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Thesis
“晋左思《娇女诗》“心为茶荈剧吹嘘对鼎”” only becomes legible inside Tang tribute tea, monastery tea and literati life.
Text
“Zuo Si’s poem The Doting Daughters reads: ‘Their hearts race for the tea, they puff and blow upon the tripod.’”
Context
左思:西晋文学家。《娇女诗》:写女儿娇憨之态。茶荈(chuǎn):茶。鼎:煮茶之器。
Evidence
- Collation: 此句为《茶经》所引最早的茶诗,各本一致;诗见《娇女诗》原文,陆羽节引。
- Existing readings: 吴觉农指出左思《娇女诗》是现存最早的咏茶诗之一,生动记录了晋代日常煮茶——诗以娇女吹鼎催火入画,茶香之外更见生活气息。
Analysis
The largest gap between Tang and now is that tea was simultaneously medicine, tribute and everyday practice. 吴觉农指出左思《娇女诗》是现存最早的咏茶诗之一,生动记录了晋代日常煮茶——诗以娇女吹鼎催火入画,茶香之外更见生活气息。 Without that, the chapter collapses into botany.
Conclusion
The section does not give a universal rule. It demonstrates a method: read the text, the annotation and the Tang context together before making a modern claim.
Source: The Classic of Tea, Chapter VII · The History, section 7; the original is in the public domain.
Ask what period this person lived in.