Chapter 15: The Way of Tea (Part 2)

  Chu Chen smiled and said, "If I had to say that today's tea, water, utensils, and art are all exquisite, I was also lucky today. Thanks to the two of you, I can drink this fragrant tea like orchids and osmanthus, with a taste as sweet as gentle rain."

  After hearing what Chu Chen said, Zhu Da Fu and Song Jun couldn't help but look at each other and laugh, both saying that it was indeed deserved.

  "Good, Xiaochun is right. The tea, water, utensils and art are indeed indispensable. Now Uncle Wu will test you, what do you think about this tea tasting experience?"

  Chu Chen scratched the back of his head with some distress and said, "Fu Shu, actually this is my first time tasting tea. I don't know much about the art of tea, it's just some knowledge I've read from books. If I say something wrong later on, please don't mind."

  He saw the encouraging eyes of Zhu Dafu and continued:

  "Emperor Huizong of Song in "Da Guan Tea Theory" proposed that drinking tea should pay attention to the fineness of selection, the skillfulness of production, the excellence of evaluation and the cleverness of brewing. At the same time, it also requires "to eliminate impurities and turbidity, to achieve clarity and harmony", "to be clear and clean in the middle, with high rhyme and quietness". From these words of Emperor Huizong, we can see that tea tasting requires both material and spiritual aspects."

  "In terms of material aspects, there are water, utensils, and environment. Let's talk about the environment first. The ancients said that the best environment for tasting tea is a clear mountain, beautiful water, small bridges, pavilions, music, chess, books, paintings, and elegant rooms. Of course, this is an ideal tea-tasting environment, and ordinary people can't reach this requirement. However, in general, as long as the environment is quiet and beautiful, it's okay."

  "The environment here at Fu Shu's place doesn't need to be described in detail, it can be summed up in three words: serene and natural, rustic yet elegant, with a unique craftsmanship. Every time I come to Fu Shu's place, my worries disappear, and I feel carefree and relaxed. As a place for tea and art, of course, there is no problem."

  "There are three requirements for the water used to make tea. First, it should be 'clear', meaning that the water quality is colorless and transparent, with no sediment; second, it should be 'sweet', referring to a sweet and cool or sweet and refreshing taste, which gives a sweet aftertaste as soon as it enters the mouth; third, it should be 'clean', meaning clean and refreshing, in modern terms, it means non-polluted."

  "Satisfying these three requirements is the good water for brewing tea. The water we used this time to brew tea is Yuquan water from 'the first spring in the world', which lives up to its reputation, fully bringing out the rich and smooth flavor of the tea leaves, truly a fragrant tea that lingers on the palate."

  "As the saying goes: 'water is the mother of tea, and the teapot is the father of tea'. As soon as I came in, I was deeply attracted by this set of tea utensils. Just these white-as-jade, thin-as-paper tea cups make people feel delightful, let alone this heavy purple clay teapot."

  "I don't know much about Yixing teapots, but judging from its shape, this should be a Zhongshan lid teapot. The overall design is simple and unadorned, with an emphasis on strength over elegance, showcasing the craftsman's exceptional skills. And this teapot also has a hint of fire energy, could it be one of Master Song's latest works?"

  Neither of them was in a hurry to tell Chu Chen the answer, but just smiled and nodded for him to continue.

  "In the Ming Dynasty, Yang Shen once said: 'When you make tea songs, it's like making history. You not only taste the tea but also the character of the person.' This sentence points out the connotation of tea tasting, and Zhang Yuan, also from the Ming Dynasty, said in his book 'Cha Lu': 'Drinking alone is divine, with two guests is a victory, with three or four is delightful.' These 'divine, victorious, delightful' aspects also highlight the spiritual aspect of the Way of Tea."

  "Of course, the environment is different, people are different, and the spirit gained from tea is also different. As the saying goes, 'the benevolent see benevolence, the wise see wisdom.' For me, I think tasting tea is like savoring life, 'three sips to know the flavor, three times to move the heart.' The first three sips of tea let me experience the sweetness and bitterness of life. The final sip, with its lingering aftertaste, is truly a transformation from bitter to sweet."

  "Lastly, I'd like to talk about the art of tea. Why did I leave it till last? On one hand, I'm not very knowledgeable about the art of tea. The main reason is that I think the art of tea plays a role in connecting and bridging the material and spiritual aspects of the tea ceremony."

  "To put it simply, without Master Song's superb tea artistry, the material aspects of the Way of Tea cannot be fully embodied, and the spiritual essence of the Way of Tea cannot be discussed."

  The above is my humble opinion, if there are any inadequacies or mistakes, I hope you will forgive me.

  After finishing this insight, Chu Chen let out a sigh of relief. All these were what he had racked his brains to think of. If they weren't satisfied, there was nothing he could do about it.

  Zhu Dafu smiled and nodded, "Xiao Chuan, you're absolutely right. You can't tell it's your first time tasting tea at all. Even some people who often taste tea may not be able to come up with the insights you have. It seems that you have a good understanding of the Way of Tea."

  Chu Chen said with some embarrassment: "I don't deserve such praise from Uncle Fu, but after this tea tasting, I'm really interested in the way of tea. I think that frequent tea tastings can calm one's mind and cultivate one's character. If possible, I'd like to ask for more guidance from Master Song in the future."

  Song Jun smiled and nodded, "No problem, but please don't be too polite. We can discuss it together. To be honest, nowadays young people are not very interested in the art of tea, they can't calm down and think it's too much trouble."

  Zhu Dafu nodded after hearing this, "Indeed, nowadays people are getting more and more utilitarian, with money as their goal in mind. Not to mention the Way of Tea, even for zither, chess, calligraphy and painting, how many young people are willing to truly devote themselves to these pursuits?"

  "I think it's because of a lack of perseverance, and also due to the great pressure of life nowadays. Who wouldn't want to take it easy? But there's no way around it, we have to prioritize meeting our living needs first. Take housing prices for example, they've risen so much compared to last year."

  Zhu Dafu smiled slightly and said: "You little stinker, are you saying that a rich uncle like me doesn't know the hunger of a poor man?"

  "No, no, how dare I say that. I'm just saying it's a habit of some people now, and also because of the environment. And there are not a few who do one day as a monk and hit one day as a bell." Chuyan hastily waved his hand.

  "Alright, alright, let's not talk about national affairs. Let's talk about this purple sand teapot instead. Just by looking at it, Xiaochun, be honest with me, what do you think of this teapot?"

  Chu Chen carefully examined the purple sand pot on the table again, and after a moment's consideration, he said: "From the bottom of my heart, this purple sand pot is still very good. 'Mud, shape, workmanship, pattern, function', although I haven't seen the pattern, but the other four aspects can be said to be extremely exquisite, it's a very good purple sand pot."

  Chu Chen had just finished speaking when Song Jun hastily said, "Old Zhu, how about it? Chu Chen also thinks this pot is good. You should agree with me."

  Seeing this, Chu Chen was confused and didn't know what had happened between the two of them. So Song Jun opened his mouth to explain the reason.

  It turned out that Song Jun's pottery skills were passed down from his ancestors, and he learned them from Shi Da Bian's family. However, as time went by, some of the techniques were lost in transmission, which is a common problem with traditional craftsmanship.

  By the time of Song Jun, he wanted to restore some lost craftsmanship, but unfortunately, he didn't have any works by Shi Dabin to refer to. By chance, he learned from a friend that Zhu Daifu had an authentic work by Shi Dabin, so he came to ask Zhu Daifu if he could lend him the vase.

  Shi Dabin's genuine goods are hard to come by, and Zhu Dafu also loves it very much, so he won't let go of it. However, Song Junyi is persistent and can be said to be unwavering, after several attempts, Zhu Dafu was also moved by his sincerity.

  Although so, Zhu Dafu still couldn't bear to part with it, so he asked him to make a replica according to the original's style. If he was satisfied with it, then he would give him the original.

  It's indeed not easy to say such difficulty, but Song Jun is worthy of being a master potter. Although the first two times didn't satisfy Zhu Dafu, they were also very impressive and made him admire Song Jun's skills.

  Today is Song Jun's third time bringing his work here, this time Zhu Dafu looked at it and couldn't find any flaws, so he said to Song Jun, "Later my nephew will come, if he thinks it's good, I'll give him Shi Dabing's genuine product."

  Chu Chen heard the reason and couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed. Zhu Dafu was clearly reluctant to part with his collection, but now that things had come to this, he no longer had any excuse not to sell it, leaving him feeling restless.

  Zhu Dafu smiled and said, "Xiao Chen, you still think Uncle Fu would be angry with you? Actually, when Master Song brought this pot earlier, I knew I couldn't avoid it. As for bringing you along, it's just because I really didn't want to leave you behind."

  Song Jun saw Zhu Dafu's reluctant expression, so he said: "Zhu Lao, if not like this, consider this pot as rented by me. After I study it for a period of time, I will return it to you."

  Zhu Dafu smiled and waved his hand: "I've thought it through, that vase is at best a collectible here with me, sometimes not seeing the light of day for months, and I'm not even an expert in tea ceremonies. It can play a much bigger role with you, wait a moment, I'll go get it."

  After a while, Zhu Dafu carefully carried a brocade box back and placed it on the table. During that short period of time, Chu Chen and Song Jun had already cleaned up all the tea utensils on the table.

  Open the brocade box, a sandalwood teapot of exactly the same shape as He Zhen's appeared before everyone.

  Zhu Dafu nodded and suggested they go up to take a look, so Song Jun said: "Chu Chen, you go ahead and take a look first, I've already seen it many times before."

  Chu Chen heard this and didn't stand on ceremony, putting on his gloves, carefully took out the purple sand pot from the box and began to observe it.

  Shi Dabin, in the Ming Wan Nian period, is a well-known figure in the world of Yixing teapots. Whenever people talk about purple sand teapots, they will inevitably mention Shi Dabin's "Shi Hu". He is the most famous and influential teapot master after Gong Chun. Later generations have praised his works without exception, and some even revered him as a great master.