TheBookofTea茶之书byKakuzoOkakura冈仓天心（日）I.TheCupofHumanity仁者之饮Teabeganasamedicineandgrewintoabeverage.InChina,intheeighthcentury,itenteredtherealmofpoetryasoneofthepoliteamusements.ThefifteenthcenturysawJapanennobleitintoareligionofaestheticism--Teaism.Teaismisacultfoundedontheadorationofthebeautifulamongthesordidfactsofeverydayexistence.Itinculcatespurityandharmony,themysteryofmutualcharity,theromanticismofthesocialorder.ItisessentiallyaworshipoftheImperfect,asitisatenderattempttoaccomplishsomethingpossibleinthisimpossiblethingweknowaslife.茶，始于药，而后为饮。在八世纪的中国，茶就作为一桩雅事而进入一个诗意王国。而日本则在十五世纪将其尊崇为一种美的宗教——茶道。茶道，是在日常染污之间，因由对美的倾慕而建立起来的心灵仪式。茶道教人纯净和谐，理解互爱的奥义，并从社会秩序中开发出浪漫情怀。它是一种温柔的尝试，试图在我们所知的生命无穷尽的不可能中，来成就那些微小的可能，因而本质上是对不完美的崇拜。ThePhilosophyofTeaisnotmereaestheticismintheordinaryacceptanceoftheterm,foritexpressesconjointlywithethicsandreligionourwholepointofviewaboutmanandnature.Itishygiene,foritenforcescleanliness;itiseconomics,foritshowscomfortinsimplicityratherthaninthecomplexandcostly;itismoralgeometry,inasmuchasitdefinesoursenseofproportiontotheuniverse.ItrepresentsthetruespiritofEasterndemocracybymakingallitsvotariesaristocratsintaste.茶之哲学，并非像我们通常对此理解的那般仅是一种唯美的趣味，它同时融合伦理与宗教，表达了我们对于人类与自然的全部见解。茶是保健学，因它强调洁净；茶是经济学，因它显示了朴素中的舒适而非繁复昂贵的乐趣；茶是精神的几何学，因它定义了我们对于宇宙自然的分寸感。它使它的信仰者成为精神上的贵族，故而代表了东方民主的精髓。ThelongisolationofJapanfromtherestoftheworld,soconducivetointrospection,hasbeenhighlyfavourabletothedevelopmentofTeaism.Ourhomeandhabits,costumeandcuisine,porcelain,lacquer,painting--ourveryliterature--allhavebeensubjecttoitsinfluence.NostudentofJapaneseculturecouldeverignoreitspresence.Ithaspermeatedtheeleganceofnobleboudoirs,andenteredtheabodeofthehumble.Ourpeasantshavelearnedtoarrangeflowers,ourmeanestlabourertoofferhissalutationtotherocksandwaters.Inourcommonparlancewespeakoftheman"withnotea"inhim,whenheisinsusceptibletotheseriocomicinterestsofthepersonaldrama.Againwestigmatisetheuntamedaesthetewho,regardlessofthemundanetragedy,runsriotinthespringtideofemancipatedemotions,asone"withtoomuchtea"inhim.长期的与世隔离，使日本民族崇尚内省，这对于茶道的发展极为有利。日本的起居习俗，服饰饮食，瓷漆两器，绘画艺术，乃至日本文学，无一不受茶道影响，任何日本文化的研习者皆不会忽略它的存在。它既存于金闺雅阁，又遍于市井民巷。山野农夫因之学会侍弄芳华，最粗鄙的劳工也会表达对山岩流水的敬意。倘若有人对这庄谐参半的人生之戏心无所动，那么我们会将其称之为“心中无茶”；同样倘若有人无视世间疾苦，沉湎于信马由缰的不羁情绪，我们则称这类放浪形骸的唯美主义者“茶气太重”。Theoutsidermayindeedwonderatthisseemingmuchadoaboutnothing.Whatatempestinatea-cup!hewillsay.Butwhenweconsiderhowsmallafterallthecupofhumanenjoymentis,howsoonoverflowedwithtears,howeasilydrainedtothedregsinourquenchlessthirstforinfinity,weshallnotblameourselvesformakingsomuchofthetea-cup.Mankindhasdoneworse.IntheworshipofBacchus,wehavesacrificedtoofreely;andwehaveeventransfiguredthegoryimageofMars.WhynotconsecrateourselvestothequeenoftheCamellias,andrevelinthewarmstreamofsympathythatflowsfromheraltar?Intheliquidamberwith...
