''The Record of Tea'' (), also known as the ''Tea Note'' is a Chinese tea classic by Cai Xiang written in 1049–1053 CE. Reputed as one of the greatest calligraphers of the

Song dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...

, Cai Xiang was also a great

tea Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of ''Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of southwestern China and north ...

connoisseur. During the Qingli (慶曆)

era An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Comp ...

of the

Renzong Emperor Emperor Renzong of Song (30 May 1010 – 30 April 1063), personal name Zhao Zhen, was the fourth emperor of the Song dynasty of China. He reigned for about 41 years from 1022 to his death in 1063, and was the longest reigning Song dynasty empe ...

(1041–1048), Cai Xiang was the Officer of Transportation in

Fujian Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capi ...

. He pioneered the manufacture of a small "Dragon Tribute Tea Cake" (大小龙团 daxiao longtuan) of superlative quality. He wrote the first tea treatise of the Song dynasty, ''The Record of Tea''. In this book, he documents, explains in detail, comments and also criticizes the preparation and usage of tea and its vessels. He also made one of the first documented comments on

Jian ware Jian ware or Chien ware () is a type of Chinese pottery originally made in Jianyang, Fujian province. It, and local imitations of it, are known in Japan as ''Tenmoku'' (). The ware are simple shapes in stoneware, with a strong emphasis on subtl ...

. The work consists of two volumes. He was a native of Fujian; he was the first writer to report the tea spotting game of Jian'an (now

Shuiji Shuiji () is a town of Jianyang District, Nanping, in northern Fujian province, China. See also * List of township-level divisions of Fujian *Wuyi New Area Wuyi New Area was established on June 26, 2012 in Nanping, Fujian. Administration ...

county in Fujian).

* Part I: About Tea ** Properties of Tea ** On Storage ** On Baking ** On Pressing ** On Sieving ** On Boiling Water ** On Preheating ** On Tea Spotting * Part II: Tea Utensils ** Tea Warmer ** Tea Canister ** Tea Hammer ** Tea Clamps ** Tea Grinder ** Tea Sieve ** Tea Vessel ** Tea Spoon ** Tea Kettle

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Record Of Tea Chinese tea classic texts Song dynasty literature 1040s books 11th-century Chinese books

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