The realm of one's 一個人的境界
Lu Yu Brewing Tea by Zhao Yuan 趙原 (fourteenth century), ink and water colour on paper, National Palace Museum, Taipei.
The painting's title 陸羽烹茶圖 is located in the top right-hand corner in 'boldface' brush strokes. Lu Yu and his attendant nestled among bucolic surroundings making tea. A Homage to a Tea Sage.
The comfort of three-five confidant 三五知己的愜意
Tea Fights 鬥茶圖 by Zhao Mengfu 趙孟頫 (Yuan dynasty), ink and water colour on paper, National Palace Museum, Taipei.
This game began in the Tang Dynasty in China as "Tea Battles" and in the Song Dynasty as "Tea Fights," a folk custom. It is a folk custom in which participants cook and taste the quality of tea leaves to compare the quality of the tea art. In the picture, the four tea-fighting players are divided into two groups of two each. The leader of the left group holds a teacup in his left hand. He has a teapot in his right hand, looking at his opponent with his head held high, while his assistant is holding the teapot in his right hand and the teacup in his left hand, with his hands separated from each other, pouring the soup and brewing the tea. On the right side, a group of tea drinkers is also well-prepared, each with a tea stove and a tea cage, and the leader of the group is holding a tea cup in his right hand, tasting the aroma of the tea.
The voice of crowds 眾聲的喧嘩
Literary Gathering 文會圖, Emperor Hui-tsung 宋徽宗 (1082-1135), Song dynasty.
This work represents scholars gathered for a feast at a table under large trees by a pond. In front are servants at a small table preparing tea; one of them holds a long-handled spoon and scoops ground tea leaves in the custom of tea drinking popular since the Tang dynasty (618-907). The modeling of gentlemen’s expressions and the rendering of their garments are quite convincing. The bamboo and trees were painted using the double outline method (shuang-kou). Each stroke was carefully brushed with surety and strength, like strands of iron. The setting here is extravagant, differing from the simplicity of literary gatherings in the Five Dynasties. In the Northern Sung, garden settings sere elaborate, reflecting developments at the time. Although Emperor Hui-tsung’s poem is in the upper right(with his signature at the left) and an inscription by prime minister Ts’ai Ching in the upper left, they appear dubious. Yet, it still appears to have been done by a famous court painter.