Ⅱ.Appreciation of Poems about Pu’er Tea
Tea planting, picking, making, serving as a tribute, drinking, using as medication, honors,tea mountains, tea history, tea trade, tea art, tea festivals, ancient tea horse roads, etc.depicted in poems about Pu’er tea are the essence and an important symbol of Pu’er tea culture.Pu’er tea poems not only reflect the poets’love for Pu’er tea, but also reflect the status of Pu’er tea in Chinese tea and people’s daily cultural life.An introduction to some representative Pu’er tea poems is provided in this section.
表3-1 普洱茶诗词代表作
普茶吟
清·许廷勋
山川有灵气盘郁，不钟于人即于物。
蛮江瘴岭剧可憎，何处灵芽出岑蔚。
茶山僻在西南夷，鸟吻毒闵纷胶葛。
岂知瑞草种无方，独破蛮烟动蓬勃。
味厚还卑日注从，香清不数蒙阴窟。
始信到处有佳人，岂必赵燕与吴越。
千枝峭茜蟠陈根，万树槎芽带余蘖。
春雷震厉勾渐萌，夜雨沾濡叶争发。
绣臂蛮子头无巾，花裙夷妇脚不袜。
竞向山头采拮来，芦笙唱和声嘈赞。
一摘嫩蕊含白毛，再摘细芽抽绿发。
三摘青黄杂揉登，便知粳稻参糖核。
筠蓝乱叠碧燥燥，楹炭微烘香馞馞。
夷人恃此御饥寒，贾客谁教半干没。
冬前给本春收茶，利重逋多同攘夺。
土官尤复事诛求，杂派抽分苦难脱。
满园茶树积年功，只与豪强作生活。
山中焙就来市中，人肩浃汗牛蹄蹶。
万片扬簸分精粗，千指搜剔穷毫末。
丁妃壬女共薰蒸，笋叶腾丝重捡括。
好随筐篚贡官家，直上梯航到官阙。
区区茗饮何足奇，费尽人工非仓卒。
我量不禁三碗多，醉时每带姜盐吃。
休休两腋自生风，何用团来三百月。
Tab.3-1 Classical poems about Pu’er tea
On Pu’er Tea
Xu Tingxun of the Qing Dynasty
The essence of our land is not reflected in human beings not in produces.
It is a pity that miasma emerges in remote mountains, but it is lucky that tea is also a local produce.
Tea mountains are remote in Southeast China, where there are toxic plants everywhere.
It cannot be imagined that Pu’er tea grows here flourishingly in such a remote place.
Its taste is mellow, and its aroma is impressive.
Good produces could be founded everywhere not necessarily in the States of Zhao, Yan, Wu and Yue.
Tea trees grow in cliffs, and tea growers pick tender leaves from the trees.
Tea trees sprout when spring comes with thunders and rains.
Local people work hard to pick tea leaves with bare heads and feet.
Lusheng music is heard when they work in themountain.
They pick the tender pistils and tender sprouts first.
Then they pick green and yellow leaves, which are inferior quality.
They fry tea leaves to remove the water content.
Local people make a living by selling tea, and merchants only want tea of good quality.
Tea is sold in spring, but the price is paid in winter.The profit is so little that almost the labor force is given away for nothing.
Plus there are also many taxes and corvees levied by the government.
Tea growers work on the tea gardens for years, but they only provide a better life for officials and noble people.
After the tea is fried well, tea growers toil and moil to sell it on market.
Tea leaves are graded meticulously, but the money earned by tea growers is plundered in every way.
Women fumiginetea leaves and sort them in different grades of quality.
Only tea of the best quality is selected as the tribute and sent to officials and royal palaces.
Though only a cup of tea, it contains labor of many people for a long time.
I can never have enough of tea, and dispel the effects of alcohol with tea, ginger and salt when I’m drunk.
Drinking Pu’er tea makes people refreshing and enjoying the good aroma.
【注释】这首七言古诗较为全面地反映了茶农的困苦不幸，茶商的重利盘剥，土官的重重压榨，苛捐杂派的苦难，入市卖茶的情景，精选贡茶的情形，以茶解酒的功效等。侧面再现了茶乡生活的真相。丰赡的内容，朴素的语言，自然平实的风格，是这首诗的主要特征。《普茶吟》中的“休休两腋自生风，何用团来三百月。”使得许廷勋被誉为品出普洱之气的第一人。
烹雪用前韵
清·乾隆皇帝
瓷瓯瀹净羞琉璃，石铛敲火然松屑。
明窗有客欲浇书，文武火候先分别。
瓮中探取碧瑶瑛，圆镜分光忽如裂。
莹彻不减玉壶冰，纷零有似琼华缬。
驻春才入鱼眼起，建城名品盘中列。
雷后雨前浑脆软，小团又惜双鸾坼。
独有普洱号刚坚，清标未足夸雀舌。
点成一碗金茎露，品泉陆羽应惭拙。
寒香沃心俗虑蠲，蜀笺端砚几间没。
兴来走笔一哦诗，韵叶冰霜倍清绝。
【注释】本诗中写到普洱茶滋味醇厚丰富，清秀虽然不如雀舌，冲泡之后犹如一碗琼脂玉液，若是茶圣陆羽在世恐怕也会对普洱茶称赞有加。饮此茶可以去除繁杂，丰富人的内心。乾隆皇帝尤爱普洱，曾作多首御制诗赞普洱，诗中多为极尽赞颂之语，写出了诗人饮罢普洱之后的愉悦心情及对普洱的喜爱之情。
普洱蕊茶
清·汪士慎
客遗南中茶，封裹银瓶小。
产从蛮洞深，入贡犹矜少。
何缘得此来山堂，松下野人亲煮尝。
一杯落手浮轻黄，杯中万里春风香。
[Note]This seven-character ancient poem comprehensively reflects the hardship and misfortune of tea growers, the heavy profit exploitation of tea merchants, the heavy taxes levied by local officials, the scene of selling tea in the market, the situation of selecting tribute tea, and the efficacy of tea in relieving alcohol.It reproduces tea growers’life.The main features of this poem are its rich content, simple language and natural and plain style.Due to the“Drinking Pu’er tea makes people refreshing and enjoying the good aroma”in the“On Pu’er Tea”, Xu Tingxun is known as the first person to taste Pu’er aroma.
First Poem of Cooking Pu’er Tea with Snow
Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty
Porcelain mugs containing clear water are far better than glass cups.Pine nuts are burnt in a stone stove, and nuts are moved with a little stick for combustion.
Guests are here to have a cup of Pu’er tea, and firstly the water is boiled with low and high heat successively.
The ice is taken out of a green porcelain jug, and it seems a green jade.
The ice is transparent comparable to that in the jade pot, and pieces of ice are shiny like stars at night.
The tile pot is boiled hot, and then ice is put into, which is melted and boiled instantly.Indocalamus cages are filled with top grade tea of different kinds.
The tea picked after the Waking of Insects and before Rainwater are soft but pliable, and the Pu’er tea balls are so lovely that I would not like to tear them up
Pu’er among all kinds of tea is the mellowest, and its quality is even better than Queshe tea.
The Pu’er tea in snow water is so good that even Lu Yu will agree with this point.
The tea aroma and the scent of winter sweets are filled in the room in the cold winter, and my guests and I are in a peaceful mind.The stationery is on the table for me to express my ideas.
After drinking Pu’er tea, I get enlightened and write this very poem.I enjoy this fantastic moment.
[Note]According to this poem, Pu’er tea tastes mellow and rich.Although it is not as wellknown as Queshe tea, it is very refreshing.If Lu Yu, the tea sagewas alive, I am afraid he would also praise Pu’er tea.After drinking this tea, people are likely to have a peaceful mind.Emperor Qianlong especially loved Pu’er and wrote many poems in praise of the tea.Pu’er tea is much praised in the poem, describing the poet’s happy mood and love for Pu’er after drinking it.
Pu’er Tea
Wang Shishen of the Qing Dynasty
My guest sends me tea from South China, and the package is mall but sophisticated.
The tea is produced in remote Yunnan, and only a little serves as tribute.
How lucky I am to cook and drink this tea here.
The tea is yellow and clear with intense aroma.
[Note]My guest sends me tea from South China, and the package is mall but sophisticated.The tea is produced in remote Yunnan, and only a little serves as tribute.How lucky I am to cook and drink this tea here.The tea is yellow and clear with intense aroma.Poet Wang Shishen was an important representative of the Eight Eccentrics in Yangzhou in the Qing Dynasty.He closely combined tea loving, wintersweets loving, poem writing and painting, forming his elegant style of his poetry, calligraphy and painting, making his style unique in the art world of the Qing Dynasty.
【注释】客人送来南方的茶叶，包装小而精致，产于云南深处，上贡的更是少。缘分使然，茶到此处，我有幸品饮。茶汤黄亮清澈，香气高长如沐春风。诗人汪士慎是清代扬州八怪的重要代表人物，他将嗜茶、爱梅、赋诗、绘画紧密地结合在一起，构成了他诗、书、画艺术淡雅秀逸的风格，且在清代的艺坛上独树一帜。
长句与晴皋索普洱茶
清·丘逢甲
滇南古佛国，草木有佛气。
就中普洱茶，森冷可爱畏。
迩来入世多尘心，瘦权病可空苦吟。
乞君分惠茶数饼，活火煎之檐葡林。
饮之纵未作诗佛，定应一洗世俗筝琶音。
不然不立文字亦一乐，千秋自抚无弦琴。
海山自高海水深，与君弹指一话去来今。
【注释】此诗最核心的是作者向晴皋索要普洱茶。由于作者很爱普洱茶，所以就写首诗给自己的好友况仕任（字晴皋），乞求他惠赠数饼“普洱茶”，只要能喝上这普洱茶，即便不能成为诗仙佛圣，也能“定应一洗世俗筝琶音”，自然也就可以“与君弹指一话去来今”。可见在当时，普洱茶因其独特魅力，在官绅士大夫阶层有着较为普遍的知名度和影响力。