At the time of the "Warring States" at the end of the Chou Dynasty, the Emperor Chichinkung usot to drink cup of (ca after hig mils, "and there wore many famous tea drinkers the time of the Han Emperors, che Dest known of whom war St the time of the Chin Emperors, the usurper Fan Wen was noted for his meaness towards his gusts. and only supplied seven different kinds of things for their entertainment, ano of which was ten.
Ssu T of the Tang Dynasty describes less than sixteen different methods fof boiling water for the making of fea and the effects upon the quality of the tea. produced. As Is. usual with the ola Chinese writers, he goes nto great detail and. differentiates with "much ingenuity the" various methods employed. Though he writes with all seriousness, it is dificult. times not to be amused, ug for instance when he speaks of the Waltany, tea" made from stolen water. and bolled on a stove frod with branche of trees (presumably stolen), The most celebrated of all authorlties on tea, however, Is Lu Vu, who lived during the Tang Dynasty and whose three chronicles on the subject Jare looked upon as authoritative by all tea dealers, who acknowledge him fs their patron saint. He argued (hat tea is better than the doctor for dis Pelting 5 a cooling effect upon the body, and four or five cups will drive away depression fatigue. He goes into great detail with regard to the growing of the trees and the preparation of the eaves, and states what Instruments should be. used and the precautions that must be taken when' the tea is actually made, 'He also said that there are five different kinds of ten trees, and that the wild variety produces' the best eaves. According to him it. takes throe years for the trees to come 10 maturity, and. those grown on. the south side of a hill are belter. than those grown on the north side, the leaves of the latter being apt to case indigestion, Leaves picked before or after the proper season are Injurfous, as. well those which are improperly picked or adulterated, "The leaves should be picked in the second, third and fourth months and when the weather Is fine, a wet or cloudy atmosphere has a bad effect upon them. "The tea should be Kept In alt-tight boxes, while the lulensils used in. the preparation of the leaves should as far as possible bbe made of bamboo, "Like Ssu I, he indulges in a love for detail and this is given full play his descriptions of the different shapes of the leaves, of which there ave said fo be no less than 10,000. different kinds. "He assures his readers that some of them are shaped like the boots of foreigners, while he compared others to. clouds coming out from behind the hills, According to him, an iron stove burning charcoal' should be used when bolling water for making tea, while the best kettles are those made of cast-iron, Teapots should be rough outside and smooth Inside ae rough exteriors are easily heated, while If (Continued on page 314)
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.