Introduction:
The Chá Jiǔ Lùn 茶酒論 (Discourse of Tea and Wine) is a satirical text of the Táng 唐 dynasty, which represents a dialogue between the personified substances of tea, on the one hand, and wine (or also, liqueur or alcohol), on the other. This text is not only interesting because it gives us information about the customs and mentality of the time, and the ideas associated with these two beverages, but it is also a metaphor that represents a discussion between philosophical or spiritual currents.
Historical context:
The Chá Jiǔ Lùn was discovered in the twentieth century in the Mògāo 莫高 caves, in Dūnhuáng 敦煌. Dūnhuáng was an especially important enclave on the Silk Road, a place of confluence of different cultures. There was an important Buddhist community there. The Mògāo Caves are a set of more than 500 grottoes dug into the sandstone cliffs, which served as temples and places of worship.
In one of the caves was discovered, at the beginning of the twentieth century, a large library of ancient texts, which had remained sealed and hidden since the eleventh century. Among these manuscripts were six copies of the Chá Jiǔ Lùn, which allows us to infer that this was a popular text in the Dūnhuáng community.
The exact date of the Chá Jiǔ Lùn is unknown, but it is believed to date from the mid-seventh to the tenth centuries, after tea became a prodcut of daily consumption. Its author, Wáng Fū 王敷, is known only to have been a Confucian scholar.
Mògāo 莫高 caves.
Characteristics of the Cha Jiu Lun:
The Chá Jiǔ Lùn is one of Dūnhuáng's most sophisticated texts in terms of style and language. However, the text contains numerous scribal errors, with many characters mistaken by other homophones. As pointed out by Amy Pearse (2018), who has analyzed several aspects of the Chá Jiǔ Lùn, these errors are typical of oratory texts as they have been put in writing. In addition, some of the fragments of the text contain annotations indicating scene guidelines, suggesting that the text was used as a representation, and perhaps originally written for the purpose of being represented on a stage.
Most of the text is structured in lines of four or six characters, with lines of five or eight characters interspersed throughout the text, which produces changes of pace that suggest the excitement of the debate. The text is rhymed for the most part, although the rhyme does not follow a uniform structure throughout the text.
In the text, tea and wine, personified, carry a heated dialogical confrontation defending each their virtues and attacking the other, with the appearance of a third character at the end that puts order between them. In their speech, the customs and symbolic functions of one and the other in society can be seen. Tea defends itself from a position similar to that of the Buddhists in its precept against the intake of alcohol, making use of arguments of that nature.
The Chá Jiǔ Lùn has been seen as a purely Buddhist text, due to the terminology used by the character of tea in its argumentation. However, Pearse, in her analysis, understands it as a symbolic representation of the interreligious debates in the imperial court, between the three religions. The inclusion of the term lùn 論 (speech, debate, treatise) in the title would also conform to this interpretation.
Text and commentary of the Cha Jiu Lun:
We have not found a complete translation of this text, neither in English nor in Spanish, but we will try to offer an approximate translation of the text, relying on the partial translation of James A. Benn (2015) and trying to complete it ourselves. We have left the original text in Chinese so that anyone who has knowledge of the language can read it in its original form and, in advance, we apologize for any errors or omissions that our translation may contain.
We will section the text into parts, and for each part, we will offer the original text in traditional Chinese, the transliteration in the pīnyīn 拼音 system, where you can appreciate the rhyme, a translation and, finally, an explanatory commentary.
To differentiate the substances of tea and wine from their incarnation into characters in the text, we will write the name of these characters in capital letters.
1
茶酒論﹝唐﹞王敷撰
Chá jiǔ lùn ﹝ Táng ﹞ Wáng Fū zhuàn
Discourse of Tea and Wine (Táng Dynasty), by Wáng Fū
2
竊見神農曾嘗百草，五谷從此得分﹔
qiè jiàn shén nóng zēng cháng bǎi cǎo, wǔ gǔ cóng cǐ dé fēn;
軒轅制其衣服，流傳教示后人。
xuān yuán zhì qí yī fú, liú chuán jiào shì hòu rén.
倉頡致其文字，孔丘闡化儒倫。
cāng jié zhì qí wén zì, kǒng qiū chǎn huà rú lún.
不可從頭細說，撮其樞要之陳。
bù kě cóng tóu xì shuō, cuō qí shū yào zhī chén
暫問茶之與酒，兩個誰有功勛？
zàn wèn chá zhī yǔ jiǔ, liǎng gè shuí yǒu gōng xūn?
阿誰即合卑小，阿誰即合稱尊？
ā shuí jí hé bēi xiǎo, ā shuí jí hé chēng zūn?
今日各須立理，強者光飾一門。
jīn rì gè xū lì lǐ, qiáng zhě guāng shì yī mén.
Translation:
Shénnóng came to know every type of plants and the five cereals; Xuān Yuán invented clothing. Cāng Jié invented writing, and Confucius explained Confucianism. But let's not mince words and get to the point. For a moment, let's ask Tea and Wine, who has made merit contributions? Which of the two is the most respected? Today, each of them will present their arguments to clarify this question.
Commentary:
This first part is a preface in which the author introduces the achievements of legendary figures and cultural heroes who brought civilization.
Shénnóng 神農 is a figure linked to medicine, who is credited with the invention of agriculture. In mythology, Shénnóng taught mankind to sow and harvest grain. It is believed that he had tasted all types of plants to know which were safe for human consumption and which were not. In addition, he is credited with the discovery of tea. It is believed that Lù Yǔ 陸羽 (733-804), writer of the first extant book on tea, was the creator of this myth of Shénnóng as the discoverer and patron saint of tea, a myth that would be very present in the popular imagination during the rest of China's history.
Painting illustrating Shénnóng 神農 testing different plants.
Other legendary heroes are then cited, such as Xuān Yuán 軒轅 (the Yellow Emperor, 黃帝 Huángdì), who, among other achievements, is credited with inventing clothing; and Cāng Jié 倉頡, scribe of the Yellow Emperor and inventor of writing. Finally, Confucius (Kǒngzǐ孔子, cited here as Kǒngqiū 孔丘), is mentioned, whose doctrine governed the organization and ritual of both state and family life.
This preface introduces the subject of discussion in the same way that religious debates were introduced in the imperial court.
Translation:
Tea came out, and said, "Everyone, be silent; listen to this. Among the hundred herbs, I am the first; among the ten thousand plants, I am the essence. I’m the harvest of the best buds. I am called mingcǎo, and also tea. I serve as a tribute to the five marquises, and as a gift to the imperial family. I offer them the latest trend, a whole flourishing life. I am honorable and respected, what need is there to exaggerate?"
Commentary:
Here, both "the hundred herbs" (百草 bǎi cǎo) and "the ten thousand plants" (萬木 wàn mù) refer to an infinite number of plant species. Thus, Tea begins by presenting itself as the first plant of the entire vegetal kingdom, and tells us that it is known as mingcǎo 茗草, in addition to as "tea", chá 茶.
Mingcǎo, or simply míng 茗, is one of the names by which tea was known before the Táng dynasty, when the word chá 茶 appeared, which derives from the term tú 荼, that did not designate a specific species but a series of bitter plants.
Illustration of the tea plant, camellia sinensis.
Tea ends its initial speech by alluding to the economic value it was acquiring at that time. Although tea was previously consumed locally, especially in southern China, it became popular during Táng, when it became a commercial product. Tea was commonly used as a gift by the Chinese social elite, including the court and the imperial family.
The "five marquises" (五侯 wǔ hóu) can refer to five official titles that were bestowed by the emperor in ancient times: gōng 公, hóu 侯, bó 伯, zǐ 子, nán 男, which we can translate as duke, marquis, count, viscount and baron, respectively, and representing the second rank of Chinese nobility. However, and by extension, it most likely refers here to the powerful and wealthy families of the nobility in general.
Translation:
Then, Wine came out and said, "What a ridiculous speech! From ancient times until now, tea has been despised and wine valued. When a single glass of wine was poured into the river, the three armies got drunk. When the sovereign and ministers drink, it gives them courage. When the crowd drinks, they shout ‘long live the emperor’. I harmonize life and death, and the divinities admire the energy I confer. Wine has never brought any harm to human being. Where there is wine there is order, ceremony, wisdom and benevolence. I am both old and respectable."
Commentary:
The word jiǔ 酒 can be translated as "wine", but it also refers to all kinds of liqueur or alcoholic beverage. Therefore, the character who speaks now does so on behalf of all spirits.
Wine begins its discourse by mocking the words of its antagonist, and alluding to its antiquity as a drink. To support his speech, he alludes to a story from the Spring and Autumn Annals (春秋 Chūnqiū), according to which on one occasion the king of Yuè 越, campaigning against the state of Wú 吴, poured a cup of wine into the river and made his men drink from the waters. The entire army (the "three armies", 三軍 sān jūn, i.e. the armies of the left, right, and centre) got drunk and fought with great bravery.
In China, wine was used in court ceremonies and as an offering to the dead, and played an essential role as part of etiquette and in social relations. Thus, Wine is presented as a bearer of tradition and highlights its role in ritual, which in Confucianism was fundamental for the preservation of the order of the state. In addition, it alludes to the Confucian virtues of courtesy (禮 lǐ), wisdom (智 zhì), benevolence (仁 rén) and righteousness (義 yì), which are four of the five essential virtues of Confucianism.
Wine played an essential role in social relations.
Translation:
Tea replied to Wine: "Have you not heard the saying '[the tea of] Fúliáng and Shèzhōu, all nations come in search of it'? Crossing mountain ranges, [even] the Shǔ mountains. [The people of] Shūchéng and Tàihú [come to] buy me. The prefectures of Yuè and Yúháng are brimming with money and silk. Among ordinary people and emperors, there are few honours like this in the world. The merchants arrive seeking for [tea] and fill their boats and carts. For all these reasons, who do you think is big and who is small?"
Commentary:
Tea begins by quoting a saying of the time: 'the tea of Fúliáng and Shèzhōu, all nations come in search of it'. During the Táng Dynasty, the ancient city of Fúliáng 浮梁 was a large tea distribution centre, the most famous of the time. During the Sòng 宋 dynasty, the city was renamed Jǐngdézhèn 景德鎮, although the region retains the name Fúliáng.
Fúliáng 浮梁, current Jǐngdézhèn 景德鎮.
Tea continues his speech alluding to its value as a commodity, highlighting the hardships that the caravans of merchants went through to acquire it. The Shǔ 蜀 Mountains refer to the present-day Sìchuān 四川 province, a mountainous area of difficult transit. It was probably in this region, and in the adjacent Yúnnán 雲南, where tea grows wild, where the habit of drinking tea arised.
Before being grown for consumption and marketed as a product, already during Táng, tea was consumed locally in these regions, harvested directly from bushes and wild trees. This was a product not prepared for transport, and therefore consumed only in the places where the plant was native. Shortly before Táng, tea began to undergo a process of manipulation that prepared it for transport as a commercial good, which favoured the expansion of its consumption throughout the rest of China.
Tea leaves were steamed, ground and pressed together with some binding substance in the form of bricks or cakes. Less scrupulous merchants adulterated the product with willow or sophora leaves to increase their profit.
At the end of the eighth century, tea was already a highly prized good not only by the Chinese but also by their neighboring peoples, such as the Tibetans and some peoples of the steppes. From the regions of Yúnnán and Sìchuān there were trade routes that crossed very steep areas where caravans of merchants carrying tea transited. One of these routes was the so-called Tea Horse Road (茶馬道 Chá Mǎ Dào), which we have already talked about on other occasion.
Another region that was noted for tea production during Táng is Zhèjiāng 浙江. When Tea refers to the prefectures of Yuè 越 and Yúháng 餘杭, it is referring, respectively, to the present-day region of Zhèjiāng and the city of Hángzhōu 杭州, the most important municipality in this province. In Hángzhōu the Fùchūn 富春 river, formerly known as the Zhè River (浙江Zhè jiāng), which gives the province its name, flows into the sea. This river is an important commercial artery of the area, and from there boats loaded with tea departed for distribution to other regions.
Fùchūn 富春 river, in Zhèjiāng 浙江.
Translation:
Wine said to Tea: "Ah, you have never heard of the medicinal liqueurs Gānhé, Bójǐn, Bóluó, Pútáo, Jiǔyùn. They have health benefits. Yùyè and Qióngjiāng are in the cup of immortals. Júhuā and Zhúyè are associated with the emperor. [...]
[Wine] gives priority to villages and towns, and reconciles the government and the military. Ah, your head is confused, no need to exert effort.”
Commentary:
In this passage, Wine mentions a number of medicinal liqueurs that were consumed by immortals (仙 xiān) and emperors.
Jiǔyùn 九醞 appears to be the oldest known method of distillation of báijiǔ 白酒 ("white liqueur"), while qióngjiāng 瓊漿 was so prized that it was believed that whoever drank a cup of this liqueur became immortal.
These so-called "immortals" were sages and hermits who sought immortality or longevity through the practice of alchemy and meditation. Apart from society, they appreciated the enjoyment of the moment and drunkenness.
In the last part of this intervention, Wine once again emphasizes its role in ritual as a guarantor of social order.
The Eight Immortals (八仙 bāxiān) of Taoism.
Translation:
Wine replied: "Three coins for a bowl, since when do you have wealth? Wine is popular among nobles and admired by court officials. It made [the king of] Zhào play the qín, and the king of Qín play the fǒu. You can't sing with tea, and tea doesn't teach you to dance. Drinking tea produces pain in the waist, drinking a lot causes stomach problems. Drinking ten cups in a day causes bloating, [the belly] is like a drum. After drinking for three years, you'll look like a sick [swollen] frog."
Commentary:
Wine now alludes to the low cost of tea and, again, to the ritual function of wine, and also refers to a meeting between the kings of the states of Zhào 趙 and Qín 秦, from the Warring States period (戰國時代 Zhànguó Shídài), known as "meeting of Miǎnchí" (澠池之會 Miǎnchí zhī huì).
In this episode, the king of Qín wanted to provoke a war by insulting the king of Zhào. Being drunk, he asked him to play the sè 瑟 for him. The sè is a stringed instrument, which in this fragment of the Chá Jiǔ Lùn is named under the generic term qín 琴, which encompasses stringed instruments similar to the zither.
With this request, the king of Qín intended to humiliate his counterpart. But Lìn Xiāngrú 藺相如, one of the officers of the king of Zhào, saved his king's honour by putting the king of Qín in the same situation, getting him to play the fǒu, a percussion instrument made of clay.
"Meeting of Miǎnchí" (澠池之會 Miǎnchí zhī huì).
Then, Wine attacks the negative effects of tea. In the text, it is said "eating tea" (茶吃 chá chī), instead of "drinking tea", since tea in the Táng dynasty was consumed in a similar way to porridge with other ingredients. About this way of consuming tea in Táng we have already talked in our article From "Eating Tea" to "Drinking Tea": Tea Since Tang Dynasty.
Although today the beneficial properties of tea are well known, in Táng times the drink had its detractors. Among the negative effects associated with it was causing bloating and stomach problems.
Translation:
Tea said to Wine: "I acquired renown many years ago. Tea lovers cross seas and rivers, pay tribute and transport tea to the market. Before it has been arranged [in front of the customer], people come to buy it, and [merchants] overflow with wealth. Abundance comes to them now, no need to wait for tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. Ah, you Alcohol have the ability to confuse people. If they drink a lot, they boast. On the street, seven out of ten people [drinkers] go home on [someone else’s] back."
Commentary:
Tea once again emphasizes the mercantile value of the product and the fever it unleashed. In truth, the spread of tea consumption brought with it a revolution of culture. Tea was an alternative to alcohol as a socializing beverage and restructured social life in China.
In meetings between literati and members of the social elite, alcohol was always present as a social drink. Therefore, Buddhist monks, because of their precept against alcohol, remained out of these meetings. The prohibition of the use of alcohol to monks extended to all connection with this drink, from its consumption to its trade, through the prohibition of offering or giving alcohol as a gift, or any type of involvement in acts in which alcohol was present.
The spread of tea as a beverage and commercial asset during the Táng Dynasty would end this isolation of the monks. Tea came into competition with alcohol as a socializing beverage, facilitating relationships between monks and scholars, officials and poets.
Tea also became a vital component of the economy. Its consumption permeated all layers of society, and among the elite a refined culture developed that revolved around this drink. Experts and connoisseurs emerged who competed in meetings in which they tried to guess the origin or time of harvest of different varieties of tea. The rarest varieties reached exorbitant prices. Therefore, Tea is not bragging when it alludes in this way to the fever that unleashed its consumption and the wealth that the merchants amassed.
Lastly, the character gives a twist to the speech and ends his intervention by attacking the negative effects of drunkenness.
Translation:
Tea replied, "Ah, you haven't heard: people don't enter wine houses until they are fourteen or fifteen. You don't see that the gibbon lost its life to alcohol. You have said that when you drink tea you become sick, and when you drink alcohol you nourish virtue. But don't you see the opposite? Ajatashatru killed his parents for alcohol; Liú Líng was drunk for three years [...] The canga on the head, the beams on the back. [The drunkard] burns incense and quits alcohol. He chants the name of Buddha begging to Heaven, and he does not drink for the rest of his life, hoping to avoid trouble."
Commentary:
Tea returns to the attack on the effects of drunkenness. In China, there was a belief that apes possessed supernatural and medicinal properties, and they were very fond of alcohol. The term xīng xīng 猩猩 refers to an indeterminate class of ape, translated here by "gibbons", since geographically it is the most plausible meaning, although perhaps it could also refer to orangutan.
There are many legends about ape spirits, a topic that we have already touched on in our article The Origins of Sun Wukong. According to the Compendium of Materia Medica (本草綱目 Běncǎo Gāngmù), apes were lured with wine and caught in order to kill them and take their blood to dye clothes. Probably, Tea is referring to this ploy when it states that "the gibbon lost its life to alcohol."
Ajatashatru (阿闍世王 Ādūshìwáng) was an Indian prince of Buddha's time. He is said to have killed his father, King Bimbisara, although there are different versions of the story. In some, the reason was because he wanted to inherit the throne, in others out of hatred of the Buddhist religion, in others the father killed himself. We don't understand what role alcohol plays, or why his mother is mentioned.
Tea also mentions the myth of Liú Líng 劉伶, one of the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Forest (竹林七賢 Zhúlín Qī Xián). Liú Líng was addicted to alcohol and had a great ability to drink. One day he passed by the establishment of the famous wine producer Dù Kāng 杜康.
Dù Kāng claimed that one cup of his wine was capable of sleeping a tiger, two cups could put a dragon to sleep, and that if someone drank three cups and was not drunk for three years he did not have to pay. Liú Líng drank the three cups, despite the recommendation against it from the vintner, and then found that he had no money to pay. The winemaker told him that he himself would go to Liú Líng’s house to get the money after three years.
Arriving at his home, Liú Líng fell asleep heavily and his wife thought he had died, so Liú Líng was buried. Three years later, the vintner went on to collect the debt and the wife, furious and blaming him for having caused the death of her husband, told him that she would pay it if he returned her husband. At this, Dù Kāng laughed and told her that her husband was only drunk. Indeed, after digging up Liú Líng and opening the coffin, they found him babbling praise about Dù Kāng's good wine.
Liú Líng 劉伶.
The final argument of Tea contains several eight-character lines, which gives an idea of despair in his speech.
Just as the expression "eat tea", the formula "he does not drink for the rest of his life" is used here, referring to alcohol. This is because in the past wine was made with fermented glutinous rice (called láo zāo 醪糟), and probably contained lumps. This usage has remained to this day in some dialects in China.
This is the final intervention of Tea, which closes the turn of the two main debaters, and a third character appears here who closes the debate.
Translation:
Water said to Tea and Wine: "Hey, you two, how in such a hurry! Who praises you? Everyone evaluates your merits. With words and gossip you destroy each other. The four elements of life are earth, water, fire and air. What is tea without water? What is wine without water? If rice is eaten dry, it damages the intestines and stomach. If the tea is ingested dry, it will hurt the throat. All things in the universe need water, the ancestor of the five cereals. The upper is according to Heaven, the lower obeys destiny. The Yangtze and the Huái flow because of me. I can fill heaven and earth and make fish and dragons die of thirst. Among the ruins of the nine years of the disaster of the time of Yáo, I was the only cause. Thanks to this, the world admires [me] and [people of] all surnames obey. Although I cannot call myself a sage, what need is there to argue on your merits? From now on you must cooperate with each other, so that the wine houses are prosperous and the tea houses are not poor. As brothers from beginning to end. So if someone reads this play, he will not be harmed by [excess of] alcohol or tea."
Commentary:
Water intervenes here to bring order and rebukes both debaters for their mutual attacks. Note that it cites the four elements (四大 sì dà) that belong to the Buddhist tradition, rather than the five elements or Five Phases (五行 wǔxíng) of the indigenous Chinese tradition. On the other hand, Heaven is cited here as Qián 乾, which corresponds to one of the Eight Trigrams (八卦 bāguà) of the Yì Jīng 易經.
Water highlights the need for it both Tea and Alcohol, which was normally produced by fermenting rice, and in general all things in the universe. It also alludes to the floods that occurred during the reign of the mythical king Yáo 堯, which are related in the myth of Gǔn Yǔ (鯀禹治水 Gǔn Yǔ Zhì Shuǐ), which we have already talked about in our article The Three Sage Kings. These floods lasted nine years and were eventually controlled by King Yǔ 禹.
The Gǔn Yǔ myth (鯀禹治水 Gǔn Yǔ Zhì Shuǐ).
Water ends its speech, and thus concludes the text, urging Tea and Wine to cooperate and advocating a moderate consumption of both substances, so that they are not harmful to health and that trade can prosper. Its last sentence, which is addressed to the public, shows that the Chá Jiǔ Lùn is a text to be represented, oriented to entertainment.