Ep. 140-5 | The Classic of Tea

In this fourth installment of the history of tea, we finally make it to the immortal Tea Saint. Lu Yu 陆羽. What Elvis was to rock n' roll, Lu Yu was to the popularity of tea in Chinese society. Here we'll look at his interesting life and his work, "The Classic of Tea" 茶经. From here on out, tea 茶 is no longer tú 荼, and neither is it bitter.

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Terms in Episode

Pinyin/Term	Chinese	English/Meaning
Lù Yǔ	陆羽	The Tea Saint, and author of the Classic of Tea. He lived 733-804
Chá Jīng	茶经	The Classic of Tea
Ěr Yǎ	尔雅	The first surviving Chinese dictionary
jiǎ	槚	Another early name for tea
chuǎn	荈	Another early name for tea
chá	茶	The character for tea decided on during the Tang Dynasty
Shén Nóng	神农	The Divine Farmer, an ancient mythological figure of Chinese pre-history, credited with (among many other things) the discovery of tea.
Bā Shǔ	巴蜀	The two ancient states located down in present-day Sichuan province
Sìchuān	四川	Province located in southwest China
Zhōu Gōng	周公	Duke of Zhōu, son of King Wen and brother to King Wu of Zhou
Zhōu	周朝	Dynasty in China that lasted from about 1046 to 256 BCE. In 771 BCE the dyansty entered a new phase called The Spring & Autumn Period and Warring States Period.
Hàn	汉朝	Chinese dynasty that lasted from 202 BCE to 220 CE
Jìn	晋朝	Chinese dynasty that lasted from 266 to 420 CE
Cháng’ān	长安	Capital of several dynasties, located in present day Xian, Shaanxi Province
Yán Zhēnqīng	颜真卿	Chinese calligrapher, military general, and politician. Lived from 709–785. he had a great influence on Lu Yu
Hóngzhì Emperor	弘治帝	Ming Dynasty emperor who reigned 1407-1505
Zhìjī Chánshī	智积禅师	Abbot Zhìjī of Lónggài Monastery, Lu Yu's adoptive father
Dézōng Emperor	唐德宗	Tang emperor who reigned 779-805
Yángzhōu	扬州	City in Jiangsu Province on the north bank f the Yangzi River
Nánlǐng River	南凌河	River in northern Jiangsu, renowned in its day for its high quality water
Nánběi Cháo	南北朝	The Northern and Southern Dynasties period
Suí	隋朝	A period in Chinese history that was placed in between the Jin and Sui dynasties and lasted from 386-589
Lǐ Shìmín	李世民	The personal name of the Táng Tàizōng 唐太宗 emperor
Yuè ware	越器	As the first fine glazed Chinese wares with no toxicity problems from the glazing, Yue ware begins the classic tradition of Chinese ceramics used for serving food and drinking wine or tea.
Xíng ware	邢窑	is a type of Chinese ceramics produced in Hebei province, most notably during the Tang dynasty.
Héběi	河北	Province in northern China
Yuèzhōu	岳州	City in Zhejiang famous for Yue ware
Tiānmén	天门	City in Hubei. The hometown of Lu Yu
Luk Yu Tea House	陸羽茶室	Famous tea house and dim sum restaurant located on Stanley Street, in the Central area of Hong Kong, established in 1933.
Huīzōng	宋徽宗	Second to the last emperor of the Northern Song whose poor leadership led to the fall of the dynasty in 1127. It was reconstituted down in Hangzhou later and lived on as the Southern Song.

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