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Who Was Lu Yu? Meet the "Tea Sage" Who Wrote the "Cha Jing"

In the vast, intricate panorama of Chinese history, few figures single-handedly transformed a mundane commodity into a spiritual discipline. Lu Yu (陆羽, 733–804 CE), known as the Chasheng (茶圣), or "Tea Sage," stands as the singular architect of such a revolution. Before Lu Yu, tea was a chaotic, medicinal broth, often boiled with onions and ginger. It was Lu Yu who, amidst the tumultuous Tang Dynasty, purified the leaf and ritualized the brew, effectively birthing what the world now recognizes as tea culture.

His monumental work, the Cha Jing (茶经), or The Classic of Tea, written between 760 and 780 CE, was not merely a technical manual. It was a philosophical treatise that harmonized brewing with Confucian propriety, Daoist naturalism, and Buddhist mindfulness. This report provides an exhaustive examination of Lu Yu’s biography, the encyclopedic depth of the Cha Jing, and the enduring legacy of the Tea Sage.

A classical Chinese painting of Lu Yu, the 'Tea Sage,' sitting by a brazier and preparing tea.

Who Was Lu Yu?

  • The "Tea Sage": Lu Yu (733–804 CE) was a Chinese writer from the Tang Dynasty who is worshipped as the "Tea God" (Cha Shen).
  • His Work: He wrote the Cha Jing (The Classic of Tea), the world's first book entirely devoted to tea.
  • His Core Impact: He single-handedly elevated tea from a medicinal "soup" (which he called "ditch swill") into a refined, spiritual art form ("Clear Tea").
  • His Method: He codified the Tang Dynasty method of boiling powdered tea cakes, famously describing the "Three Boils."
  • His Legacy: He is the philosophical ancestor of all modern tea culture, from Chinese Gongfu Cha to the Japanese Tea Ceremony.

I. The Foundling of Jingling: Orphan, Monk, Clown, Sage

Born in 733 CE, Lu Yu was abandoned as a child and adopted by the abbot of the Dragon Cloud Monastery. Though raised as a monk and educated in Buddhist scriptures, he was a rebellious spirit who refused to take the vows. Instead, he was assigned menial tasks like herding oxen and, crucially, preparing tea for the abbot. It was here, in the temple kitchen, that he began to master the variables of the brew.

He eventually fled the monastery and joined a troupe of itinerant performers, working as a (reportedly stuttering) clown and playwright. His sharp wit caught the attention of a local governor, Li Qiwu, who became his patron. This patronage gave Lu Yu access to a library and a formal teacher, allowing him to transform from a performer into a respected scholar, all while continuing his obsessive research into tea.

The Cha Jing: Anatomy of a Sacred Text (c. 780 CE)

The Cha Jing (The Classic of Tea) is Lu Yu's 7,000-character masterpiece and the bible of tea culture. It is divided into 10 chapters, creating a complete cosmology of the leaf:

  • Chapter 1: Origin: Defines the Camellia sinensis plant, its botany, and ideal terroir (weathered stone soil is best).
  • Chapter 2: Tools: Lists the 15 tools for harvesting and processing.
  • Chapter 3: Making: Details the Tang method of processing tea into compressed cakes (Tuan Cha).
  • Chapter 4: Utensils: Lists the 24 essential items for a proper brewing ceremony, from the brazier to the tea bowl.
  • Chapter 5: Boiling: The philosophical core. Details the "Three Boils" and ranks water sources (mountain spring is best).
  • Chapter 6: Drinking: Codifies the rules of consumption and criticizes "vulgar" additions like onion and ginger.
  • Chapter 7: History: A compilation of historical tea records.
  • Chapter 8: Regions: Ranks the tea-producing regions of 8th-century China.
  • Chapter 9: Simplify: Outlines when it is acceptable to simplify the 24-tool ritual.
  • Chapter 10: Pictorialize: Instructs that the Cha Jing be copied onto scrolls and hung in the tea room as a visual guide.

II. The An Lushan Rebellion and the Southern Migration

The trajectory of Lu Yu’s life was violently altered in 755 CE by the An Lushan Rebellion, a civil war that devastated northern China. Lu Yu joined the mass exodus of scholars and poets fleeing south. This forced migration was pivotal, as it moved him into the Jiangnan region (modern Zhejiang), the very heart of China's tea cultivation.

Here, he lived as a hermit, wandering the mountains to collect tea samples and test spring waters. He also befriended the cultural elite of the era, including the poet Jiaoran and the calligrapher Yan Zhenqing. This intellectual circle, grounded in the terroir of the south, created the perfect environment for him to synthesize his life's work, the *Cha Jing*.

III. The Philosophy of the Brew: "Ditch Swill" vs. "Liquid Jade"

Lu Yu’s greatest contribution was his cultural war on "vulgar" tea. Before the *Cha Jing*, tea was a thick, savory soup (geng), boiled with scallions, ginger, orange peel, and salt. Lu Yu scornfully dismissed this concoction as "swill from the drain."

He championed "Clear Tea" (Qing Cha), arguing that these additions "disperse the true flavor" and that the leaf must be appreciated on its own. This shift from a chaotic soup to a pure infusion was a radical idea. It forced consumers to focus on the intrinsic quality of the leaf itself, which in turn spurred the development of higher-quality, single-origin tribute teas.

Expert Tip: The "Three Boils" (San Fei)

Lu Yu's brewing method was a precise art. He judged water temperature not with a thermometer, but by sight and sound:

  • First Boil ("Fish Eyes"): Small bubbles appear. A pinch of salt is added to the water to harmonize the flavor.
  • Second Boil ("String of Pearls"): Bubbles rise in continuous strings. A ladle of water is removed. The powdered tea cake is stirred into the center of the vortex.
  • Third Boil ("Raging Torrent"): The water boils violently. The ladle of cooler water is poured back in to "settle the boil" and nurture the froth.

This method—boiling powdered tea—was the standard for 500 years, eventually evolving into the whisking method used for matcha in the Song Dynasty.

IV. Apotheosis: The Legacy of the "Tea God"

Lu Yu died in 804 CE, but his influence only grew. As the tea trade became a massive industry in the subsequent Song Dynasty, tea merchants began to worship him as a deity: the Cha Shen (茶圣), or "Tea God."

Kilns produced small ceramic figurines of Lu Yu, which were placed in tea shops and on kilns. A ritual developed where merchants would offer tea to the statue on a profitable day. If business was poor, they would "punish" the statue by dousing it in boiling water. This cemented Lu Yu's status as the official patron saint of the tea trade.

His philosophy, codified in the *Cha Jing*, spread to Japan via Buddhist monks. While the Japanese tea ceremony adopted the whisking method of the Song Dynasty (which became matcha), its spiritual core—the reverence for utensils, the obsession with water, the integration of Zen, and the creation of a sacred space for tea—is a direct intellectual inheritance from Lu Yu.

Ultimately, Lu Yu was a man who saw a universe in a bowl. He took a leaf used to cure headaches and transformed it into a medium for poetry, philosophy, and social cohesion. Today, every time a tea lover warms a pot or admires the liquor in a cup, they are participating in a ritual designed by the orphan from Jingling over twelve centuries ago.

Expert Tip: The "Tea God" (Cha Shen)

After his death, Lu Yu was deified as the "Tea God" (Cha Shen). Tea merchants and kiln operators would pray to his statue for good business and safe transport of their goods. This elevation from a mere scholar to a literal god underscores his singular importance. He is not just a figure in tea's history; he is its central deity.

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