TheCha Pu (Chinese:茶谱;pinyin:Chápǔ;lit. 'Tea Manual') is a short work written in 1440 byZhu Quan, the Prince of Ning,[1] the 17th son of theHongwu Emperor of theMing dynasty, and relates the methods oftea preparation and degustation. It is considered by some to be a milestone in Chinese tea culture.
Following the Hongwu Emperor's ban[citation needed] on manufacturing of tea cake, Zhu Quan advocated a simpler way of steeping loose tea, a radical departure from the involved tea cake preparation methods of theTang andSong dynasties, thus pioneered a new era inChinese tea culture. There is also a short discussion of tea wares.
TheTea Manual includes a preface and sixteen chapters:[1][2]
Some of the tea wares can be derived from the tea wares of the Tang dynasty (The Classic of Tea byLu Yu) and Song dynasty (Old Man Shen-an).
Ming Dynasty Tea Arts and Culture (Chinese)