Life as a scholar, reincarnated as a Tea immortal.

From ancient times to the present, Lu Yu has always been the deeply respected “Tea Saint” among all tea lovers.

However, in both official and folk histories, there is no shortage of gossip about Lu Yu. Some of it is even so scandalous that it can shatter one's worldview, presenting a different side of the “Tea Saint.”

Statue of Lu Yu with colored glaze from Shiwanyao

1

Lu Yu Once Mixed in the Entertainment Industry

New Book of Tang (New Tang History – Biography of Lu Yu)

Lu Yu was an orphan. The abbot Zhi Ji of Longgai Temple in Jingling adopted him, taught him to read scriptures, and hoped he would take over his robes. However, Lu Yu did not wish to spend his life before a lamp and ancient Buddha.

Zhi Ji was very angry and punished him with laborious and dirty tasks like plastering walls and cleaning toilets. Lu Yu was stubborn and refused to yield. Zhi Ji locked him in a small dark room and had someone watch over him, much like the methods used today by scammers in Northern Myanmar. Later, unable to bear the torment, Lu Yu escaped.

The West Pagoda Temple in Tianmen City, Hubei, the former Longgai Temple, where Lu Yu grew up.

With no support, he joined a troupe to learn acting. He was unattractive and stuttered, but he was witty and humorous, and his performances as a clown were extremely successful. He became a well-known comedian and even compiled a three-volume book of jokes called The Joke Talk.

Tang Dynasty Puppet (from the Palace Museum Collection)

It was precisely due to this period of his acting career that he met the first benefactor of his life, the governor Li Qiwu, at a government-sponsored public performance. Li Qiwu admired him, personally gave him poetry collections, and recommended him to study under Master Zou at Huomen Mountain Academy. This sowed the seeds for his dream of writing The Classic of Tea.

Lu Yu preparing tea for Master Zou (screenshot from CCTV's China in Ancient Books – The Classic of Tea)

2

Lu Yu Was a “Weirdo”

Tang Dynasty – Self-Biography of Scholar Lu Yu (by Lu Yu)

Ming dynasty – Chen Hongshou's Sixteen Views of Recluses – Tenth View (unrelated image)

While living in seclusion by the Tiaoxi River in Huzhou to write The Classic of Tea, Lu Yu often traveled between mountains and temples on a small boat.

When walking alone in the mountains, he would recite Buddhist scriptures at one moment and then ancient poems at another. He would use his walking stick to tap on trees by the roadside or play with the flowing water, stopping and starting, going back and forth until night fell. Then, he would return home crying and shouting after his excitement had subsided.

His strange behavior was like that of Lu Tong, the famous hermit who pretended to be mad during the Spring and Autumn Period in Chu. He was indeed a “weirdo.”

3

Lu Yu's “Girlfriend”

Yuan Dynasty – Xin Wenfang's Biographies of Talented Men of the Tang Dynasty

Lu Yu, though known as a “Saint,” was also a human being with emotions and desires, and he had a girlfriend (friend). She was the famous Tang Dynasty female poet Li Ye (also known as Ji Lan).

When young, Lu Yu was fostered in the home of the Confucian scholar Li Gong. Ji Lan was the daughter of Li Gong, and they were childhood sweethearts. She affectionately called this unremarkable little friend “Ji Ci.”

Ji Lan was a beauty from a young age and was skilled at poetry and playing the zither. At six years old, she wrote a poem about roses. It goes: “Not yet set up, yet the heart is disordered.” After reading it, Li Gong believed the poem was ominous: “Set up” sounds like “married,” and for such a young child to know of longing for love was too precocious! Thus, when she was eleven years old, he sent her to a Daoist temple to become a nun and renamed her Ji Lan.

Ming Dynasty – Chen Hongshou's Sixteen Views of Recluses – Tenth View (unrelated image)

While living in seclusion by the Tiaoxi River in Huzhou to write The Classic of Tea, Lu Yu often traveled between mountains and temples on a small boat.

When walking alone in the mountains, he would recite Buddhist scriptures at one moment and then ancient poems at another. He would use his walking stick to tap on trees by the roadside or play with the flowing water, stopping and starting, going back and forth until night fell. Then, he would return home crying and shouting after his excitement had subsided.

His strange behavior was like that of Lu Tong, the famous hermit who pretended to be mad during the Spring and Autumn Period in Chu. He was indeed a “weirdo.”

3

Lu Yu's “Girlfriend”

Yuan Dynasty – Xin Wenfang's Biographies of Talented Men of the Tang Dynasty

Lu Yu, though known as a “Saint,” was also a human being with emotions and desires, and he had a girlfriend (friend). She was the famous Tang Dynasty female poet Li Ye (also known as Ji Lan).

When young, Lu Yu was fostered in the home of the Confucian scholar Li Gong. Ji Lan was the daughter of Li Gong, and they were childhood sweethearts. She affectionately called this unremarkable little friend “Ji Ci.”

Ji Lan was a beauty from a young age and was skilled at poetry and playing the zither. At six years old, she wrote a poem about roses. It goes: “Not yet set up, yet the heart is disordered.” After reading it, Li Gong believed the poem was ominous: “Set up” sounds like “married,” and for such a young child to know of longing for love was too precocious! Thus, when she was eleven years old, he sent her to a Daoist temple to become a nun and renamed her Ji Lan.

Ming Dynasty – Chen Hongshou's Leisurely Conversations on Palace Affairs (unrelated image)

Lying sick in bed, Ji Lan's thoughts were in disarray. The unexpected arrival of Lu Yu, who had been absent for many years, filled her with surprise and emotion.

However, she ultimately lived out her life as Lu Yu's “female friend.” Their budding love remained unfulfilled.

Cold moonlight and tide enter the Shaoxi River, green apes call through the western green forest.

The person of old has followed the east-flowing waters, only seeing the annual growth of river grass year after year.

– Lu Yu's Meeting East of Kuaiji Mountains

She never married. He never married. Perhaps love with regrets is beautiful.

4