«Ode to Tea» of Du Yu as a historical source on tea culture in early medieval China | Tomsk State University Journal of History. 2013. № 6 (26).

«Ode to Tea» of Du Yu as a historical source on tea culture in early medieval China

The period of Western dynasty Jin in China is considered to be a turbulent period which traditionally has an uncertain reputation. On the one hand, orthodox Confucian historiography shows this period as a period of unceasing degradation of public morality of the nation, but on the other hand, historical sources show this period as a time of deep transformation of Chinese society which was followed by a great cultural growth. This was the time when Chinese tea culture emerged and started to develop. The «Ode to Tea» or «Chuan fu» of Western Jin poet Du Yu (?—311) is not only the first known literary work devoted particularly to tea, but also a historical source of great importance. Du Yu in his Ode with grace and exclusive literary style tells us about the environment where tea is growing, about how and when farmers pick the leaves, what water and utensils to use, how to enjoy tea and the effect tea has on the one drinking it. The interpretation of the Ode shows us how deep tea culture was rooted in Chinese culture even at the time of Western Jin. It was not just temporally specific, it evolved out of the spirit of time and place. And if we put this tea culture into the context and cultural background it was developing in we shall find it very clearly that even at that time tea culture was already an essential part of Chinese culture. The Ode to start with the description of the Ling Mountains, where in the rich and moisturised by the rains soil tea trees grow on the western side of the mountain. Ling Mountains are considered to be holy mountains for both Taoist and Buddhist traditions. Ling Mountains in Taoist literature are Lianlai Mountains in Jiangsu province. Buddhist call Ling Mountains Lingjiu Mountains in Sichuan province. We do not have any clue which mountains exactly Du Yu is talking about, so we cannot link it with any of this religious connotations. Then the author tells us that early Autumn farmers are very busy looking for the trees and picking leaves. The fact that farmers pick early autumn leaves is very interesting: in different literary sources we meet the division into spring and autumn tea, the first one to be called Tu and the second Ming or Chuan. This line says that at the time of Du Yu this division was already known. Extending this assumption, the correct translation of name of the Ode must be «Ode to autumn tea» or «Ode to the latter picked tea». Then Du Yu says that to make tea one is to scoop the water form the clean current of river Min Mountains. Min Mountains is a mountain range on the border territory of modern provinces of Sichuan and Gansu. The attention to the clear waters is symptomatic itself: non of later tea related literary works underestimate the importance of proper water to make tea on. Then the author tells us that choosing tea ware one must choose the ceramic pot from the East and use a gourd to serve the tea the way Duke Liu did. This passage is to show the reader that the spirit of tea is of simplicity. This passage is especially important if consider the time the Ode was composed. It was a time when rich families were competing in who was more wealthy, who could spend more money on food for one day. Tea was a symbol of opposition to this, as a symbol of simplicity and moral uprightness. Next two rows tell us how beautiful the tea that was just made, with thick foam on the top. This sentiment is essential for the tea lovers of all times and is to be found in any later tea related literary work. And in the end Du Yu describes the effect tea has on the body and mind of the one who is drinking it. This is but another very important sentiment that is connected to the belief that the tea is a kind of medicine. Though the «Ode to Tea» was the first work on tea, it contains all the major sentiments that are to be praised by the later tea lovers.

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Keywords

династия Западная Цзин, чайная культура, «Ода чаю», Western dynasty Jin, tea culture, «Ode to Tea»

Authors

NameOrganizationE-mail
Shvedov M.N.Tomsk State Universityshvedovmax@gmail.com
Всего: 1

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 «Ode to Tea» of Du Yu as a historical source on tea culture in early medieval China | Tomsk State University Journal of History. 2013. № 6 (26).

«Ode to Tea» of Du Yu as a historical source on tea culture in early medieval China | Tomsk State University Journal of History. 2013. № 6 (26).

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