The widespread distribution of tea can be attributed to the extensive practice of Zen Buddhism throughout the whole country. Because sleeping and eating were strictly prohibited for Buddhists practicing meditation, they could only drink tea. Many monks thus became tea connoisseurs.

The monk who adopted Lu Yu was a tea lover and Lu Yu prepared tea for him from childhood. As the years passed, Lu Yu’s skill at preparing tea improved and he developed a great interest in the brew. In his later years, Lu Yu withdrew from the outside world and concentrated on research into tea. The fruits of his research were written down in his masterpiece—the Classic of Tea.

The Masterpiece Cha Jing or the Classic of Tea

In the book, Lu Yu tried to comprehensively present all known information about Chinese tea culture. It is divided into three sections. The first one has three chapters, discussing tea and its production. The second one has one chapter, listing utensils for production. And the last one has six chapters, covering subjects from tea appraisal to old records.

Perhaps of most historical value is the seventh chapter, entitled “Tea events” and records incidents concerning tea over thousands of years, from legendary times to the Tang Dynasty.

After the Tang Dynasty Cha Jing was bound into a single book and the three volumes version was no longer available.