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Tea - in China and Japan
The modern term tea derives from early Chinese words - such as tchai, cha and tay - used both to describe the beverage and the leaf. In China tea has been used as a medicinal infusion, for chewing and as a pickle for over 4000 years.
China
The Chinese word t'u was often used to describe shrubs other than tea, which has led to confusion in early written records. It seems that tea was drunk during the Han dynasty (206 BC-221 AD) and that the lacquer cups known from this period are in fact the earliest teacups.
There is written evidence from the T'ang dynasty in AD 650 that tea was being cultivated in most of the provinces of China and that the process of making tea was well established. By 780 AD a famous book entitled Ch'a Ching (meaning 'tea book'), entirely on the subject of tea, had been written. It comprises three volumes and covers tea from its growth through to its making and drinking, as well as a historical summary and listing famous tea plantations.
There is written evidence from the T'ang dynasty in AD 650 that tea was being cultivated in most of the provinces of China and that the process of making tea was well established. By 780 AD a famous book entitled Ch'a Ching (meaning 'tea book'), entirely on the subject of tea, had been written. It comprises three volumes and covers tea from its growth through to its making and drinking, as well as a historical summary and listing famous tea plantations.
