"Alas! Heaven nurtures all things, and each has its utmost subtlety. Yet what men labor at is only the shallow and easy. They dwell in houses, and houses are refined to the utmost;
"When the water first boils — with bubbles like fish eyes and a faint sound — that is the first boil. When bubbles rise along the rim like a linked string of spring pearls, that is
"The good and ill of tea rest in the transmitted oral formula."
"The chuan string is made in Jiangdong and Huainan from split bamboo, and in Bashan and the gorges from twisted mulberry-bark. In Jiangdong one jin is a large string, half a jin a
"The finest ginseng grows in Shangdang, middling in Baekje and Silla, and inferior in Goguryeo. That grown in Zezhou, Yizhou, Youzhou, and Tanzhou is useless as medicine — let alon
"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
"In Huainan Circuit, Guangzhou is best, Yiyang and Shuzhou next, Shouzhou lower, and Qizhou and Huangzhou lowest."
"For tea of rare freshness and rich fragrance, pour but three bowls; for that of the second grade, five. With five guests, serve three bowls; with seven, five. With fewer than six,
"The finest powder is fine as rice-grains; the inferior is coarse as water-chestnuts."
"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."