Historical Notes on Tea Greatness in Famous Chinese Books (Part 1)

It is written in Shennong’s Treatise on Food “If one drinks tea regularly, one will be more physically active, be contented of mind with a strong determination and focus in work.”

The Duke of Zhou (周公) wrote in Erya (爾雅) that “jia” is a kind of bitter tea.1 And in Guangya (廣雅), it is recounted that “In the Hunan and Sichuan areas, people pick tea leaves to make tea cakes. If the leaves are old and stale, soak them in rice water. Before brewing, roast the cakes to a red colour first, then grind them and put them in ceramic wares, pouring hot water over them.2 Or cook the ground tea leaves with green onion, ginger, and orange peel. Such a drink is good for a hangover and will prevent drowsiness.”

In the Biography of Yanzi (晏子春秋), you can find the following: “When Yanzi was the prime minister under Duke Jing of Qi (齊景公), he only ate millet, some poultry, eggs and drank tea.”

Sima Xiangru listed tea among other medicinal plants and animals in one essay on linguistics.

Yang Xiong said, “In southwestern Sichuan, people refer to tea as jia (葭)” in his linguistic anthology, Fangyan (方言).

The Biography of Wei Yao in the History of Wu (吳志·韋曜傳) states that “Whenever Emperor Sun Hao (孫皓) had a banquet, all the officials had to drink at least one and a half liters of liquor. Even if one could not finish that much, one had to take the quota and deal with it. However, Wei Yao could not drink more than half a litter of liquor. When Sun Hao first ascended to the throne, he respected Wei Yao so much that he secretly gave Wei Yao tea instead of liquor.”