Chapter III · The Making · Section 4: Textual layers — reading “蒸之捣之拍之焙之穿之封之茶之干矣”

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Thesis

Section 4 is not really about “蒸之捣之拍之焙之穿之封之茶之干矣”; it is about how Lu Yu turns tea from a local product into an object of argument.

Text

“Steam it, pound it, press it, roast it, string it, seal it — and the tea is done.”

Context

蒸青制茶六道工序：蒸、捣、拍、焙、穿、封。这是唐代饼茶的完整流程。

Evidence

• Collation: 此句为全书制茶工艺的总纲，各本一致。六道工序名目在历代注本中屡有申说，文字稳定。
• Existing readings: 吴觉农指出"六之"即唐代饼茶全流程：蒸青→捣烂→入模拍压成饼→焙干→穿串→封藏；其中"蒸"法奠定中国绿茶蒸青传统，后传入日本演为玉露制法。

Analysis

Formally, the section gives a judgment, adds material detail, then returns to human practice. 蒸青制茶六道工序：蒸、捣、拍、焙、穿、封。这是唐代饼茶的完整流程。 That is why the Classic of Tea reads as an argued book rather than a miscellany.

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 4; 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, 吴觉农指出"六之"即唐代饼茶全流程：蒸青→捣烂→入模拍压成饼→焙干→穿串→封藏；其中"蒸"法奠定中国绿茶蒸青传统，后传入日本演为玉露制法。. Tea was tribute, medicine and monastery drink at once, not a standalone commodity; the conclusion cannot be transferred without that context.

Modern tea science would split the sentence into cultivar, soil, light and plucking variables. 吴觉农指出"六之"即唐代饼茶全流程：蒸青→捣烂→入模拍压成饼→焙干→穿串→封藏；其中"蒸"法奠定中国绿茶蒸青传统，后传入日本演为玉露制法。 The variables remain useful, but none of them alone explains the cup.