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Thesis
Section 7 is not really about “晋左思《娇女诗》“心为茶荈剧吹嘘对鼎””; it is about how Lu Yu turns tea from a local product into an object of argument.
Text
“Zuo Si’s poem The Doting Daughters reads: ‘Their hearts race for the tea, they puff and blow upon the tripod.’”
Context
左思：西晋文学家。《娇女诗》：写女儿娇憨之态。茶荈（chuǎn）：茶。鼎：煮茶之器。
Evidence
- Collation: 此句为《茶经》所引最早的茶诗，各本一致；诗见《娇女诗》原文，陆羽节引。
- Existing readings: 吴觉农指出左思《娇女诗》是现存最早的咏茶诗之一，生动记录了晋代日常煮茶——诗以娇女吹鼎催火入画，茶香之外更见生活气息。
Analysis
Formally, the section gives a judgment, adds material detail, then returns to human practice. 左思：西晋文学家。《娇女诗》：写女儿娇憨之态。茶荈（chuǎn）：茶。鼎：煮茶之器。 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 VII · The History, section 7; the original is in the public domain.
Get the character right before the taste.