Chapter IV · The Vessels · Section 5: A modern tea-science reading — reading “其火用炭次用劲薪其炭曾经燔炙为膻腻所及及膏木”

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Thesis

Read through modern tea science, “其火用炭次用劲薪其炭曾经燔炙为膻腻所及及膏木” is not a lab result but a set of variables: cultivar, soil, light and plucking standard.

Text

“For the fire, charcoal is best, and sturdy firewood next. Charcoal that has been used for roasting, stained with fat and rankness, as well as resinous wood and rotten utensils, must not be used.”

Context

劲薪：耐烧的柴。燔炙（fán zhì）：烧烤过。膻腻：腥膻油腻。膏木：有油脂的松柏等木。败器：腐朽的器物。

Evidence

• Collation: 各本一致。吴觉农注：此句讲燃料选择，“膏木”"败器"皆能产生异味与烟气，破坏茶香。
• Existing readings: 吴觉农评此句为"燃料学"：炭火无烟无味最宜煮茶，沾油之炭与松柏膏木皆会串味——陆羽对火候细节的讲究，尽显茶道"洁净"之美。

Analysis

Modern tea science would split “其火用炭次用劲薪其炭曾经燔炙为膻腻所及及膏木” into cultivar, soil, light and plucking variables. 吴觉农评此句为"燃料学"：炭火无烟无味最宜煮茶，沾油之炭与松柏膏木皆会串味——陆羽对火候细节的讲究，尽显茶道"洁净"之美。 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 IV · The Vessels, section 5; the original is in the public domain.

Storage adds another variable: moisture and temperature. 各本一致。吴觉农注：此句讲燃料选择，“膏木”"败器"皆能产生异味与烟气，破坏茶香。 Old and young tea do not share one shelf life, so “the older the better” is not a rule.

As a new reader, I first took “其火用炭次用劲薪其炭曾经燔炙为膻腻所及及膏木” as a conclusion. Reading the annotation to section 5 again, it is clearly a judgment with conditions attached.

Textually, 各本一致。吴觉农注：此句讲燃料选择，“膏木”"败器"皆能产生异味与烟气，破坏茶香。. The point is that “the original” is not a single stable text; name the edition before making a strong claim.