Lu Yu

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Lu Yu is revered as the Sage of Tea for his profound impact on Chinese tea culture. He is best known for writing The Classic of Tea, the pioneering work that comprehensively addresses cultivating, brewing, and savoring tea. Born in 733 in Tianmen, Hubei, Lu Yu spent six years studying under the guidance of master Zou Fuzi at Houmen mountain. During this period, Lu Yu frequently brewed tea for his teacher and utilized his remarkable knowledge of herbs to care for his fellow students' health, skills he acquired during his time at the Longgai Monastery. Whenever possible between his studies, Lu Yu ventured into the countryside to gather tea leaves and herbs. On one such trip, he stumbled upon a crystal-clear spring beneath a six-foot round rock and discovered that brewing tea with this water produced an unexpectedly superior taste. From then on, Lu Yu recognized the significance of quality water in brewing tea. Zou Fuzi was deeply impressed by Lu Yu's dedication to tea and his exceptional skill in brewing high-quality tea. He cleared the rock together with some of his students and dug a well around the spring's source. Over a thousand years later, during the Qing Dynasty (1616-1911), Jingling suffered from drought, and the entire city was desperate for water. City residents found that water was still flowing from this well uncovered by Lu Yu and dug by Zou Fuzi. A Qing official ordered three wells to be drilled around the spring, and a structure constructed near the wells named "Lu Yu Hut" and the "Literary Spring." In 752, Lu Yu completed his studies, bid farewell to his teacher Zou Fuzi, and returned to Jingling to reunite with his benefactor Li Qiwu. However, a year earlier, Li Qiwu was reinstated and returned to the Tang capital Chang'an. The new Chief Official of Jingling was Cui Goufu, who had been demoted from a senior position for offending a member of the royalty. Cui Goufu was a renowned scholar and poet celebrated for his exquisite 5-character-per-verse short poems. After his demotion to Jingling, Cui Goufu adopted a more leisurely lifestyle. Despite being many years older than Lu Yu, both men shared a passion for tea, literature, and poetry, leading them to become close friends soon after meeting. During this period, Lu Yu resided with Cui Goufu and assisted him in his administrative tasks. The two kindred spirits spent much time traveling, sipping tea, and writing poems together, co-authoring several books on poetry. This period with Cui Goufu was a formative phase for Lu Yu as a writer; an incubation period where he refined and honed the skills he learned from his teacher Zou Fuzi. Cui Goufu, with his vast experience and skill in literary work, served as a mentor who provided valuable guidance to enhance and mature Lu Yu's writing and literary abilities. During this time, he penned The Classic of Tea. The original version of The Classic of Tea consisted of three books covering 10 chapters in total; Book 1 comprised the first three chapters, Book 2 contained chapter 4 alone, and Book 3 included chapters 5 to 10. After the Tang Dynasty, all three books were bound into a single volume, making the original three-volume version unavailable.