Chapter I · The Origin · Section 10: Words and things — 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

The key words in “采不时造不精杂以卉莽饮之成疾茶为累也亦犹人参” are not ornament. They mark where Tang tea names, vessels and provenance meet.

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

The annotation matters less as philology than as a distinction between name and thing. “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。 Once names settle, picking, grading and trade can share a language.

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.

A maker reads “采不时造不精杂以卉莽饮之成疾茶为累也亦犹人参” through weather and soil first. 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。 That is not far from how we judge a mountain and a picking window today.

The vessel is not background. 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。 The same leaf in a different bowl, grinder or sieve changes aroma and texture; vessel and tea are defined together.

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.