Chapter IV · The Vessels: a close reading of the whole chapter
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Chapter IV · The Vessels is a chapter about tea, tools, and judgment. Read it as a sequence of practical judgments.
Passage
“The wind stove is cast of copper or iron, shaped like an ancient tripod.”
The passage is short. The judgment behind it is not.
Passage
“The fu cauldron is made of raw iron. Its inner mold is clay, so the inside is smooth and easy to scour; its outer mold is sand, so the outside is rough and endures the flame.”
The passage is short. The judgment behind it is not.
Passage
“For tea bowls, those of Yuezhou are best, Dingzhou and Wuzhou next; of the Yuezhou type, Yue is finest, then Shouzhou and Hongzhou.”
The passage is short. The judgment behind it is not.
Passage
“For one sheng of boiling water, use one fangcun-spoon of tea powder. If you like it thin, reduce it; if you crave strength, increase it.”
The passage is short. The judgment behind it is not.
Passage
“For the fire, charcoal is best, and sturdy firewood next. Charcoal that has been used for roasting, stained with fat and rankness, as well as resinous wood and rotten utensils, must not be used.”
The passage is short. The judgment behind it is not.
Passage
“For water, mountain spring is best, river next, well lowest. Of mountain springs, choose the milky fountains that seep from rocky pools; avoid rushing, churning torrents.”
The passage is short. The judgment behind it is not.
Passage
“When it first boils, with fish-eye bubbles and a faint sound, that is the first boil; when the rim seethes like linked pearls, the second; when it surges like waves, the third. Beyond this the water is old and undrinkable.”
The passage is short. The judgment behind it is not.
Passage
“When the water first boils, skim off the film that rises on the surface, like black mica; drinking it spoils the flavor.”
The passage is short. The judgment behind it is not.
Passage
“Ladle it with a gourd into the bowls, so that the foam is evenly divided. The foam — the froth — is the flower of the soup.”
The passage is short. The judgment behind it is not.