Detailed Explanation of the Origin of the Character "Tea"_Tea News

As early as the Western Zhou Dynasty in China, tea leaves were used as sacrificial offerings. By the Spring and Autumn Period, fresh tea leaves were consumed as a vegetable dish. During the Warring States Period, tea was used as medicinal herb, and by the Western Han Dynasty, tea had become one of the major commodities. Over the more than three hundred years from the Three Kingdoms period to the Northern and Southern Dynasties, especially during the Northern and Southern Dynasties, Buddhism flourished. Buddhists used tea to combat drowsiness during meditation, leading to widespread tea cultivation in the valleys near temples. Tea drinking promoted Buddhism, and Buddhism, in turn, advanced the development of tea culture. This is the origin of the historically famous concept "tea and Buddhism share one flavor." It was not until the Tang Dynasty that tea formally became a popular beverage among the common people.

So, how did the character "tea" originate?

In ancient historical materials, tea had many names. In the 2nd century BC, "荈诧" mentioned in Sima Xiangru's "Fan Jiang Pian" from the Western Han Dynasty referred to tea. By the end of the Western Han Dynasty, Yang Xiong's "Fangyan" referred to tea as "蔎". In "Shennong's Classic of Materia Medica," it was called "荼草" or "选". In the Southern Song Dynasty, Shan Qianzhi's "Wuxing Ji" called it "荈". In the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Pei Yuan's "Guangzhou Ji" referred to it as "皋芦". Additionally, names like "诧", "奼", "茗", and "荼" were all considered different characters with the same meaning as tea. Lu Yu in the Tang Dynasty's "The Classic of Tea" also mentioned, "Its names: first, tea; second, 槚; third, 蔎; fourth, 茗; fifth, 荈." In summary, in Lu Yu's "The Classic of Tea," there were no fewer than ten different terms for tea, with "荼" being the most frequently and commonly used.

The character "茶" evolved from the character "荼". The character "荼" first appeared in the "Six Classics". The "Book of Songs · Bin Feng · July Chapter," a work from the early Western Zhou Dynasty, states: "Gathering tú (荼) and firewood, feeding us farmers," initially indicating the meaning of tea. Due to the development of tea affairs and the invention of steamed green tea cakes in the early Tang Dynasty, tea drinking became very common. The general public's understanding of tea significantly improved. Recognizing tea as a woody plant, they changed the radical "禾" to "木", deriving the character "茶" by removing one stroke from "荼". The character "茶" first appeared in Su Gong's "Materia Medica". "Tang Materia Medica" was compiled by Li Ji et al. during the Yonghui period (650-655 AD) under Emperor Gaozong of Tang, Li Zhi, and later detailed annotations were added by Su Gong, Zhangsun Wuji, and 20 others during the Xianqing period (656-661 AD). Thereafter, the character "荼" was no longer used for tea, and "茶" was written exclusively.

From the period of Emperor Daizong Li Yu to Emperor Dezong Li Shi of the Tang Dynasty, all instances of the character "茶" inscribed on Tang steles were written as "荼". For example, the "荼槐" on the Stele for Master Lingyun written by a monk from Shengshan Temple in 750 AD (Tianbao 9th year), the "荼毗" on the Stele for Monk Bukong written by Xu Hao in 781 AD (Jianzhong 2nd year), and the "荼毗" on the Stele for Master Chujin written by Wu Tongwei in 805 AD (Zhenyuan 21st year) all used the character "荼". By the time of Emperor Wenzong Li Ang (827-840 AD), Emperor Wuzong Li Yan (841-846 AD), and Emperor Xuanzong Li Chen (847-859 AD), the character "荼" on Tang steles had changed to "茶". For instance, the "茶毗" on the Mysterious Pagoda Stele by Liu Gongquan in 841 AD (Huichang 1st year), and the "茶毗" on the Stele for Master Huaihui of Baiyan by Pei Xiu in 855 AD (Dazhong 9th year), with text by Linghu Chu and calligraphy by Zheng Gang, are clear evidence of this change. After the mid-Tang Dynasty, all instances of the character "荼" meaning tea were replaced by "茶". Simultaneously, all alternative and substitute names were abolished, unified under the character "茶". Except for the character "茗", which is still occasionally used today, all other substitute characters have fallen out of use.

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