Tea is a friend of meditation, keeping the heart immerged in profound tranquility. Tea is wings of imagination, lifting people above the mundane world while remaining clear minded, getting people nearer wisdom rather than losing sanity. Therefore in nearly every Eastern country people have the same habit of drinking tea, because people in the east need this simple but not insipid drink. This is a tradition of life as well as of culture, just like the Eastern wisdom that they admire, which is featured in the spirit of self-reflection.

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China is the homeland of tea, taking a leading position in the planting,producing and drinking of tea. Because of their different producing techniques, Chinese tea is divided into six major types-green tea, black tea,oolong tea, dark tea, yellow tea and white tea. Some people say that green tea, simple and light, stands for the scholasticity of south China; black tea, mild and reserved, is quite ladylike; oolong tea, warm and persistent,resembles the perseverance of gymnosophists; dark tea, with lingering aftertaste, symbolizes the wisdom of the elderly, and so on and so forth.

Preface

Good Tea from Remote Mountain

The Art of Tea-making

Well-known People and Books about Tea

  Lu Yu and The BookofTea

  Cai Xiang and Record of Tea

  Zhao Ji and General Remarks on Tea

  Zhu Quan and Guide of Tea

  Lu Tingcan and Additional Book of Tea

The Spread of Tea from China

  Tea Tax and Tea Trade System

  Bartering of Tea and Horse

  The Tang-Tibet Road and the Tea-Horse Road

  Popularization of Tea Leaves in the World

Lingering Taste of Famous Teas

  Green Tea

  West Lake Longjing tea

  Black Tea

  Oolong Tea

  Dark Tea

  Yellow Tea

  White Tea

Nice Utensils for Tea

Tea-Zen Affinity

Tea Ceremony in China

Tea-drinking Customs

  Tea with Friends

  Tea and Marriage

  Interesting Tea Drinking Customs

  Elegance in tea cup

  Enjoy Tea-time

Appendix: Chronological Table of the Chinese

Dynasties