Chapter IV · The Vessels: Misreadings — When the water first boils, skim off the film that…
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The passage
“When the water first boils, skim off the film that rises on the surface, like black mica; drinking it spoils the flavor.”
Misreadings
The most common misreading of “When the water first boils, skim off the film that…” is to treat a Tang observation as a universal rule.
“Wild is better than garden” made sense in a particular landscape and market. It is not a law that every modern tea garden is inferior.
Ask instead: what was the observation responding to, and what part of it still holds?
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.