Chapter I · The Origin · Section 10: A modern tea-science reading — reading “采不时造不精杂以卉莽饮之成疾茶为累也亦犹人参”

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Thesis

Read through modern tea science, “采不时造不精杂以卉莽饮之成疾茶为累也亦犹人参” is not a lab result but a set of variables: cultivar, soil, light and plucking standard.

Text

“Picked out of season, made carelessly, adulterated with wild weeds, drinking it brings illness. The harm of tea, too, is like that of ginseng.”

Context

采不时：采摘不合时令。造不精：制作不精细。杂以卉莽：混入杂草。累：害处、弊端。

Evidence

• Collation: “亦犹人参"四库本作"亦犹人参”，各本一致。此句以人参为喻：人参本是良药，用法不当反成其害。
• Existing readings: 吴觉农评此句"辨证而客观"：陆羽不因推崇茶就讳言其害，指出"采不时、造不精、杂以卉莽"皆可致病——这种科学态度，正是《茶经》超越时代之处。

Analysis

Modern tea science would split “采不时造不精杂以卉莽饮之成疾茶为累也亦犹人参” into cultivar, soil, light and plucking variables. 吴觉农评此句"辨证而客观"：陆羽不因推崇茶就讳言其害，指出"采不时、造不精、杂以卉莽"皆可致病——这种科学态度，正是《茶经》超越时代之处。 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 I · The Origin, section 10; 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, 吴觉农评此句"辨证而客观"：陆羽不因推崇茶就讳言其害，指出"采不时、造不精、杂以卉莽"皆可致病——这种科学态度，正是《茶经》超越时代之处。. 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. “亦犹人参"四库本作"亦犹人参”，各本一致。此句以人参为喻：人参本是良药，用法不当反成其害。 Old and young tea do not share one shelf life, so “the older the better” is not a rule.