Chapter II · The Implements: Text and editions — The yu storage cabinet is made of wood, woven of…
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The passage
“The yu storage cabinet is made of wood, woven of bamboo, and pasted with paper. It has a shelf inside, a cover above, a base below, and a door at the side, with one panel shut. Within is placed a vessel holding smoldering charcoal, kept gently warm. During the plum rains of Jiangnan, it is fired to drive off dampness.”
Text and editions
The textual history of the Classic of Tea matters because small variants can change how we picture a tool, a process, or a region.
A collation note is not a footnote for specialists alone. It tells us which parts of the text were stable and which were reshaped by later editors.
Read variants with a simple test: does the difference change the practice, or only the wording? Focus on the first.
Reading note
Read the passage once for the image, once for the judgment, and once for the practice it implies.
Practice
- Name one thing the passage asks you to notice.
- Compare it with a tea you know.
- Keep the question open.