Chapter II · The Implements · Section 7: At a contemporary tea table — reading “襜一曰衣以油绢或雨衫单服败者为之以襜置承上又”

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Thesis

“襜一曰衣以油绢或雨衫单服败者为之以襜置承上又” still has operational value at a contemporary tea table, provided Tang conditions are not silently universalised.

Text

“The chan cloth, also called yi, is made of oiled silk or worn rainwear. It is laid on the cheng base, and the gui mold set upon it to form the tea; when a cake is done, it is lifted and replaced.”

Context

襜（chān）：包茶的布，又叫衣。用油绢或旧雨衣做成。放在承上，再放规于其上，用来制茶；茶饼成型后提起换一块。

Evidence

• Collation: 各本一致。吴觉农注：襜为包压茶饼的衬布，油绢可防茶膏粘附，是"脱模布"的唐代版。
• Existing readings: 吴觉农释此句：襜如同今之"压饼垫布"，油绢光滑不粘茶、便于脱模——一件小物，尽显唐代制茶的成熟工序。

Analysis

To repeat this section today is not to copy a Tang utensil list. It is to keep its order of judgment: leaf first, then water and fire, then the table.

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 7; the original is in the public domain.

The vessel is not background. 襜（chān）：包茶的布，又叫衣。用油绢或旧雨衣做成。放在承上，再放规于其上，用来制茶；茶饼成型后提起换一块。 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, 吴觉农释此句：襜如同今之"压饼垫布"，油绢光滑不粘茶、便于脱模——一件小物，尽显唐代制茶的成熟工序。. Tea was tribute, medicine and monastery drink at once, not a standalone commodity; the conclusion cannot be transferred without that context.