[updated September 2022]
Draw Deep River Water For Long Simmering Tea
汲 江 煎 茶
活 水 还 须 活 火 烹
自 临 钓 石 取 深 情。
大 瓢 贮 月 归 春 瓮
小 杓 分 江 入 夜 瓶。
雪 乳 已 翻 煎 处 脚
松 风 忽 作 泻 时 声。
枯 肠 未 易 禁 三 碗
坐 听 荒 城 长 短 更。
Ji Jiang Jian Cha
Huo shui huan xu huo huo peng
Zi lin diao shi qu shen qing.
Da piao zhu yue gui chun weng
Xiao shao fen jiang ru ye ping.
Xue ru yi fan jian chu jiao
Song feng hu zuo xie shi sheng.
Ku chang wei yi jin san wan
Zuo ting huang cheng chang duan geng.
Draw Deep River Water, Long Simmering Tea
Running water should be boiled with an active fire
The best water is deep and clear around the fishing rocks.
Big ladle also catches the moon, put into the spring earthen jar
Small spoon to separate the water into small jars next to the tea pot.
Simmering tea leaves and roots, snow white foam rises to the top
Pine tree wind suddenly arises, flowing seasonal sounds.
With prolonged hunger, not easy to get past the three bowl stage
and the desire to write
Sit and listen in this isolated city to the timing drums that are neither
disciplined nor correct.
Commentary:
Su Dongpo was, and still is, famous for his culinary skills. There are dishes in China still popular today that he invented almost a thousand years ago.
Getting past the three bowl stage means that his basic human needs have been attended to, such as food, clothing and shelter, and that it is now time to create and write a poem. Past this stage is the dissipation of anger, hearing the voices of immortals, and finally spiritual flight.
The timing drums are similar to the sounds of a cuckoo or grandfather clock, or bells from a village clock tower.
The Chinese people, especially from the southern regions, take the making and drinking of tea very seriously. There are gradations of water quality. Deep river pool water is some of the best. There are also gradations for the amount of heat applied during the tea’s fusion with the water. Su Dongpo describes this as well.