茶经茶經
Term · History
The Classic of Tea
Literal meaning
tea + classic/canon
Definition#
Lu Yu’s eighth-century treatise on tea, transmitted in three juan and ten chapters. It covers the plant, production implements, manufacture, preparing and drinking vessels, boiling, drinking, earlier records, producing regions, permissible omissions and displaying the text. Its detailed cake-tea prescriptions coexist with reports of other preparations. Read Tea classics for the received editions, chapter guide and historical limits.
Translation and usage#
| Language | Use | Alternatives & cautions |
|---|---|---|
| English | The Classic of Tea Lu Yu's 8th-century tea treatise translation |
Also acceptable
Avoid Tea Sutra 经 here means a canonical classic, not a Buddhist sutra |
| Deutsch | Chajing Lu Yus Teetraktat der Tang-Zeit pinyin with a gloss |
Also acceptable
|
| Русский | «Чайный канон» трактат Лу Юя эпохи Тан calque |
Also acceptable
|
| 简体字 | 茶经 | |
| 繁體字 | 茶經 | |
| 日本語 | 『茶経』 |
Common confusions#
- Composition date is quoted inconsistently (760–762, c. 760, 778, 760–780); give a range, not a single year.
- Babelcarp lists a homophone 茶菁 chájīng (raw tea leaf before withering); do not confuse with the book title.
- Its tea is Tang cake tea boiled with salt (see jiancha), not steeped loose leaf; quotations from it are often read as if describing modern brewing.