea culture was also in the Tang Dynasty.
Second, the foundation of tea culture
China is the birthplace of the world's tea culture, and the advent of the Tang Dynasty tea scholar Lu Yu's "Book of Tea" marked the formation of tea culture.
Lu Yu (c. 733 - c. 804), famous disease, the word Hongchang. Lu Yu lived in seclusion in Tiaoxi (now Huzhou, Zhejiang) and wrote three volumes of the Book of Tea, which discussed the characteristics, quality, origin, planting, harvesting, cooking, and utensils of tea, and became the world's first tea monograph. The Book of Tea laid the theoretical foundation of tea culture, pioneered the spirit of Chinese tea ceremony, and was a symbol of the formation of Chinese tea culture, making outstanding contributions to the development of China's tea industry and the world's tea industry.
Lu Yu's "Book of Tea" cloud: "Tea is drinking, originating from Shennong's, smelling in Lu Zhougong, Qi has Yan Ying, Han has Yangxiong, Sima Xiangru, Wu has Wei Yao, Jin has Liu Kun, Zhang Zai, Yuan Zuna, Xie An, Zuo Si's disciples, all drink. It is soaked in customs, flourishing in the national dynasty, and the two are in the middle of Jingyu, thinking that it is the drink of the house. ”
* Tea as a drink, originated in Shennong (Emperor Yan), Zhou Gongdan (in the Zhou Dynasty) made a record of the famous in the world, the Spring and Autumn Period of Qi Yan Ying, the Han Dynasty Yang Xiong, Sima Xiangru, the Three Kingdoms period of Wu Wei Yao, the Jin Dynasty Liu Kun, Zhang Zai, Yuan Zuna, Xie An, Zuo Si and others all like to drink tea. The Xi of drinking tea is like abundant rain soaking the customs, forming a general custom, which reached its peak in the Tang Dynasty, and in Chang'an, Luoyang, Jingzhou, and Yuzhou, every household drank tea.
Tea originated in the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau and was later introduced to Sichuan along the river. Mengding Mountain, the southwest edge of the Sichuan Basin, is the earliest place in the world to artificially plant tea, as early as the Western Han Dynasty, Wu Lizhen, who is respected as the ancestor of tea, began to plant tea trees in Mengding Mountain in the Mingshan District. During the Tang Xuanzong period, Mengding mountain tea was listed as tribute tea.
Before the Eastern Han Dynasty, tea culture was still in its infancy, mainly in an extensive way of eating tea, and there was no special tea furniture. In the Sui and Tang dynasties, with the popularity of tea in all classes, people began to pay attention to the ritual sense of drinking tea. From the classic tea painting "Tang Dynasty Palace Music Picture", you can see the graceful and luxurious ladies and exquisite court furniture, the palace ladies play and play music next to the long table, and the delicate tea cups are placed on the table. It can be seen that the Tang Dynasty court tea banquet has become a part of people's leisure and cultural life, and sencha has also become the main way to drink tea at that time.
Since the Western Jin Dynasty, Chinese tea culture has quietly opened its prelude. However, until the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the main drink of the Chinese people was still wine, tea did not occupy a prominent position, after entering the Tang Dynasty, the tea production area was further expanded, with the development of tea production, tea drinking Xi was further popularized, since 780 AD Lu Yu wrote the book "Tea Classic", tea culture has prospered and developed, beginning to take shape. Although there is no superiority between tea and wine, it is clear that they are already going hand in hand.
3. Tea prose is unique in the world
Of course, in the Tang Dynasty, wine and poetry were so brilliant and glorious to future generations. For example, this Wang Wei's poem, the young man is flamboyant, in the spring breeze, and the spirit is the king's drink:
Xinfeng wine fights ten thousand, how many years has Xianyang Ranger.
The meeting spirit is the king's drink, and the horse is a high-rise weeping willow side.
Of course, Li Bai's poem "Will Enter the Wine" is even more sprinkling, proud of the spring breeze, famous all over the world, and a household name. "You don't see, the water of the Yellow River comes up from the sky, rushes to the sea and never returns." "Life must be happy, don't make the gold bottle empty to the moon. I am born to be useful, and my daughter will come back when I am gone. "In the long river of time, youth and self-confidence, poetry and fine wine, make people's blood gush and high-spirited, this is the atmosphere of Datang.
However, in the first year of Yongzhen (805), on a day of spring breeze and Xi to eliminate the fierce sacrifice, this day was the Shangsi Festival on March 3, and Lü Wen, who had served as a leftover and sent an envoy to Tubo as a servant of Yushi (diplomat, about from Liupin), drank with his friends, and among the guests were Nanyang Zou Zi, Gaoyang Xu Hou, and two or three talented people. Friends set aside the flowers, followed the steps, sat in the shade of the courtyard trees, some lay down to the mist, and some sat and climbed the fragrant flower branches. The yellow warbler chirped, approached the seat without flying, and the red stamens sprinkled on everyone's clothes could not bear to bounce off.
What is drunk on the day is not the wine in the qushui liuzhen, but the tea instead of wine, sencha drinking, fragrant foam (coarse powder tea) floating in a plain cup, the color of the tea soup is agglutinated like amber, although the elixir and jade liquid, it is nothing more than that. At this time, Lu Wen was like Wang Xizhi who wrote the "Lanting Collection Preface", and he took advantage of the excitement to write the article "Preface to the Tea Banquet on March 3rd".
Lü Wen was not famous in later generations, but in the Tang Dynasty he was a friend of Liu Zongyuan, Liu Yuxi, Yuan Zhi and others, and it is said that he turned out to be Lü Dongbin's uncle. Shi Zai Lu Wen has a simple materialist view of history, progressive democratic thoughts, honest and honest political style, is a practical spirit of doers, he once worshiped the official department Langzhong (from the five products), he is also a talented writer and tea man. introduced Lu Wenqi people, and now let's look at the original text of his tea banquet preface, the text says:
March 3rd, the day of the last drink. The princes agreed to drink tea instead. It is to set up flowers, rest in the shade, the breeze chases people, the sun stays happy, the fingers are green and haze, and the incense branches are climbed. The idle warbler approached the table but did not fly, and the red stamen brushed its clothes but did not disperse. It is ordered to drink incense foam, floating vegetarian cups, and condense the color of amber, which is not intoxicating, and slightly feels thoughtful. Although the five clouds of fairy syrup, there is no repetition. The motto geniuses Nanyang Zou Zi, Gaoyang Xu Hou, and the second and third sons are rewards outside the dust, and 曷 (hé how) is not poetic. ”
It can be seen in the text that drinking tea in the Tang Dynasty was not only a kind of life, but also a kind of culture. People have been very particular about the environment, etiquette, operation methods and other tea drinking rituals of drinking tea, and there are some customary rules and rituals. The literati tasted life, cultivated themselves, devoted themselves to transcendence, and expressed their feelings through the tea tasting activity of "not intoxicating, slightly conscious and clear".
The tea banquet is elegant, so why drink it!Lu Wen's text vividly describes the origin of the tea banquet, the beautiful environment, the elegant atmosphere and the wonderful charm of tea tasting, which is the only tea banquet prose in the "Quantang Wen", and has become a famous prose that has been passed down through the ages.
Fourth, the tea poetry meeting
During the Tang Dynasty, poetry and wine and tea also flourished. Especially from the Sheng Tang Dynasty to the Middle Tang Dynasty, poetry and tea have become a kind of scribe's Xi, telling the literati's love for tea, lamenting the circumstances of life, embellishing the taste of life, and inspiring poets.
Du Fu's "Heavy Than He's Five Songs" No. 3 wrote:
On the sunset platform, when the spring breeze sipps tea.
The stone is obliquely dotted with a pen, and the paulownia leaf sits on the inscription poem.
Emerald ringing clothes truss, dragonfly standing fishing line.
Since today's prosperity, there is no time to come and go.
This is the spring of the thirteenth year of Xuanzong Tianbao of the Tang Dynasty (754), when the poet Du Fu lived in Chang'an (now Xi'an), he went to the mountains and forests of General He again to play the third group of poems. The poet said: In the evening of the spring breeze, General He hosted a tea banquet on the platform to entertain me. At this time, the jade bird is singing on the hanging wooden robe, the dragonfly stands on the fishing silk line in the distance, the environment is leisurely and elegant, I lean on the stone fence, point the ink pen, the paulownia leaf shades the wind, and sit up to write a poem. The poet sighed nostalgically, meet today, taste tea and inscribe poems, leisurely, return happy, and come and go again I am afraid that it is far away!
Tang Wei Yingwu "Tea Life in the Joy Garden" Yongcha:
Cleanliness can not be dirty, for drinking dust trouble.
This thing believes in the spiritual taste, and it comes from the mountains.
Talking about the rest of the county, he planted a deserted garden.
I like to grow with the grass, and I have to talk to the ghost.
The poet wrote: The character of tea is noble and cannot be polluted, and the main purpose of drinking tea is to get rid of the troubles of customers. The taste of tea is pure and natural spirituality, and it grows in the pristine forest wilderness. In his free time to deal with work, he led a group of subordinates to plant tea gardens in barren mountains. My mood is also the same as that of tea trees growing in the mountains, forests and grasslands, I like to be at peace with what happens, if anyone understands the principles of life, talk to me, a person who is far away from the world.
By describing the character, efficacy, taste, growth environment, love of tea, tea planting and philosophical aspects of tea, the author reflects the author's image and love for tea.
The great poet Bai Juyi of the Tang Dynasty loved wine and did not like tea, and was accompanied by tea all day long, and even loved tea like an idiot. According to statistics, he wrote more than 60 poems about tea in his life, and he was the first person to keep pace with tea and wine in the poetry world. Here is a song of Bai Juyi's five uniques "Mountain Spring Sencha with Arms" for tea lovers:
Sit and drink the water
Look at the frying dust.
There is no reason to hold a bowl
Send it to tea lovers.
In the poem, "Sese" is blue, and "dust" refers to the coarse tea powder after grinding, because the Chinese tea in the Tang Dynasty is powder tea, that is, matcha, so it is described as dust.
Tang Dynasty poets Li Bai, Pi Rixiu, Du Mu, Meng Haoran, Liu Yuxi, etc. have written tea poems, the Tang Dynasty is really a tea poetry meeting, a hundred flowers bloom, do not lose wine fairy wine poems, here are no longer one by one.
Fifth, Zen tea taste
Tea and Buddhism in the Tang Dynasty were closely related, and almost all temples suitable for planting tea trees had their own tea gardens, and each temple would also set up a tea hall to worship the Buddha with tea. In the middle and late Tang dynasties, the rules about tea ceremonies gradually appeared in the Qing rules of monasteries. Buddhism usually believes that tea has three virtues, one is to refresh and not sleep when meditating, and the other is to help digestion when the stomach is full after eatingThe third is to calm down when desires are disturbed.
For Zen Buddhism, clear mind and insight are necessary lessons for monks, and tea represents an artistic conception that can be used to express the law, and when tea and Buddha are combined, the verse "tea Zen taste" is formed. This is the first to be seen in the Zen family case of "eating tea". Tang Zhaozhou learned from the tea drinking of the Zen master (sběn), which made the "Zen tea taste" famous all over the world, and made the tea tasting in later generations have a lofty fashion charm.
According to legend, there are monks who visited Zhaozhou Zen Master Cong, asked him Zen, and asked from Zen Master"Have you ever been here?The monk replied"Arrived. "From the Tan answer:"Eat tea and go. "Another monk came to ask Zen and asked:"Have you ever been here?"Answer:"Didn't come. "From the saying:"Eat tea and go. "The master of the courtyard was puzzled, so he asked:"He said'Arrived. 'with'Never arrived'All said'Eat tea and go. '?"Cong Tan didn't explain, only shouted the courtyard master, and the courtyard master replied "Yes", and Cong Tan still said"Eat tea and go. "。
This kind of call and response is a kind of unnamed Zen machine that directly points to the human heart, and without discrimination, there will be no trapping in Xi and obsession, and the enlightened person will realize it immediately and thus increase wisdom. Since then,"Eat tea and go. "with"Zhaozhou tea"It has become a famous allusion, appeared in many public case stories, and also opened"Zen tea taste"of precedents.
In short, the Tang Dynasty was the culmination of tea culture formed in the course of tea drinking activities thousands of years before the Tang Dynasty, including tea books, tea ceremonies, tea virtues, tea spirits, tea sets, tea poems, tea paintings, tea stories, etc., which cannot be fully described.
Tea has been with us for thousands of years, a cup of tea, a wisp of fragrance, health care, pleasant mind, so that people's lives are full of endless fun.
The Tang Dynasty opened a precedent for tea culture, and the splendid culture of the Tang Dynasty is a monument in the hearts of the Chinese!
About the Author:Jing Mingshi is the deputy chief physician of traditional Chinese medicine. A native of Gulang County, Gansu Province. He graduated from Beijing University of Chinese Medicine in 1982 with a bachelor's degree, and has worked in many hospitals such as Beijing Anding Hospital and Jingmian Group Hospital for 40 years. ** And popular science articles are scattered in "Tianjin Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine", "Sichuan Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine", "Chinese Hospital Management", "Journal of Electroencephalography and Neuropsychiatry" and other magazines, as well as health newspapers, medicine and health care newspapers and other academic journals. Since his retirement in 2015, he has been rehired to work in the Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine of 82 Center in Chaoyang District, Beijing. Occasionally, the work is published in **.