Luyu's Sense of Southern Superiority in Chajing
Misa Tanaka
THE BULLETIN OF THE JUNIOR COLLEGE OF KINKI UNIVERSITY 36 (1) 1 - 9 2003
[Refereed] Luyu(陸羽)'s Chanjiang(『茶経』), the first known book in China to be devoted to tea,
elaborates on a wide range of subjects related to tea, such as its beneficial effects, production process, utensils used in tea preparation, history, and hpw to prepare and enjoy the drink. It is a highly spiritual book: valuing the "enaergy" of tea. Luyu(陸羽)
emphasizes the importance of precision in production processes, and proposes that tea-drinking people have the virtues of benevolence and simplicity. I point out that the
way Luyu(陸羽) compares tea with ginseng, and Yuechou(越州) with Xingchou(〓州)porcelains,reveals his strong attachment to, and his confidence in, southern China. This suggests that Luyu(陸羽) believes that southern China is culturally superior to northern China. The point has never been discussed so far, and therefore I find it meaningful to study it here.