Chapter III · The Making · Section 3: A modern tea-science reading — reading “其日有雨不采晴有云不采晴采之”

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Thesis

Read through modern tea science, “其日有雨不采晴有云不采晴采之” is not a lab result but a set of variables: cultivar, soil, light and plucking standard.

Text

“On rainy days do not pick; on clear days with clouds do not pick; only on perfectly clear days pick.”

Context

雨天不采，晴而有云也不采；须是晴朗无云之日才采。

Evidence

• Collation: 本句强调择天采摘，各本文字一致。“晴有云不采"为后人不解之处，吴觉农释为"微阴欲雨，芽叶含水量高易烂”。
• Existing readings: 吴觉农解读：雨天或阴天芽叶含水多，蒸后易闷黄变质；陆羽定"晴采"标准，是对鲜叶质量的严格把关。

Analysis

Modern tea science would split “其日有雨不采晴有云不采晴采之” into cultivar, soil, light and plucking variables. 吴觉农解读：雨天或阴天芽叶含水多，蒸后易闷黄变质；陆羽定"晴采"标准，是对鲜叶质量的严格把关。 They remain testable, but only with their conditions attached.

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 III · The Making, section 3; the original is in the public domain.

Water and fire magnify the difference. The same leaf at a higher temperature or a longer steep changes the sweet-bitter balance; the text only becomes operational at the brewing stage.

In Tang context, 吴觉农解读：雨天或阴天芽叶含水多，蒸后易闷黄变质；陆羽定"晴采"标准，是对鲜叶质量的严格把关。. Tea was tribute, medicine and monastery drink at once, not a standalone commodity; the conclusion cannot be transferred without that context.

Storage adds another variable: moisture and temperature. 本句强调择天采摘，各本文字一致。“晴有云不采"为后人不解之处，吴觉农释为"微阴欲雨，芽叶含水量高易烂”。 Old and young tea do not share one shelf life, so “the older the better” is not a rule.