Discourse Between Tea and Wine
Discourse Between Tea and Wine,
ca. 742-760, one juan and
preface
by the Presented Prefectural Nominee, Wang Fu (ca. mid 8th century)
I dare say that Shennong the Divine Cultivator tasted the Hundred Plants, and thereafter the Five Grains were distinct; that Xuanyuan the Yellow Emperor created clothing and passed it down to instruct posterity; that Cang Jie created words; and that Confucius spread the Ru doctrines. At present, such things cannot present be spoken in depth, so I select only the essentials for discussion. Now, I ask Tea and Wine, who of the two has more virtue? Who is inferior? Who is superior? Today, each must form arguments, and the greater will lead in gaining glory for its side.”
Tea then comes forth saying, “Everyone, do not quibble, for it is said that I am the first of the Hundred Plants and the flower of the Ten Thousand Plants. The most precious part is sought from my pistils, the most important is chosen from my buds. I am called Mingcao; my sobriquet is Cha. I am sent as tribute to the households of the Five Marquises, and offered to the families of the Emperor and Princes. It is fashionable to gift me, engendering a lifetime of honor and glory. Naturally, I am the respected one. Why the need for debate and boasting!”
Wine then comes forth, “What silly words! Since antiquity till now, tea has been scorned while wine has been respected. Cast a bucket of wine lees in the river, and the Three Armies report in drunk. When lords and rulers drink wine, everyone shouts ‘longevity of ten-thousand years.’ When the assembled courtiers drink wine, all may speak without fear. I comfort the dead and calm the living, and even the divine are pleased by my fragrance. When wine and food are shared, evil intent is always absent. When there is wine, there is order: benevolence, righteousness, propriety, and wisdom. Naturally, I’m called superior. So why bother comparing!”
Tea says to Wine, “Ah, you have not heard: the Ten Thousand States come seeking the tea of Fuliang and Shezhou. For tea from mountains of Shu and Mengding, people scale the massif peaks. In Shucheng and Taihu, they procure maids and buy slaves. In Yuejun and Yuhang, tea is kept in pouches made of gold and silk. The tea Pale Purple Emperor is rare in the world. When tea merchants come bidding, their boats and carriages snarl in the traffic. According to this reasoning, who is inferior now?”
Wine says to Tea, “Well, you haven’t heard. Jijiu and Qianhe wines are traded for brocade and gauze. Grape and Jiuyun wines benefit the body. Jade and Qiongjiang wines fill the goblets of immortals. The wines Chrysanthemum Flower and Bamboo Leaf are passed among lords and princes. The Zhaomu wines of Zhongshan are sweet and pleasingly bitter. One cup inebriates a person for three years, so says a legend passed from antiquity till today. Wine inspires comity among the plebeian and pacifies the martial. So, there’s no need to worry your head.”
Tea says to Wine, “As Mingcao, I am the heart of the Ten Thousand Plants. I am as white as jade or like yellow gold. Famous monks of great virtue and hermits of Chan monasteries all drink me during discourse, for I drive away weariness. Tea is offered to Maitreya and dedicated to Avalokiteśvara. Spanning a thousand katalpas, ten thousand aeons, the Buddhas all venerate me. Wine can ruin families and scatter households and spread immorality and depravity. Drinking three cups of wine causes only greater iniquity.”
Wine says to Tea, “At just three coins a jar, when will tea ever make for wealth? Wine reaches the nobility and is admired by court officials. It once inspired the King of Zhao to pluck the zither and the King of Qin to strike musical ceramics. It is not permitted for tea to accompany singing nor is it allowed for tea to rouse dancing. To drink tea is only to get backaches, and drinking too much causes stomach pains. If ten cups a day are downed, the intestines swell like yamen drums. Taking tea for three years is to spur dropsy in a toad.”
Tea says to Wine, “Of my generation, I am celebrated, properly attired, girdled and groomed. Leaping oceans and riding rivers, I arrive at this golden court. In the marketplace, dealings are never certain. But people come to buy me, their money overflowing. Even as we speak, I easily attain wealth and riches, no waiting for tomorrow morning or the day after. Oh, Wine, you make people dull and confused. Drinking too much, they become garrulous. In the street, you ensnare them. You deserve at least seventeen lashes!”
Wine says to Tea, “Don’t you know about the talented men of antiquity, who chanted poetry and said, ‘When thirsty, drink a cup of wine to rejuvenate and nurture life.’ And,‘Wine is the medicine that purges all worries.’ Or, ‘Wine can cultivate virtue.’ These sayings from the ancients have passed down till today. Tea is cheap, three coins for five bowls; and while wine is also cheap, it still costs seven coins for just half a cup. Serving wine and formal seating are ceremonies for guests. Ritual state music flows from the fountain of wine. But drink tea when court is ended and none dare tweet or strum even a bit.”
Tea says to Wine, “So, you do not believe that youths of fourteen or fifteen should not visit wine shops. You do not think that the shengsheng bird lost its life because of wine. You said, ‘Tea drinking tea causes disease and drinking wine cultivates virtue.’ But although I have seen jaundice and disease due to wine, I have never seen madness or insanity from tea. Because of wine, King Ajātaśatru killed his father and distressed his mother, and Liu Ling died in three years. Having drunk wine, the brows arch, the eyes bulge, angry fights start, and fisticuffs declared. Rough paladins are accused of drunkenness, but that can never be said of tea. Inescapably, the drunkard is arrested and imprisoned, the law fines him, a great cangue put round his neck, and his back beaten. To abstain from wine, he will burn incense, cry to Buddha, and beseech Heaven. For the rest of his days, he will not drink, hoping to avoid faltering on the path to sobriety.” Tea and Wine vie to distinguish one from the other, unaware that Water is right next to them.”
Water says to Tea, “The two of you, why so vehement! Who are you to argue about virtues? Speaking so, you ruin one another with nonsense. In life, there are four essential elements: Earth, Water, Fire and Wind. Tea without water, how does that look? Wine without water, how does that appear? Rice and leavening eaten dry injures the intestines and stomach. Caked tea swallowed dry scrapes and wounds the throat. All living things need water, the source of the Five Grains. From above, I respond to celestial signs; from below, I follow the auspicious and dreadful. By me, the rivers Yangzi, Yellow, Huai, and Ji all flow. I can inundate Heaven and Earth. I can wither and kill the fishes and dragons. In the age of Yao, the Nine Years of Floods were caused by me. I am worshipped by All Under Heaven, and the Ten Thousand Clans obey me. While I am no saint, why do you two argue your merits? From now on, be in harmony, so that wineshops prosper and teahouses are not impoverished. Be everlasting brothers, from beginning to end. When people read this, generations for eternity will never suffer madness from wine nor insanity from tea.”
Discourse Between Tea and Wine, one juan.
A manuscript written by Yan Haizhen, disciple of the Zhishu Monastery, on
the fourteenth day of the first lunar month of the third year of the Kaibao
reign period, 970.
茶酒論一卷並序
鄉貢進士王敷撰
竊見神農曾嘗百草, 五穀從此得分, 軒轅製其衣服, 流傳教示後人; 倉頡致其文字, 孔丘闡化儒因. 不可從頭細説, 撮其樞要之陳. 暫問茶之與酒, 兩個誰有功勛? 阿誰即合卑小, 阿誰即合稱尊? 今日各須立理, 強者光飾一門.
茶乃出來言曰: 諸人莫閙, 聼說些些, 百草之首, 萬木之花. 貴之取蘂, 重 之摘芽. 呼之茗草, 號之作茶. 貢五侯宅, 奉帝王家. 時新獻入, 一世榮華. 自然 尊貴, 何用論誇!
酒乃出來: 可笑詞說! 自古至今, 茶賤酒貴. 單醪投河, 三軍告醉. 君王飲之, 叫呼萬歲. 群臣飲之, 賜卿無畏. 和死定生, 神明歆氣. 酒食向人, 終無惡意. 有酒有令, 仁義禮智. 自合稱尊， 何勞比類.
茶為酒曰: 阿你不聞道: 浮梁歙州, 萬國來求. 蜀山蒙頂, 其山驀嶺. 舒城, 太湖, 買婢買奴.越郡, 餘杭, 金帛為囊. 素紫天子, 人間亦少. 商客來求, 船車塞紹. 據此蹤由, 阿誰合小?
酒為茶曰: 阿你不聞道. 齊酒, 乾和, 博錦, 博羅. 蒲桃, 九醖, 於身有潤. 玉酒, 瓊漿, 仙人盃觴. 菊花, 竹葉, 君王交接. 中山趙母, 甘甜美苦. 一醉三 年, 流傳今古. 禮讓鄉閭, 調和軍府. 阿你頭腦, 不須乾努.
茶為酒曰: 我之茗草, 萬木之心. 或白如玉, 或似黃金. 名僧大德, 幽隱禪林. 飲之語話, 能去昏沉. 供養彌勒, 奉獻觀音. 千劫萬劫, 諸佛相欽. 酒能破家 散宅, 廣作邪淫. 打卻三盞已后, 令人只是罪深.
酒為茶曰: 三文一瓨, 何年得富? 酒通貴人, 公卿所慕. 曾遣趙王彈琴, 秦王擊缶. 不可把茶請歌, 不可為茶教舞. 茶喫只是腰疼, 多喫令人患肚. 一日打却 十盃, 腹脹又同衙鼓. 若也服之三年, 養蛤蟆得水病報.
茶為酒曰: 我三十成名, 束帶巾櫛. 驀海騎江, 來朝金室. 將到市鄽, 安排未畢. 人來買之, 錢財盈溢. 言下便得富饒, 不在明朝後日. 阿你酒能昏亂, 喫了多 饒啾唧. 街中羅織平人, 脊上少須十七!
酒為茶曰: 豈不見古人才子, 吟詩盡道: 渴來一盞, 能生養命. 又道: 酒是消愁藥 . 又道: 酒能養賢. 古人糟粕, 今乃流傳. 茶賤三文五碗, 酒賤中半七文. 致酒謝坐. 禮讓周旋. 國家音樂, 本為酒泉. 終朝喫你茶水, 敢動些些管弦.
茶為酒曰: 阿你不見道: 男兒十四五, 莫與酒家親. 君不見猩猩鳥, 為酒喪 其身. 阿你即道: 茶喫發病, 酒喫養賢. 即見道有酒黃酒病, 不見道有茶瘋茶癲. 阿闍世王為酒殺父害母, 劉伶為酒一死三年. 喫了張眉竪眼, 怒鬥宣拳. 狀麤豪酒醉, 不曾有茶醉相言. 不免求首杖子, 本典索錢. 大枷搕項, 背上抛椽. 便即燒香斷酒, 念佛求天, 終生不喫, 望免迍邅. 兩個政爭人我, 不知水在傍邊。
水為謂茶曰: 阿你兩個, 何用怱怱! 阿誰許你, 各擬論功? 言詞相毀, 道西說東. 人生四大, 地水火風. 茶不得水, 作何相貌? 酒不得水, 作甚形容? 米麯乾喫, 損人腸胃. 茶片乾喫, 只糲破喉嚨. 萬物須水, 五穀之宗. 上應乾象, 下順吉凶. 江河淮濟, 有我即通. 亦能漂蕩天地, 亦能凅殺魚龍. 堯時九年災跡, 只緣我在其中. 感得天下欽奉, 萬姓依從. 由自不說能聖, 兩個用爭功? 從今以後, 切須和同. 酒店發富, 茶坊不窮. 長為兄弟, 須得始終. 若人讀之一本, 永世不害酒癲茶瘋.
茶酒論一卷
開寶三年庚午歲正月十四日知術院弟子閻海真自手書記
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