@article{772804,
      recid = {772804},
      author = {Benn, James A.,},
      title = {Tea in China : a religious and cultural history /},
      pages = {xiii, 288 pages},
      abstract = {"Tea in China explores the contours of religious and  cultural transformation in traditional China from the point  of view of an everyday commodity and popular beverage. The  work traces the development of tea drinking from its  mythical origins to the nineteenth century and examines the  changes in aesthetics, ritual, science, health, and  knowledge that tea brought with it. The shift in drinking  habits that occurred in late medieval China cannot be  understood without an appreciation of the fact that  Buddhist monks were responsible for not only changing  people's attitudes toward the intoxicating substance, but  also the proliferation of tea drinking. Monks had enjoyed a  long association with tea in South China, but it was not  until Lu Yu's compilation of the Chajing (The Classic of  Tea) and the spread of tea drinking by itinerant Chan  monastics that tea culture became popular throughout the  empire and beyond. Tea was important for maintaining long  periods of meditation; it also provided inspiration for  poets and profoundly affected the ways in which ideas were  exchanged. Prior to the eighth century, the aristocratic  drinking party had excluded monks from participating in  elite culture. Over cups of tea, however, monks and  literati could meet on equal footing and share in the same  aesthetic values. Monks and scholars thus found common  ground in the popular stimulant - one with few side effects  that was easily obtainable and provided inspiration and  energy for composing poetry and meditating  ..."--Publisher's description.},
      url = {http://library.usi.edu/record/772804},
}