Lu Yu (陸羽, c. 733–804 CE), known as the “Sage of Tea” (茶聖, Chá Shèng), was a Tang Dynasty scholar whose Cha Jing (茶經, “Classic of Tea”), written approximately 760 CE, became the world’s first systematic treatise on tea — covering cultivation, water selection, processing equipment, brewing technique, and the cultural philosophy of tea — influencing Chinese and East Asian tea culture for over 1,200 years.
In-Depth Explanation
The Cha Jing consists of ten chapters (juan) covering the full spectrum of tea knowledge as understood in mid-Tang China:
| Chapter | Content |
|---|---|
| 1 — Origin (源, yuán) | The tea plant — botany, classification, and growing conditions |
| 2 — Tools (具, jù) | Equipment for processing raw leaf |
| 3 — Making (造, zào) | Tea processing methods of the Tang era |
| 4 — Vessels (器, qì) | 24 items of tea brewing and serving equipment |
| 5 — Boiling (煮, zhǔ) | Water selection, fire, and the three boiling stages |
| 6 — Drinking (飲, yǐn) | History of tea drinking and early customs |
| 7 — Matters (事, shì) | Historical records and anecdotes |
| 8 — Producing Regions (出, chū) | Geographic survey of Tang-era tea regions, quality-ranked |
| 9 — Simplification (略, lüè) | Conditions under which equipment may be simplified |
| 10 — Illustrations (圖, tú) | Illustrated chart for display (now lost) |
Lu Yu’s brewing philosophy: The Cha Jing codifies compressed cake tea (not loose leaf — that came later) boiled in three stages, salted, and served in a manner emphasizing simplicity, attentiveness, and appreciation of quality differences across water sources and origins. Lu Yu famously ranked water sources — mountain springs highest, river water second, well water lowest — and advocated always using clean, fresh water.
Tang tea vs. modern tea: The tea of Lu Yu’s era would be unrecognizable to a modern tea drinker. Leaves were processed into compressed cakes, roasted over charcoal, ground into powder, mixed with cold water, and then boiled — often with added salt, ginger, or other seasonings. The aesthetic relationship with tea — mindfulness, quality attention, cultural elevation — is what persisted and shaped all subsequent East Asian tea culture.
Orphan background: Lu Yu’s personal biography adds to his legendary status. He was abandoned as an infant on the bank of a river in Jingling (modern Tianmen, Hubei) and raised by a Buddhist monk, Zhiji, at a temple where tea was cultivated. He ran away from monastic life to pursue scholarship and theatrical arts before dedicating himself to tea study, reportedly traveling widely across Tang tea-producing regions over more than a decade of direct field research before writing the Cha Jing.
Related Terms
See Also
- Gongfu Cha Culture — the later Chinese tea culture tradition influenced by the Cha Jing’s elevation of tea appreciation
- Chanoyu — the Japanese tea ceremony that traces philosophical lineage to Tang-era Chinese tea culture
Research
- Carpenter, F.R. (trans.) (1974). The Classic of Tea: Origins & Rituals. Ecco Press. Complete English translation of the Cha Jing with scholarly annotations — the standard English-language reference for Lu Yu’s work.
- Blofeld, J. (1985). The Chinese Art of Tea. Allen & Unwin. Places Lu Yu’s contributions in the broader context of Tang and Song tea culture development and his lasting philosophical influence.