Chapter VI · The Drinking · Section 1: A common misreading — reading “翼而飞毛而走呿而言——此三者俱生于天地间饮啄”

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Thesis

The common mistake is to lift “翼而飞毛而走呿而言——此三者俱生于天地间饮啄” out of its sentence and turn it into an absolute rule.

Text

“Winged creatures fly, furred creatures run, and those with mouths speak — all three dwell between heaven and earth and live by drinking and eating. How far-reaching is the meaning of drinking!”

Context

呿（qū）：张口。鸟要飞、兽要跑、人要说话，都靠吃喝活着，可见"饮"的意义深远。

Evidence

• Collation: “呿而言"之"呿”，各本作"呿"（张口貌），有校本作"趋"或"跄"，属形近之误的校勘议题，今从通行本。
• Existing readings: 吴觉农指出：此句以"鸟飞兽走人言"起兴，将"饮"提到"生之大义"的高度，是为茶立论的宏大开场——饮不只是解渴，而是生命延续的根本。

Analysis

The usual misreading extracts “翼而飞毛而走呿而言——此三者俱生于天地间饮啄” as a slogan. “呿而言"之"呿”，各本作"呿"（张口貌），有校本作"趋"或"跄"，属形近之误的校勘议题，今从通行本。 In fact every judgment in the chapter carries a limit of place, season and use.

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 VI · The Drinking, section 1; the original is in the public domain.

A maker reads “翼而飞毛而走呿而言——此三者俱生于天地间饮啄” through weather and soil first. 呿（qū）：张口。鸟要飞、兽要跑、人要说话，都靠吃喝活着，可见"饮"的意义深远。 That is not far from how we judge a mountain and a picking window today.

The vessel is not background. 呿（qū）：张口。鸟要飞、兽要跑、人要说话，都靠吃喝活着，可见"饮"的意义深远。 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.