Chapu 茶譜

There are several books on tea called Chapu 茶譜, the most widespread of which is Gu Yuanqing's 顧元慶 (1487–1565) version.

The oldest book of the title was written during the tenth century by Mao Wenxi 毛文錫 (fl. 860-917), courtesy name Pinggui 平珪, who lived in the state of Former Shu 前蜀 (907-925). Of his book, only 41 paragraphs have survived which were collected by Chen Shangjun 陳尚君. Wang Guowei 王國維 (1877-1927) collected the remainders of Mao's lyric-metre poems, Wang Situ ci 毛司徒詞. A chronicle written by Mao Wenxi, Qianwu Wangshi jishi 前蜀王氏紀事, is lost.

Mao's Chajing was written right after the demise of the Tang dynasty 唐 (618-907), as can be seen from several mentionings of the book. It is listed in all important Song-period 宋 (960-1279) book catalogues, like Chongwen zongmu 崇文總目, Junzhai dushu zhi 郡齋讀書志, Tongzhi yiwen lüe 直齋書錄解題, Suichutang shumu 遂初堂書目 or Zhizhai shulu jieti 直齋書錄解題. Chao Gongwu 晁公武 (c. 1105–1180) remarks that Mao's Chapu quoted older professional texts on tea and then poems from the Tang period. The surviving fragments, however, show that the book was much more professional. It included information on the tea business at the very end of and after the Tang period and even quoted fragments from Lu Yu's 陸羽 (733–804) tea classic Chajing 茶經 that are lost today. The fragments of Mao's Chapu also show that it provided much more information on the tea industry of the time than the famous Chajing of Lu Yu and must have been of considerable value. The fragments are quoted in Le Shi's 樂史 (930–1007) geography book Taiping huanyu ji 太平寰宇記, Wu Shu's 吳淑 (947-1002) encyclopaedia Shilei fu zhu 事類賦注, Xiong Fan's 熊蕃 (early 12th cent.) Xuanhe beiyuan gongcha lu 宣和北苑貢茶錄, Chen Jingyi's 陳景沂 (b. c. 1201) Quanfang beizu 全芳備祖 and Tang Shenwei's 唐慎微 (1056–1093) Chongxiu Zhenghe zhenglei bencao 重修政和證類本草.

Wang Duanli's 王端禮 (courtesy name Maofu 懋甫, jinshi degree 1088) Chapu from the Northern Song period is lost.

The first Chapu of the Ming period 明 (1368-1644) was written by Zhu Quan 朱權 (1378–1448), Prince Xian of Ning 寧獻王, a son of the dynastic founder Ming Taizu 明太祖 (r. 1368-1398). He wrote several studies on history, poetry, agriculture and music, like Qin Ruan qimeng 琴阮啟蒙, Quxian shenyin shu 臞仙神隱書, Shenqi mipu 神奇秘譜, Taihe zhengyin pu 太和正音譜 or Shouyu shenfang 壽域神方. His book on tea is only listed in the catalogue Qianqingtang shumu 千頃堂書目, where it is called Quxian chapu 臞仙茶譜. It is included in Mei Chun's 梅純 (jinshi degree 1481) series Yihai huihan 藝海彙函. The text is divided into 16 brief chapters discussing all aspects of tea production, preparation and consumption. Quite interesting is that the preparation of the beverage is described differently than in Tang- and Song-period texts.

Zhu Youbin 朱祐檳 (1479–1539), Prince Yi of Henan 河南益王, a son of Emperor Xianzong 明憲宗 (r. 1464-1487), also wrote a book called Chapu, with a length of 12 juan. It is listed in the catalogue Congshu mulu shiyi 叢書目錄拾遺 as part of the collection Qingmei hepu 清媚合譜 (together with a text on fragrances, Xiangpu 香譜). It was a compilation of earlier texts on tea.

More important is the Chapu of Qian Chunnian 錢椿年, courtesy name Bingui 賓桂, style Youlanweng 友蘭翁, from Changshu 常熟, Jiangsu, who also wrote the genealogical book Qianshi zupu 錢氏族譜. The original title of his book on tea is Zhicha xinpu 制茶新譜. It was finished before 1541 and is enriched by an appendix of Zhao Zhilü's 趙之履 Chapu xubian 茶譜續編. It is mentioned in the book catalogue Jiangyunlou shumu 絳雲樓書目 and was first published in 1912 in the series Gujin wenyi congshu 古今文藝叢書, and the Japanese series Chūka chasho 中華茶書 of Aoki Masaru 青木正児 from 1962. The book explains the nature of tea, various classes, methods of cultivation, plucking, oxidation, the use of water, preparation and physiological effects. It relies on older texts like Lu Yu's 陸羽 (733－804) Chajing 茶經, Mao Wenxi's Chapu or Cai Xiang's 蔡襄 (1012－1067) Chalu 茶錄, but also adds more modern methods of preparation like the adding of perfumes like jujubes, lotus flowers, or jasmine flowers, or new methods of infusion and serving.

Qian Chunnian's Chapu (including Zhao's supplement) was revised and somewhat abbreviated (elimination of ch. Jiucha 炙茶) by Gu Yuanqing 顧元慶 (1487–1567), courtesy name Dayou 大有, style Dashi Xiansheng 大石先生 or Dashi Shanren 大石山人, from Changzhou 長洲 (today part of Suzhou 蘇州, Jiangsu). This version was first published in Gu's series Mingchao sishi jia xiaoshuo 明朝四十家小說 and later found entrance in Yu Zheng's 喻政 (1564–1659) collection Chashu quanji 茶書全集. It is also included in the series Xinshang xubian 欣賞續編, Shanju zazhi 山居雜志, Bai mingjia shu 百名家書, Gezhi congshu 格致叢書, and Xu shuofu 續說郛, and is therefore much more widespread than the original version of Qian Chunnian.

The last book with the title Chapu was written by Cheng Rong 程榮, style Boren 伯仁, from Shexian 歙縣. It is included in the collection Shanju qingshang 山居清賞 that assembles texts on agriculture and horticulture.