Tea in the Tang and Song Dynasties

Tea evolution didn’t just happen, each era or dynasty contributed something to what we know today as tea and tea culture. After the budding stage and the growing stage, in this video Edward focused on the tea in the Tang and Song dynasties to see how tea evolved to drink neatly. Chinese art pieces and cultural history will also be illustrated. Lu Yu’s influences on tea: 茶始有字: There was the first specific character/name for tea, Cha (茶); 茶始有书: He wrote the first treatise on tea, The classics of tea (茶经)； 茶始边销: Tea began to sell to nearby tribes, to export tea as a trade; 茶始有税: Government first put a tax on tea. Lu Yu's book, [The classics of tea], consists of 10 chapters, which made it the most classical tea book: Origin, characteristics, names and qualities of tea (一之源) Tools for plucking and processing tea (二之具) Tea varieties, plucking and processing methods (三之造) Utensils for brewing and drinking tea (四之器) Methods for preparing tea and the water of various places (五之煮) Habits of actual drinking (六之饮) Historical stories about tea discovery and tea plantations (七之事) Tea regions and their comparison (八之出) Utensils which may be omitted to simplify tea (九之略） Illustration and how to copy this book (十之图) Especially in the sixth chapter, he concluded all elements required for a perfect of tea as the nine difficulties for a perfect cup (茶有九难): Processing, Reviewing, Utensils, Heating, Water, Roasting, Grinding, Boiling, Drinking (茶有九难：一曰造，二曰别，三曰器，四曰火，五曰水，六曰炙，七曰末，八曰煮，九曰饮). Most of them still matter in the tea appreciating nowadays.