Chapter I · The Origin: Close reading — Tea is a fine and noble tree of the South…
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The passage
“Tea is a fine and noble tree of the South. It may stand one or two feet tall, or reach many dozens of feet. In the mountain gorges of Bashan, there are trees so thick that two men can barely encircle them; one must cut the boughs and pick the leaves from below.”
Close reading
In Chapter I · The Origin, this passage works as a definition rather than a decoration. It sets the terms that the rest of the chapter will use.
The key phrase is “Tea is a fine and noble tree of the South…”. Read it slowly: what is being described, what is being judged, and what is being left out?
A close reading asks not only what the sentence says, but what it assumes about tea, tools, and the person drinking it.
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.