Chapter II · The Implements · Section 10: Textual layers — reading “穿江东淮南剖竹为之巴山峡川纫榖皮为之江东以一”

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Thesis

Section 10 is not really about “穿江东淮南剖竹为之巴山峡川纫榖皮为之江东以一”; it is about how Lu Yu turns tea from a local product into an object of argument.

Text

“The chuan string is made in Jiangdong and Huainan from split bamboo, and in Bashan and the gorges from twisted mulberry-bark. In Jiangdong one jin is a large string, half a jin a medium, and four or five liang a small one.”

Context

穿：把茶饼串起来的绳子。江东、淮南用剖开的竹皮；巴山峡川用榖（gǔ）树皮搓成。江东以一斤为一穿上，半斤为中穿，四五两为小穿。

Evidence

• Collation: "纫榖皮"各本一致，榖（构）树皮纤维坚韧可制绳。吴觉农注：此句详记唐代茶饼称重与包装规格。
• Existing readings: 吴觉农据"穿"之规格指出：唐代饼茶已标准化——一斤/半斤/四五两三档，便于运输与交易，是早期"茶叶商品化"的实物证据。

Analysis

Formally, the section gives a judgment, adds material detail, then returns to human practice. 穿：把茶饼串起来的绳子。江东、淮南用剖开的竹皮；巴山峡川用榖（gǔ）树皮搓成。江东以一斤为一穿上，半斤为中穿，四五两为小穿。 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 II · The Implements, section 10; the original is in the public domain.

The vessel is not background. 穿：把茶饼串起来的绳子。江东、淮南用剖开的竹皮；巴山峡川用榖（gǔ）树皮搓成。江东以一斤为一穿上，半斤为中穿，四五两为小穿。 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.

In Tang context, 吴觉农据"穿"之规格指出：唐代饼茶已标准化——一斤/半斤/四五两三档，便于运输与交易，是早期"茶叶商品化"的实物证据。. Tea was tribute, medicine and monastery drink at once, not a standalone commodity; the conclusion cannot be transferred without that context.