Original accounts of tea, followed by canonical works from the traditions we explore. A reading collection with a clear distinction between the historical record of the leaf and a tradition’s texts.
Primary tea sources
Original tea treatises and historical passages about tea, including materia medica and firsthand accounts. These preserve what their authors wrote; they are not claims of proven effects.
01
Chinese tea culture
The Classic of Tea
茶經 (Cha Jing)
Lu Yu · Tang dynasty
Lu Yu’s historical tea treatise. Chapter seven collects earlier tea accounts, including a passage attributed to Tao Hongjing that places tea in the language of cultivation and immortal figures.
Connection to tea. Documents historical ideas about tea in general. It does not identify Rou Gui or prescribe a post-tea asana, tai chi exercise, or meditation pairing.
Editions
The Classic of Tea
English · Francis Ross Carpenter
ISBN 9780316534505
Little, Brown, 1974. Edition metadata verified separately; the cited passage was checked in the online Chinese transcription, not this translation.
Yuan Mei’s gastronomic writing includes an account of Wuyi tea offered by monks and Daoists. He describes its aroma, repeated infusions, and the ease he felt after drinking it.
Connection to tea. A literary account of Wuyi tea and its religious social setting. The passage does not name Rou Gui or establish a specific meditation pairing.
Editions
The Way of Eating: Yuan Mei’s Manual of Gastronomy (Suiyuan Shidan)
English · Sean J. S. Chen
ISBN 9781614728276
Berkshire Publishing, paperback, 2019. This is a translation of the historical work; the cited passage was checked in Chinese, not in this edition.
A historical miscellany whose tea chapter records tea drinking among Chan students at Lingyan monastery and describes its wider spread.
Connection to tea. Evidence that tea was used in a Chan setting associated with staying awake. It does not identify a cultivar or prescribe a Rou Gui practice.
Editions
Fengshi Wenjian Ji Jiaozhu (封氏聞見記校注)
Chinese
ISBN 9787101047226
Zhao Zhenxin, editor and annotator; Zhonghua Book Company, 2005. A modern annotated edition of the historical work. Feng Yan's text and the editor's notes must be distinguished.
A historical materia medica with entries on Wuyi tea and Pu-erh, including compressed tea and tea paste. Its accounts combine descriptions of tea with the author’s medical interpretations.
Connection to tea. The Wuyi and Pu-erh entries concern tea families and historical forms. They do not identify our cultivars, cakes, processing methods or practice pairings, and are not clinical evidence.
Editions
Bencao Gangmu Shiyi (本草纲目拾遗)
Chinese
ISBN 7800896714
Yan Bing and colleagues, annotated edition; China Press of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 1998. The modern annotation is separate from Zhao Xuemin's historical text.
A historical materia medica that describes Wuyi tea as slightly cold while discussing digestive uses. It preserves a different thermal interpretation from the warming account in Bencao Gangmu Shiyi.
Connection to tea. Documents a historical view of Wuyi tea, not a verified effect of Rou Gui. It helps show that traditional medical sources do not give one uniform account.
Editions
Bencao Haili (本草害利)
Chinese
A 1982 Beijing edition is recorded by the library. No ISBN was verified, so the field is intentionally blank. The cited passage was checked in the online Chinese transcription.
A historical tea manual whose preparation section describes flower scenting, including jasmine, and the balance between floral fragrance and the tea’s own character.
Connection to tea. Primary evidence for jasmine-scented tea. The passage does not establish a modern pearl shape, the number of scenting rounds, or a meditation pairing.
Editions
Cha Pu (茶譜)
Chinese
Text preserved in the historical household anthology Jujia Bibei (居家必備), read in Shidian Guji’s digital transcription. No ISBN is assigned to this online text. A purchasing edition has not yet been selected.
Works recognized within the named tradition and collection. Their place in a canon does not, by itself, establish a connection to any particular tea.
07
Daoism
Daodejing
道德經 / 道德真經
Traditionally attributed to Laozi · Early China; received text transmitted in the Daozang
A foundational Daoist text on the Way, conduct, and government. Its received text is catalogued in the Daozang separately from the many commentaries written about it.
Connection to tea. Background reading in Daoist thought. No tea-specific or Rou Gui practice connection has been established here.
Chinese University of Hong Kong Press, paperback, 2001. Includes translations of the received Wang Bi text and a text based on the Mawangdui manuscripts. This edition is not a facsimile of DZ 664; textual versions must be identified when quoting.
Verses traditionally attributed to the Buddha · Early Buddhist verse collection; Pāli transmission
A collection of verses on conduct, attention, and wisdom within the Theravāda Pāli canon. Its canonical status here is specific to that tradition and textual collection.
Connection to tea. Background reading in Buddhist practice. No tea-specific or Rou Gui practice connection has been established here.
Pāli Tipiṭaka — Sutta Piṭaka — Khuddaka Nikāya · Khuddaka Nikāya, book 2; Dhp 1–423
Editions
The Dhammapada: The Buddha’s Path of Wisdom
Pāli and English · Acharya Buddharakkhita
ISBN 9789552401312
Buddhist Publication Society. Translation from Pāli with an introduction by Bhikkhu Bodhi. The modern introduction is separate from the canonical verses.