Session 16—Mon, Oct 3: Tang China ④: Tea practices

Topics

◊ Tea cultivation, crafting, preparataion, consumption, trade during the Tang dynasty

Thoughts—read before class, revisit for tests

Most of the content of this lecture is based on Evans, Tea in China. The comments on cultivation are probably fairly accurate. He says they are based on the Si Shi Zuan Yao (四時纂要). This is a Tang dynasty agricultural work. As an historical document its provenance is pretty solid but it is difficult to tell whether Evans uses it directly or via secondary (Western language) scholarship that summarizes passages.

This lecture is not as on-point with regard to the themes of this course; rather, it tries to give some historical details along the "tea basics" component of this course. I have not marked this topic as a study topic for exams, however, I do this the below key points are important enough to warrant possible inclusion of exams:

Regarding cultivation, techniques are improved and stimulated by Tang state policy (for increased production) and imperial tribute tea.

Regarding crafting, leaves are steam-heated (a type of kill-green process but probably not sophisticated) then mashed, to make tea cakes. These are pierced, sun-dried to some extent, the oven-dried, then stored. This "wet" heating process differs from most Chinese approaches now, but is similar to Japan processing.

Overall, if I would link this to the main topic of the course (history of culture of tea), I think the best way to look at consider how Tang Buddhist practices and the growth of Buddhism in general,Tang imperial sponsorship of tea cultivation, Tang international trade practices, Lu Yu's Cha jing, and technical advances in agriculture and tea cuisine of the time interact to move tea culture far forward.

Required—to be completed for today's session

✓ There is no required reading; however, attendance is recommended since most of this information is accessible only through the lecture.

Multimedia notes

❖ None.

Links

⇢ This article (via MUSE) discusses the role of women in cultivating tea: "Beyond the Paradigm: Tea-picking Women in Imperial China" (Weijing Lu, 2004). It is not exclusively about Tang dynasty practices but includes them.

Other

In preparing this lecture I came across this interesting Wiki Tang Dynasty comment: "Although wrapping paper had been used in China since the 2nd century BC, during the Tang Dynasty the Chinese were using wrapping paper as folded and sewn square bags to hold and preserve the flavor of tea leaves." This cites a work with an appealing title: Joseph Needham, Science and Civilization in China: Volume 5, Chemistry and Chemical Technology, Part 1, Paper and Printing, Taipei: Caves Books 1986. Just sharing.

Links to each session page