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,forite