Chapter VII · The History: a close reading of the whole chapter
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Chapter VII · The History is a chapter about tea, tools, and judgment. Read it as a sequence of practical judgments.
Passage
“Among the Three Sovereigns, Shennong the Fiery Emperor; of the Zhou, the Duke of Zhou Dan of Lu; Yan Ying, prime minister of Qi; and of the Han, the immortals Dan Qiu-zi and Huangshan Jun.”
The passage is short. The judgment behind it is not.
Passage
“Shennong’s Classic of Food says: ‘Long use of cha and ming makes a person strong and gladens the spirit.’”
The passage is short. The judgment behind it is not.
Passage
“Yan Ying, when minister to Duke Jing of Qi, ate only husked-rice meals, with three roast game birds, five eggs, and tea-leaf vegetable.”
The passage is short. The judgment behind it is not.
Passage
“Sima Xiangru’s Fanyang pian lists among drugs wu-hui, jiegeng, yuanhua, kuandong, beimu, mubo, lou, qincao, shaoyao, gui, loulu, feilian, chuan-cha, bailian, baizhi, changpu, mangxiao, guan, jiao, and zhuyu.”
The passage is short. The judgment behind it is not.
Passage
“When Emperor Hui of Jin, fleeing in the dust, returned to Luoyang, the eunuch presented tea in an earthen bowl to the Son of Heaven.”
The passage is short. The judgment behind it is not.
Passage
“In the Jin, Lu Na, governor of Wuxing, when Xie An came to call, set out only tea and fruit.”
The passage is short. The judgment behind it is not.
Passage
“Zuo Si’s poem The Doting Daughters reads: ‘Their hearts race for the tea, they puff and blow upon the tripod.’”
The passage is short. The judgment behind it is not.
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.’”
The passage is short. The judgment behind it is not.
Passage
“In the Search for the Supernatural: Xia Houkai died of illness; his kinsman Gou Nu, who could see spirits, watched him come to fetch his horse and afflict his wife. Wearing a flat kerchief and single robe, he entered and sat on the great bed by the west wall where he had sat in life, and asked people for tea.”
The passage is short. The judgment behind it is not.