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茶的真实历史
《茶的真实历史》，以时间变迁为经线，以全球的地域传布为纬线，展现了一幅栩栩如生的茶史全图。既有中国茶饮的历史，中国茶叶向外传布的不同途径，亦涉及日本、印度、锡兰（斯里兰卡）等东方各国的茶饮历史，以及茶叶在西方世界的轨迹。作者梅维恒、郝也麟以社会、宗教、文化、历史、经济、文学、科学、语言等多种视角，串联起散落在历史长河中、遍及地球上各个角落的与茶相关的大小事件，解读茶在人类社会中具有的真实面貌，讲述一个关于茶的真实的故事。即使你未必全部接受作者的观点，但仍可从中扩展视野，汲取或许你未曾留意过的信息和见解。
270 pages, Paperback
First published February 24, 2009
51 people are currently reading
974 people want to read
About the author
Victor H. Mair
61 books14 followersVictor Henry Mair (/mɛər/; born March 25, 1943) is an American Sinologist and professor of Chinese at the University of Pennsylvania.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews
March 25, 2021
I have reached a new level in my tea journey – people are asking me about tea books! Honestly, I’m really happy about this development because I love tea and reading so this is both my interests combined. And when my friend asked me if I had read The True History of Tea and what I thought of it in comparison with The Tale of Tea, obviously my answer couldn’t be “no”. Instead, I said “I’ll read it ASAP and let you know.”
The True History of Tea is a meticulously researched yet accessible book about the history of tea. There are eighteen chapters in this book, covering the history of tea in China, Japan, Russia, the Middle East, and the West. As you can imagine, it’s got a lot of content, yet the chapters are pretty short – I read this on my Kobo and the chapters were at most, twenty-odd pages. It is a very impressive book, especially since Mair and Hoh manage to pack a lot of information and give historical context to various developments in addition to the facts specifically about tea.
The section of the book that contained information new to me was the section on the history of tea in Russia. Something interesting that I learnt was that men drank tea in public houses known as “traktirs”, and ordered their tea spolotentsem, or “with a towel”, which they hung around their necks and that the tea was served glasses with metal holders called podstakannik. On the other hand, Russian ladies drank their tea in private in porcelain cups. According to Alexander Dumas in ‘Dictionary of Cuisine’, this is because the first teacups were made in Kronstadt and the bottom was decorated with a view of that city. When a teahouse proprietor stinted on the tea, the picture could be seen clearly and the customer would say “I can see Kronstadt.” and obviously the proprietor cannot deny. So since then, tea in teachouses were served in glasses where there was nothing to see in the bottom.
In terms of the facts about the history of tea, most of what I read here matches what I’ve read in The Tale of Tea and other more academic books about tea. The only claim that gave me pause was the following claim about the Japanese tea ceremony:
This is a new claim to me. I did some research but the only paper I could find so far is this one on the Jesuits and the way of tea and one more in Japanese on the same topic (still reading this second one, but a quick skim shows it’s similar to the English one). It’s a good starting point for research, and I’m convinced that the Jesuits were knowledgable about the tea ceremony and that several of the early tea practitioners were Christian, but I’m still not too sure about the influence of Christianity on the Japanese tea ceremony.
And that leads me to my main complaint about the book – the lack of footnotes. I don’t know if it’s because this is the ebook version, but I could not find footnotes for claims made in the text (like the one on Christianity and the Japanese tea ceremony), which makes it hard to verify claims. But, I plan to buy this book so I will check back and let you know if the physical copy comes with footnotes.
Overall, The True History of Tea reads like a more concise version of The Tale of Tea by George van Driem, which is both good and bad. The good part about this is that it’s easier to get a grasp of the overall history of tea and the context in which it develops, and I even learnt a bit more about tea in Russia (to be fair, this may have been in The Tale of Tea but there is so much information in there that it’s easy to miss things). On the other hand, the downside of being a more concise version is that some information has to be left out – for example, The Tale of Tea has a much more thorough write up on tea in countries like Georgia, Madagascar, Brazil, etc.
I would highly recommend this to anyone looking for an intermediate level book about the history of tea.
This review was first posted at Eustea Reads
The True History of Tea is a meticulously researched yet accessible book about the history of tea. There are eighteen chapters in this book, covering the history of tea in China, Japan, Russia, the Middle East, and the West. As you can imagine, it’s got a lot of content, yet the chapters are pretty short – I read this on my Kobo and the chapters were at most, twenty-odd pages. It is a very impressive book, especially since Mair and Hoh manage to pack a lot of information and give historical context to various developments in addition to the facts specifically about tea.
The section of the book that contained information new to me was the section on the history of tea in Russia. Something interesting that I learnt was that men drank tea in public houses known as “traktirs”, and ordered their tea spolotentsem, or “with a towel”, which they hung around their necks and that the tea was served glasses with metal holders called podstakannik. On the other hand, Russian ladies drank their tea in private in porcelain cups. According to Alexander Dumas in ‘Dictionary of Cuisine’, this is because the first teacups were made in Kronstadt and the bottom was decorated with a view of that city. When a teahouse proprietor stinted on the tea, the picture could be seen clearly and the customer would say “I can see Kronstadt.” and obviously the proprietor cannot deny. So since then, tea in teachouses were served in glasses where there was nothing to see in the bottom.
In terms of the facts about the history of tea, most of what I read here matches what I’ve read in The Tale of Tea and other more academic books about tea. The only claim that gave me pause was the following claim about the Japanese tea ceremony:
“Some scholars believe that it may even have incorporated elements from Christian liturgy transmitted to Japan by Portuguese Jesuits.”
This is a new claim to me. I did some research but the only paper I could find so far is this one on the Jesuits and the way of tea and one more in Japanese on the same topic (still reading this second one, but a quick skim shows it’s similar to the English one). It’s a good starting point for research, and I’m convinced that the Jesuits were knowledgable about the tea ceremony and that several of the early tea practitioners were Christian, but I’m still not too sure about the influence of Christianity on the Japanese tea ceremony.
And that leads me to my main complaint about the book – the lack of footnotes. I don’t know if it’s because this is the ebook version, but I could not find footnotes for claims made in the text (like the one on Christianity and the Japanese tea ceremony), which makes it hard to verify claims. But, I plan to buy this book so I will check back and let you know if the physical copy comes with footnotes.
Overall, The True History of Tea reads like a more concise version of The Tale of Tea by George van Driem, which is both good and bad. The good part about this is that it’s easier to get a grasp of the overall history of tea and the context in which it develops, and I even learnt a bit more about tea in Russia (to be fair, this may have been in The Tale of Tea but there is so much information in there that it’s easy to miss things). On the other hand, the downside of being a more concise version is that some information has to be left out – for example, The Tale of Tea has a much more thorough write up on tea in countries like Georgia, Madagascar, Brazil, etc.
I would highly recommend this to anyone looking for an intermediate level book about the history of tea.
This review was first posted at Eustea Reads
June 17, 2018
I enjoyed this book. It's thoroughly researched, sometimes to a ridiculous extent. It puts into perspective many things about tea and how it spread and influence the world. Maybe, the most fascinating aspect of the book is how different cultures use and accept tea as part of their daily habits. It gives powerful insights into how consumer behavior shifts and the impact of geopolitics in any commodity.
May 1, 2022
Full of valuable and interesting knowledge, including new translations from the Dunhuang archives (the charming “A Debate Between Tea and Beer”). However, the writing is so poor that I can’t recommend it even for those merits. Has the academic quality of flavorless, “universally objective” prose punctuated by endless caveats and qualifiers. End result is watery accurate nonsense, totally impoverished of meaning.
Ex: “Other plants with properties attractive to humans were steeped in water, and the consumption of the infusion elaborated in accordance with the resources and character of that particular society.” Hurts to read!
Ex: “Other plants with properties attractive to humans were steeped in water, and the consumption of the infusion elaborated in accordance with the resources and character of that particular society.” Hurts to read!
August 19, 2020
The eternal debate - milk or tea first? Households worldwide are embroiled in the argument. Adherents of both views hold forth on their reasons. Gives them something to talk about at low or high tea. Completely out of my normal reading genre, the book contains more about tea than I ever needed to know. For example, Brook Bond's PG Tips is short for Pre-Gest-Tee (for predigestive tea). Winston Churchill called tea more important than ammunition! During the Blitz of London, mobile tea canteens traveled to heavily damaged area to offer tea to anyone in need. Each bomb shelter had an "official" tea taster whose opinion everyone respected. Then there is the tea or coffee dispute. In our home, men drank coffee, women drank tea and that was the way it was!
February 23, 2019
Every tea lover and drinker who is interested in history should read this book. Whereas most books about tea only skim the surface of tea's long and complex history this book goes deep, from the early, mythological beginnings In China to the latest developments in the US where it became a hipster drink. It's full of stories and is admirably written, both in style (it reads wonderfully easy) and in content. It also handles the world and the long history of tea in China and Japan before the West discovered it, and it's role in politics and religion. This is a standard volume for the history of tea. A tea sommelier is not a tea sommelier if he has not read this book.
December 12, 2019
A very thorough, satisfying history of tea!
January 3, 2021
Some interesting chapters and a few fun facts that made me smile.
April 12, 2020
Finished The True History of Tea, and would definitely recommend it to a tea buff. 🍵
The book gives very detailed information about the traditions of tea drinking around the world. The main focus is, as expected, on China, the birthplace of tea, but a great deal of attention is also paid to the movement of tea into the West. Facts are generously spiced up with bits of local lore and forays into the world of pottery.
The book gives very detailed information about the traditions of tea drinking around the world. The main focus is, as expected, on China, the birthplace of tea, but a great deal of attention is also paid to the movement of tea into the West. Facts are generously spiced up with bits of local lore and forays into the world of pottery.
May 21, 2018
On reading several shorter English-language books on tea, this was one of the most frequently cited in their bibliographies. "The True History of Tea" is a meticulously researched and cited book, presenting the detailed and complex history of tea within several Chinese dynastic upheavals up through the eventual intervention of the British and the rise of standardized, factory teas outside of China.
This is an incredibly comprehensive look a the role tea has played in the history of world civilization. As you move through the chapters, you will traverse the global spread of tea and the genesis of dozens of unique expressions of tea culture from China radiating outward to Japan, Russia, Central Asia, England, and all the British colonies.
This book reads like good history books should with more emphasis on facts and figures rather than recounting some of the popular legends and myths that often surround tea history, famous teas, or famous tea regions. For some readers, the names, dates, and "thus-begat-that" approach will come across as dry reading. However, readers will be rewarded by interesting vignettes and sidebars that pop up throughout the book highlighting intriguing short stories relating to characters or regions in a more folksy style. By the end of the book, readers will surely understand and appreciate the complex role tea has played on the world stage.
This is an incredibly comprehensive look a the role tea has played in the history of world civilization. As you move through the chapters, you will traverse the global spread of tea and the genesis of dozens of unique expressions of tea culture from China radiating outward to Japan, Russia, Central Asia, England, and all the British colonies.
This book reads like good history books should with more emphasis on facts and figures rather than recounting some of the popular legends and myths that often surround tea history, famous teas, or famous tea regions. For some readers, the names, dates, and "thus-begat-that" approach will come across as dry reading. However, readers will be rewarded by interesting vignettes and sidebars that pop up throughout the book highlighting intriguing short stories relating to characters or regions in a more folksy style. By the end of the book, readers will surely understand and appreciate the complex role tea has played on the world stage.
June 17, 2017
While The True History of Tea has its interesting moments, by and large it’s an extremely dry recitation of history full of names and dates, similar to the way that history was taught in school that made me think that I hated history. Unless the reader is familiar with ancient Chinese history, the lists of rulers and invaders and trade routes are difficult to keep straight. A few good maps of all of the cities mentioned, and a timeline of events in China, Japan, Mongolia, Tibet, Russia, etc. would have clarified and brought life to the content.
I did like the sections on 19th century British and Indian teas, and perhaps that’s because my familiarity with these times and places in history gave me some context for the facts presented. The section on tea in the US was somewhat interesting, and probably for the same reason. The chapter on other caffeinated drinks (“tea substitutes”) was easy to understand and enjoyable.
Readers with a penchant for tea and a solid background in ancient Asia will enjoy this book. Those who don’t have this background are advised to have a few maps or internet resources on hand to fully appreciate the book.
I did like the sections on 19th century British and Indian teas, and perhaps that’s because my familiarity with these times and places in history gave me some context for the facts presented. The section on tea in the US was somewhat interesting, and probably for the same reason. The chapter on other caffeinated drinks (“tea substitutes”) was easy to understand and enjoyable.
Readers with a penchant for tea and a solid background in ancient Asia will enjoy this book. Those who don’t have this background are advised to have a few maps or internet resources on hand to fully appreciate the book.
February 10, 2011
To enjoy this book you......
1. Have to be interested in tea
2. Have to put aside expectations of any discussion of
A. The varieties of tea and their taste, aroma, etc.
B. Advice on pairing teas with food
This is a well-researched and amply illustrated history of tea. Very entertaining in small sips.
Mair particularly knows his British mores, culture and quirks. His discussion of the use of clipper ships was revealing and his insights into the marketing of tea in the U.K. were helpful to someone trying to understand how central it was to what is British.
1. Have to be interested in tea
2. Have to put aside expectations of any discussion of
A. The varieties of tea and their taste, aroma, etc.
B. Advice on pairing teas with food
This is a well-researched and amply illustrated history of tea. Very entertaining in small sips.
Mair particularly knows his British mores, culture and quirks. His discussion of the use of clipper ships was revealing and his insights into the marketing of tea in the U.K. were helpful to someone trying to understand how central it was to what is British.
June 30, 2015
I have a fondness for "microhistories" -- books that discuss the history of some narrow topic, like this one, about tea. It was a decent read; the author's style is pretty breezy (in a good way) and there are lots of interesting facts and historical tidbits to enjoy. I did feel like the end of the book was a bit dull and sort of disconnected, and occasionally the concluding bit of a chapter would have a single paragraph that summarized the chapter as a whole; put me in mind of writing college papers.
January 31, 2010
I liked that this book covered more than just the usual 'tea triangle' of England/China/India. There's just enough information on the uses and cultural impact of tea and the tea trade in other areas- Russia, Japan, America, Persia, etc.- to be interesting and informative but it still manages not to be overwhelming. There are places where it bogs down, but overall it's well written and interesting.
September 4, 2010
One of the best history books I've ever read. This new genre of cross-cultural history seen through the lens of a either a specific commodity or trade brings to light a lot of connections that are lost in traditional single-culture histories. I've also read Mair's translation of the DaoDeJing, which is great and comes with an amazing set of appendixes. What's great about Victor Mair is his amazing sense of story as well as history. I had a difficult time putting this book down.
September 19, 2014
I picked this up in a used bookstore on the way to Indonesia, and it was the perfect travel companion. The book provided a timeline of tea's influence on social history through war, trade and culture - offering enough details to keep me intrigued, but not so much that I got bored. Photos and illustrations enhanced the historic perspective, and sidebar stories provided snapshots of tea's impact around the world.
November 15, 2009
This book is exactly what it advertises - I learned how tea has been harvested and prepared, and how it became popular and migrated around the world, as well as the role this commodity played in history. Since I am very interested in tea, I found the book interesting. It was illustrated and written well, but not the most engaging non-fiction I have ever read.
January 23, 2015
If you like tea and want to know more about its history then this is a great book. Yes it has facts and dates and other things that belong in history books but it also has some great illustrations and nice facts you probably wouldn't know. So get yourself your favorite "cuppa" and learn more about this world dominating beverage.
April 19, 2017
Well organized chapters. Well written. Never seems dry with facts even though it is stuffed with them in narrative form. Esay an almost fun to read. Excellent discussion of historical international context.
August 24, 2009
A little dry (ha!) in places, but over all an interesting find for the true tea afficionado!
February 5, 2013
I own this book, and since I like tea a lot I use it as a historical reference. It's a good history, with a lively narrative style. Is is amazing what we don't know about almost everything!
January 22, 2014
Instrumental in passing the Tea Specialist examination at the Tea Institute at Pennsylvania State University.
May 9, 2016
As long as I remember, I have been in love with tea. This book makes the love even bigger.
May 2, 2022
An exhaustive (and exhausting) history of the world's most popular beverage.
This is a pretty serious book on a pretty serious topic - the history of Tea, from it's first domestication up to the present day. It does go into rather tedious details about 6th century internal Chinese bickering, and the role of tea in the purchase of horses in order to repel the barbarian hordes. It could maybe have interested a wider audience if it had been half as thick.
By contrast, the later history seems a bit rushed, with the 19th and 20th centuries swooshing by in what felt like a heartbeat.
It's also interesting that this scholarly tome completely contradicts the story of 'For all the Tea in China' (by Sarah Rose) of how Robert Fortune managed to smuggle out tea plants from China in the mid-19th century. According to this book tea seeds, seedlings and plants were shipped all over the world for centuries, and most of the Indian tea plantations depended equally on native varieties.
There's even an appendix about the different words for Tea. I was aware of the theory that the 'te' words (as used in most western european languages except portuguese) come from Cantonese and the 'cha' words (eastern Europe, most of Asia, Portugal) come from Mandarin. There is also the Indian 'chai', which may represent a parallell lineage. But Mair is a linguist by trade (a frequent contributor to the LanguageLog) and goes on for a long time about the evolution of the alveolar fricatives in Old Sinitic, and how there stress patterns in Early Persian mimicked those of the contemporary Sinitic vernacular.
This is a pretty serious book on a pretty serious topic - the history of Tea, from it's first domestication up to the present day. It does go into rather tedious details about 6th century internal Chinese bickering, and the role of tea in the purchase of horses in order to repel the barbarian hordes. It could maybe have interested a wider audience if it had been half as thick.
By contrast, the later history seems a bit rushed, with the 19th and 20th centuries swooshing by in what felt like a heartbeat.
It's also interesting that this scholarly tome completely contradicts the story of 'For all the Tea in China' (by Sarah Rose) of how Robert Fortune managed to smuggle out tea plants from China in the mid-19th century. According to this book tea seeds, seedlings and plants were shipped all over the world for centuries, and most of the Indian tea plantations depended equally on native varieties.
There's even an appendix about the different words for Tea. I was aware of the theory that the 'te' words (as used in most western european languages except portuguese) come from Cantonese and the 'cha' words (eastern Europe, most of Asia, Portugal) come from Mandarin. There is also the Indian 'chai', which may represent a parallell lineage. But Mair is a linguist by trade (a frequent contributor to the LanguageLog) and goes on for a long time about the evolution of the alveolar fricatives in Old Sinitic, and how there stress patterns in Early Persian mimicked those of the contemporary Sinitic vernacular.
February 25, 2024
A super informative book on the history of tea and a whole lot of other things as well. It could easily be information overload if you aren’t all that interested in the minutiae of everything peripherally associated with tea. Be aware that this is very British empire centric, but then that is the authors’ premise that the British helped to spread tea culture globally. I just happened to be reading this book when the BBC reported a bruhaha about how to properly brew tea when the book “Steeped: the Chemistry of Tea” was published claiming that a pinch of salt is necessary to get the best cup of tea. And, as this book likewise reports, that IS the historic way the Chinese have brewed their tea for centuries. As an American who enjoys a good “cuppa” and realizes that I am in the minority, I found it interesting that this book reported, a bit unbelievably, that iced tea was the number one beverage in the United States. My favorite brew: double bergamot Earl Grey no milk or sugar, but with a lemon wedge.
June 9, 2019
Tiesiog istorija, papasakota sausai, su datomis ir pavardėmis, bet už jos nesunku įsivaizduoti daugybę dramų ir tragedijų, kultūrų karus ir asimiliacijas, valstybių klestėjimus ir nuosmukius. Kai į karštą vandenį įsimeti pirmą po ranka pasitaikiusį pakelį su arbatos dulkėmis, pamaskatuoji, pakelį išmeti, o skystį išgeri visai nekreipdamas dėmesio į skonį, sunku įsivaizduoti, kad anuomet dėl arbatos kariavo valstybės, nuodijo viena kitą opiumu, o mokantis tinkamai patiekti vieną puodelį arbatos galėjo tapti imperatoriaus dešiniąja ranka. Sudievinti galima bet ką. Jeigu negalime be to apsieiti, geriau dievinkime arbatą, negu tą, kuris nustatė, keliais pirštais kuria ranka ir kiek minučių privalu laikyti arbatos puodelį, kad arbatos gėrimas būtų teisingas.
April 14, 2020
The topic of the History of tea is fascinating, as tea played no small part in History.
What I loved about this book is that it provided an in-depth history of tea worldwide, especially in China (since tea originated from there). Those were my favourite chapters, as they were a way of learning more about the fascinating History of this country - I had read another book on the history of tea but it focused more on the topic through the lens of the US and UK History, so I enjoyed the broader perspective of this book.
What I loved about this book is that it provided an in-depth history of tea worldwide, especially in China (since tea originated from there). Those were my favourite chapters, as they were a way of learning more about the fascinating History of this country - I had read another book on the history of tea but it focused more on the topic through the lens of the US and UK History, so I enjoyed the broader perspective of this book.
May 9, 2019
The upstarts west of the Atlantic dump a bunch of lovely tea into the sea. I mean really!
Seriously, great book that is factual and scholarly in tone but manages to be interesting and tell the history of the tea plant in an orderly and entertaining way (organized by region, roughly chronologically as the popularity of tea spread). As a bonus, I now know a lot more about ancient Chinese history.
Seriously, great book that is factual and scholarly in tone but manages to be interesting and tell the history of the tea plant in an orderly and entertaining way (organized by region, roughly chronologically as the popularity of tea spread). As a bonus, I now know a lot more about ancient Chinese history.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 2, 2020
An interesting read given how important tea has been historically, specifically in chinese and british history. The books is well researched, though it sometimes veered into being a laundry list of facts.
December 28, 2020
An enjoyable and largely thorough coverage of tea's origins and spread across the globe. What I take to be Victor Mair's contribution is very comprehensive, the other half less so. The global spread of tea is a rather similar affair (or so it would seem) wherever it went after the Far East.
August 4, 2021
This was a pretty good read, decently well researched, but scant on citations, which was very annoying. The most unique sections were the appendices, which included two interesting and rare translated works, one of which being an autobiography of Lu Yu.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews