Cha dao tools

[the_economist]

Ingen was apparently the founder of Senchado and that's early 1600s. He learnt his craft apparently in a monastery in Fujian province, north of Chaozhou.

Whether the style of tea drinking he engaged in was similar to what we call Chaozhou gongfu style is debatable.

[Evan Draper]

Don't anybody say anything until I read this Chanyuan Qinggui.

I was being facetious, but then I promptly found that I could read this book online through university access. Fascinating stuff--it really fills a big hole in my tea timeline, and connects a lot of dots. Yeah, there's not a lot about tea per se, but neither is chanoyu about tea per se: what you see is the unfolding tradition of all the hypnotically baroque Eastern deference rituals (which make an American like me want to puke noisily):

Such formalized expressions of humility and indebtedness have
clear precedents in the Confucian book of protocol, Yili, which offers
dialogue containing similar language. Here a duke invites foreign
dignitaries to a banquet:
To this the [messengers of the] guests reply: “Our unworthy
prince is a feudatory of yours, so let your prince not incur disgrace
by conferring benefits on us mere messengers. Your servants venture
to decline.”
The invitation is extended to them [that is, the guests, through
envoys] in the following form: “Our unworthy prince has some inferior
wine, and, wishing your honors to spend a little time with
him, he sends me to invite you.”
The messenger [of the host] then replies: “My unworthy prince
insists on saying that the wine is of poor quality, and sends me to
press the invitation on your honors.”
To which the [messengers of the] guests reply: “Our unworthy
prince is a feudatory of yours, and your prince should not demean
himself by showing kindness to mere messengers. Your servants
venture to persist in declining.”
The messenger [of the host] again replies: “My unworthy prince
persists in saying the wine is of no quality, and he sends me to urge
his invitation on you.”
They then answer: “As we have failed to secure permission to
decline, dare we do other than accept?”

[chrl42]

Since Lu Yu and Gongfucha were brought up: I had read A Quintessential Invention and had done a bit of research, which lead to the above. Of course, MarshalN knows vastly more about tea drinking than I will most likely ever do, but for some reason, the text still felt a bit one-sided at times*.

*For example, while it’s known that Lu Yu was hugely influental, the article was the first time I heard of anyone making a direct connection between Lu Yu and Gongfucha. The connection is perhaps propagated by people who have a story to sell, and perhaps re-told by people who haven’t read the Chajing, but I can’t believe for one second that it is something that would amount to being believed by scholars who have occupied themselves with the topic: as the authors of the article say themselves, the Chajing is a text from the Tang dynasty. Not the Song dynasty, not the Ming dynasty. Let’s recall: the Tang dynasty was the one where tea was boiled, the Song, where tea was whipped, and the Ming, finally, where tea was steeped. This isn’t hidden information. It’s probably in about every book about tea. The Chajing itself isn’t terribly hard to access, is surprisingly short, and is easy to skim through. It contains suggestions, not regulations. So the spuriousness of a direct connection between Lu Yu and Gongfucha seems at most an apparently common misconception, not an original argument.

There are other things that I find strangely worded or implied without further investigation but it’s not really the topic at hand.

According to Chen Xiang-bai and Zeng Chu-nan (the most acclaimed authorities on Gongfucha I know of).

The point thrown here would be related with 'loose-leaf tea',

When loose-leaf tea was first drunk since Ming dynasty (the form was invented in Yuan)..TEA was not something to be a ritual and heavily concerned in literati society like before...as it was Zhu Yuan-zhang (Ming founder)'s wish maybe.

What dominated in tea drinking communities was Jiang-nan (Zhejiang, Jiangsu provinces) method, which is drawn similar to 'grand pa style'.

Chao Zhou Gong Fu Cha was first in loose-leaf drinking fashion, to BE like Lu Yu, not it IS Cha Jing...of course there are more specific theories why they might link to Cha Jing. But just to tell you, it's not amateur's conclusion as you might have thought.

[kyarazen]

When loose-leaf tea was first drunk since Ming dynasty (the form was invented in Yuan)..TEA was not something to be a ritual and heavily concerned in literati society like before...as it was Zhu Yuan-zhang (Ming founder)'s wish maybe.

What dominated in tea drinking communities was Jiang-nan (Zhejiang, Jiangsu provinces) method, which is drawn similar to 'grand pa style'.

Chao Zhou Gong Fu Cha was first in loose-leaf drinking fashion, to BE like Lu Yu, not it IS Cha Jing...of course there are more specific theories why they might link to Cha Jing. But just to tell you, it's not amateur's conclusion as you might have thought.

you mean CZGF tea is like "grandpa" style in the origin?

[chrl42]

When loose-leaf tea was first drunk since Ming dynasty (the form was invented in Yuan)..TEA was not something to be a ritual and heavily concerned in literati society like before...as it was Zhu Yuan-zhang (Ming founder)'s wish maybe.

What dominated in tea drinking communities was Jiang-nan (Zhejiang, Jiangsu provinces) method, which is drawn similar to 'grand pa style'.

Chao Zhou Gong Fu Cha was first in loose-leaf drinking fashion, to BE like Lu Yu, not it IS Cha Jing...of course there are more specific theories why they might link to Cha Jing. But just to tell you, it's not amateur's conclusion as you might have thought.

you mean CZGF tea is like "grandpa" style in the origin?

I was pointing CZGF tried to differ from granpa (Jiangnan Paofa).

[kyarazen]

When loose-leaf tea was first drunk since Ming dynasty (the form was invented in Yuan)..TEA was not something to be a ritual and heavily concerned in literati society like before...as it was Zhu Yuan-zhang (Ming founder)'s wish maybe.

What dominated in tea drinking communities was Jiang-nan (Zhejiang, Jiangsu provinces) method, which is drawn similar to 'grand pa style'.

Chao Zhou Gong Fu Cha was first in loose-leaf drinking fashion, to BE like Lu Yu, not it IS Cha Jing...of course there are more specific theories why they might link to Cha Jing. But just to tell you, it's not amateur's conclusion as you might have thought.

you mean CZGF tea is like "grandpa" style in the origin?

I was pointing CZGF tried to differ from granpa (Jiangnan Paofa).

wow!.... tried to differ!! that sounded like an identity issue instead of a tea brewing art

[kyarazen]

*For example, while it’s known that Lu Yu was hugely influental, the article was the first time I heard of anyone making a direct connection between Lu Yu and Gongfucha. The connection is perhaps propagated by people who have a story to sell, and perhaps re-told by people who haven’t read the Chajing, but I can’t believe for one second that it is something that would amount to being believed by scholars who have occupied themselves with the topic: as the authors of the article say themselves, the Chajing is a text from the Tang dynasty. Not the Song dynasty, not the Ming dynasty. Let’s recall: the Tang dynasty was the one where tea was boiled, the Song, where tea was whipped, and the Ming, finally, where tea was steeped. This isn’t hidden information. It’s probably in about every book about tea. The Chajing itself isn’t terribly hard to access, is surprisingly short, and is easy to skim through. It contains suggestions, not regulations. So the spuriousness of a direct connection between Lu Yu and Gongfucha seems at most an apparently common misconception, not an original argument.

the connection is not as spurious as one would think, the Cha Jing has been re-read, re-interpreted over generations and generations. the essense on tea leaf selection, ware selection and the type of "ritual" / "ceremonial" steps has its strong influence in the 17th century of CZ gf tea that we see almost propagated in CZ today but further modified/adapted/canonized in other curious ways elsewhere.

just taking out chapter 4 of cha jing

卷中

四之器

风炉（灰承）　筥　炭挝　火筴　鍑　交床　夹纸囊　碾拂末　罗　合　则　水方　漉水囊　瓢　竹筴　鹾簋揭　碗　熟　盂　畚　札　涤方　滓方　巾　具列　都篮

风炉[灰承] (this is most interesting.. even today the cooking stove is called this way in dialect amongst the CZ people, even at home now everyone calls it this way)

筥：以竹织之，高一尺二寸，径阔七寸。或用藤，作木楦如筥形织之。六出圆眼。其底盖若莉箧口①，铄之。(sieve)

夹：以小青竹为之，长一尺二寸。令一寸有节，节以上剖之，以炙茶也。彼竹之筱，津润于火，假其香洁以益茶味。恐非林谷间莫之致。或用精铁、熟铜之类，取其久也。(for use in roasting)

纸囊：以剡藤纸白厚者夹缝之，以贮所炙茶，使不泄其香也。(storage paper that can be used for roasting tea, still done today in CZGF)

chapter 5 : 五之煮
CZGF had utilized some of the understandings in this chapter to which how water to be selected/boiled and how the tea is to be treated

chapter 6 : 六之饮
appreciation ways, how to drink, taste, also similarly a good proportion is reflected in the culture of CZGF.

etc.

[thirst]

Maybe it’s a matter of what one exactly means with Gongfucha? I was thinking more about the directly differentiating tangible aspects (as in small pots, small cups, etc.) and the method (as in very high leaf to water ratio, many short steeps). If you include the required lead-up including selection of e.g. water and wares, and skill, there’s of course a connection.

(Note: I only have the translation of the Chajing, from the »Library of Chinese Classics« series, Hunan People’s Publishing House. The translation has a bad rating on Amazon, haha.)

[kyarazen]

Maybe it’s a matter of what one exactly means with Gongfucha? I was thinking more about the directly differentiating tangible aspects (as in small pots, small cups, etc.) and the method (as in very high leaf to water ratio, many short steeps). If you include the required lead-up including selection of e.g. water and wares, and skill, there’s of course a connection.

(Note: I only have the translation of the Chajing, from the »Library of Chinese Classics« series, Hunan People’s Publishing House. The translation has a bad rating on Amazon, haha.)

maybe you can start a separate thread and perhaps collate some info/data on what/how they perceive or think of gongfu cha to be? it would be really interesting to see what the west perceives it to be, the ideals, concepts, and philosophies included, apart from the initial seemingly "exotic" ritualized steps.

in mainland one can discern some trends of "cultural resurgence" and "cultural propaganda", i.e. how "gongfu tea" is now semi-canonized, and how CZGF tea is traced by people back to the tang/song dynasty in chinese writings (albeit hyped), and the so called "superiority" complexes in that "yixing zhuni" is the original/earliest or best for CZGF tea and all that.

in terms of small pot, small cups, multiple steepings, and the equipment that are associated with it, should be just as old as the period where "smallish" pots became mainstream. this would be the most historically relevant/correct period for such a method and for such tools.

[blairswhitaker]

Just a quick note on linguistics here. The official stance from urasenke Iemoto is that chanoyu or Chado is not a ceremony. It is a way or "do". It's like you wouldn't call aikido, a martial arts ceremony, it's a martial arts practice and shodo would not be translated as calligraphy ceremony, but the way of calligraphy or the practice of calligraphy. Thus Chado follows suite, it is a way or practice but not a ceremony.

[ABx]

To the original point: I think it's better to just get a regular set of tools. Most people I know don't use the whole set anyway.

I'm all for getting nice teaware, but I'd rather keep it at a nice tray, teapot/gaiwan, and cups. With pretty much nothing else at the tray, the focus remains on the tea.

[wyardley]

I usually use my fingers.

[Teaism]

I usually use my fingers.

+1 sometimes the tea are just finger licking good
Just for laugh.

Cheers!

[bonescwa]

I usually use my fingers.

Yeah, I guess I only wanted a set because they look cool and I'd like a funnel and a leaf digger to make things easier. I know I could probably improvise, but if I could get something carved for like 50-60 I would go for it.

[ABx]

I usually use my fingers.

I use the funnel and I like the long-handled scoop, but yeah; I don't know anyone that uses tongs or anything.

I suppose someone serving others in a professional capacity should probably use tongs for the sake of sanitation, but don't think it's strictly necessary most of the time.