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Thesis
The common mistake is to lift “晋王濛好茶人至辄命饮之士大夫皆患之每欲往候必” out of its sentence and turn it into an absolute rule.
Text
“Wang Meng of Jin loved tea, and pressed it on every visitor; the officials dreaded it, and whenever they meant to call they would say, ‘Today we must suffer the water-calamity.’”
Context
王濛:东晋大臣,嗜茶。水厄:被水害,指被迫饮茶。
Evidence
- Collation: 各本一致。"水厄"典出此,为茶史上著名的掌故。
- Existing readings: 吴觉农指出"水厄"一典可见晋代饮茶尚未普及:主人热情以茶待客,客人却视茶为"灾"——这恰是茶由小众走向大众的历史缩影。
Analysis
The usual misreading extracts “晋王濛好茶人至辄命饮之士大夫皆患之每欲往候必” as a slogan. 各本一致。"水厄"典出此,为茶史上著名的掌故。 In fact every judgment in the chapter carries a limit of place, season and use.
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 8; the original is in the public domain.
When lost, brew a cup first.