Chapter II · The Implements: History — 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.”
History
“The bei drying-pit is dug two feet deep, two and…” belongs to a specific moment: Tang tea culture was moving from medicinal and mixed preparations toward a more deliberate way of drinking.
Lu Yu gathered scattered practices into a system: tools, vessels, water, fire, etiquette, and regions. That system is the real subject of the book.
Reading historically keeps us from mistaking one era’s custom for an eternal law of tea.
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.