Chapter VII · The History: Practice today — Wang Meng of Jin loved tea, and pressed it on…

Photo: Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 4.0

The passage

“Wang Meng of Jin loved tea, and pressed it on every visitor; the officials dreaded it, and whenever they meant to call they would say, ‘Today we must suffer the water-calamity.’”

Practice today

Bring “Wang Meng of Jin loved tea, and pressed it on…” to a modern table through one concrete session: choose water, heat it, warm the vessel, measure leaf, pour, and notice.

You do not need Tang-style pressed tea or expensive utensils. Start with clean water, a sensible temperature, and a clean finish.

The point of reading is not nostalgia. It is a better question at the tea table.

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.