Photo: Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
Thesis
“晏子婴相齐景公时食脱粟之饭炙三弋五卵茗菜而已” still has operational value at a contemporary tea table, provided Tang conditions are not silently universalised.
Text
“Yan Ying, when minister to Duke Jing of Qi, ate only husked-rice meals, with three roast game birds, five eggs, and tea-leaf vegetable.”
Context
记晏婴生活俭朴，吃的只是粗米饭、烤肉与茶菜。
Evidence
- Collation: "茗菜"各本一致，指以茶为菜；“炙三弋"有版本作"炙三戈”，"弋"指射得的野禽，今从通行本。
- Existing readings: 吴觉农指出："茗菜"说明春秋时茶尚作菜蔬食用，与"茶之为饮"并行——茶从"吃"到"喝"的演进，在晏婴这里留下了珍贵的一笔。
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 VII · The History, section 3; the original is in the public domain.
Tea is grown and made, not just discussed.