The monk and his honored guest
There they are!
An assemblage of precious tea crops,
growing behind the quarters of the sacred mountain monks, [1]
where fresh buds sprout upon the arrival of spring.
With due respect and warm hospitality towards his honored guest,
the monk personally attends to serving this earthy tea.
Bending over his precious tea plants,
he meticulously handpicked only the finest and rarest leaves.
As he roasts these rare jade green herbs,
an ambrosial yet woody fragrance enveloped the guest room.
When the time is right,
the monk gently fills the cup of floating flowers,
with fresh dewy water from the mountainous spring beyond his dwelling.
Like a medical decoction for the honored guest,
the aroma of this exquisite tea hits his nostrils,
diffusing his fatigue and drunkenness from the previous night.
A divine fuel for mediation, its pure taste drives out inner worries.
Its heavenly taste complements well with a lifestyle of seclusion.
With great generosity and hospitability,
the monk delicately packed packages of his rare leaves
offering them to his honoured guest for his tedious journey back to the capital.
What a waste!
Back in the capital,
Brick wells and bronze stoves,
would only taint the sacred taste of Mount Guzhu’s tea leaves.
To know and appreciate the pure and authentic taste of this flowery milk,
One should be a person who devotes himself to a life of seclusion,
within mountainous dwellings and amongst the clouds.
During the Tang dynasty, the cultivation, production and trade of tea flourished as a result of the spread of Buddhism and a surge in tea consumption amongst poets and within the imperial court. As tea became closely intertwined with Buddhism, Buddhist monks and devotees began postulating the medicinal benefits of tea and its cultural and religious significance.
This poem is about the experience of tea sharing between a Buddhist monk and his honored guest. It briefly describes the tea making process from the picking of tea leaves, to roasting them, and boiling fresh water from local spring to serve an exquisite cup of fresh tea for his guest. This poem also demonstrates that even if one tried to transport these rare tea leaves from the mountainous monasteries to the capital, it would only damage its original flavour and fragrance. One could only properly appreciate and enjoy the genuine taste of this exquisite tea while living in seclusion and in a mountainous dwelling.
References:
Benn, James A. “Tea Poetry in Tang China.” In Tea in China: A Religious and Cultural History, 72-95. University of Hawai’i Press, 2015. www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt13x1kn2.8.
[1] Most rare teas grew in small plots in and around monastic buildings on mountain sites like Mount Guzhu. Benn, James A. “Tea Poetry in Tang China.” In Tea in China: A Religious and Cultural History, 83. University of Hawai’i Press, 2015. www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt13x1kn2.8.