Chapter II · The Implements: Close reading — The bei drying-pit is dug two feet deep, two and…
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The passage
“The bei drying-pit is dug two feet deep, two and a half feet wide, and one zhang long. Above it a low wall two feet high is built and plastered with clay.”
Close reading
In Chapter II · The Implements, 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 “The bei drying-pit is dug two feet deep, two and…”. 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.