August i, 1882,] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



121 



THE 0RIC4IN OF TEA-DRINKING. 

 Aa a specimen of destructivo criticism, the fol- 

 lowing article from the JSforlh China Herald is simply 

 perfect. But we wish tlie evidently well informed 

 writer had given us some idea of the earliest well- 

 authenticated mention of tea by a Chinese writer. 

 It is beyond measure strange that Marco Polo, while 

 mentioning not only silk, sugar, and camphor, but 

 even ginger, should have left tea utterly unnoticed. 

 This case shews the danger of arguing from negative 

 testimony even more than that of the non-mention of 

 cinnamon in the sacred and historical books of Ceylon. 

 On the negative testimony of these records, the German 

 savants (some of them) expressed doubts as to cinna- 

 mon beiug indigenous to Oeylon, and a great contro- 

 versy was the consequence. The sufficient explanation 

 in this case seems to be that the Sinhalese writers 

 had too exclusively in view the glorification of Buddh- 

 ism and of the kings who favoured it and built 

 irrigation tanks, to trouble themselves about a plant 

 which was not used iu the Buddhist services and 

 which did not require irrigation. But Marco Polo 

 was a traveller who professed to record all the notable 

 things he saw in his wanderings, and for him to 

 omit tea-drinking in China is as strange as would be 

 a similar omission iu regard to whiskey in Scotland 

 and Ireland and beer in England, by a traveller from 

 a foreign land, professing to note and record the 

 manners and customs, dress and food of the people. 

 According to tlie North China Herald the Muham- 

 madan travellers in China who preceded Marco Polo 

 by half-a-clozen centux'ies were as mysteriously silent 

 in regard to tea as was the medifeval Cbristian 

 traveller. But it seems beyond question that tea was 

 in use by the Chinese, centuries before the Muham- 

 madan travellers visited China. The general belief is 

 that the plant and the value of its leaves were known 

 so early as the fourth century of our era, while 

 Baildon, in his recently published book on Indian tea, 

 broaches the theory that for the introduction of the 

 plant and a knowledge of its varieties, China is iudebted 

 to an Indian Prince who visited the celestial empire 

 in the early years of the sixth century. The Sbaug- 

 hai writer might be able to speak with some authority 

 on this point. The tone, however, iu which he notices 

 Baron Richthofeu's theory of how tbe use of tea in 

 correcting bad water was discovered would seem to 

 shew that he believes tea to be indigenous to China, 

 while the period at which its virtues became known 

 is uncertain. We have just had experience of a neglect 

 apparently as curious as that of Marco Polo. His 

 editor, Col. Yule, being the author of the article 

 "China" in the new edition of the Encyclopoidia 

 Britaniiici, we referred to that article, never doubting 

 that under the heading "Tea" we should iirid em- 

 bodied .all that was known or surmised on th.; subject. 

 But, except as an^artiole entering into the commerce 

 of certain provinces, tea is not mentioned in Col. 

 Yule's account of China. We suppose Col. Y'ule 

 was instructed to hold his hand because all the in- 

 formation available regarding tea in China would be 

 embodied in the special article "Tea." That would 

 explain a brief treatment of tea amongst other veget- 

 ble productions, but in Col. Yule's otherwise elaborate 

 16 



and valuable article on China there is absolutely no 

 such section as "vegetable ijroductions ": they are 

 simply mentioned, a few of them, incidentally ! 



The last inaccuracy concerning China which has 

 fallen under our observation (reproduced in another 

 column) is in itself of a very trivial nature, and is 

 worthy of mention only as a specimen of a class, A 

 gentleman who writes in Onee a Week has been bur« 

 rowing into antique manuscripts in the British Museum 

 and has there discovered a paper, prepared by one 

 Thos. Povery, Esq., 20th October lb'86, in which is 

 noted a list of twenty " Qualities and liperations," 

 which he says characterize " The Herb called Tea or 

 Chee." With the qualities and operations of this 

 "innutritions plant" — as its foe, E. Montgomery Mar- 

 tin, Esq., of Voluminous Colonial Statistical memory 

 was wont to call it — we have nothing to do, not 

 being at present in the tea-trade. At the close of 

 the list, however, the transcriber volunteers the in- 

 formation that " the Chinese believed implicitly in the 

 virtues of the herb as summarized above," of which, 

 he says, " we have evidence in the records of the 

 travels of two Arab merchants, who visited China in 

 the years A. D. 851 and 867. From this we learn 

 that tea, under the name of Tcha, was universally 

 drunk, and was supposed to be a cure for every 

 disease." As the copyist does not mention the name 

 of the Arabs whom he cites, we are left to guess 

 who they may have been. That they make the state- 

 ment which is credited to them we take the liberty 

 to doubt. We shall see in moment that, when it 

 comes to quotauon, the authority of our hebdomadal 

 friend is exactly nil. The Chinese have long been 

 in the habit of using tea. When or how it came 

 into use is probably not known. The conjecture of 

 Baron Kichthofen is, perhaps, as good as any other. 

 According to his hypothesis, the water of the swampy 

 and malarious riee-Helds of the south was found to 

 be, in its natural state, unhealthful ; and it was 

 therefore boiled. To correct the insipidity which 

 resulted, an infusion of the leaves of plants was 

 tried. Of the leaves so experimented with 

 those of one particular kind of plant were found to 

 be much superior to all others. Hence the use of 

 tea. That the Chinese are strongly attached to their 

 tea is unquestionable. So are the population of Eng- 

 land, and iif the United States. But that the Chinese 

 believe that the tea-leaf is a " cure for every disease" 

 we shall again be obliged to duubt until it is sup- 

 ported by some stronger evidence than the quotations 

 of our hebdomadal writer. Else what nieaus ti e 

 conituon proverb, which has quite a diti rent look ; 

 ' Tea does an hundred miscliiefs, and only one ^»'h\ 

 — it lightens the eye,' which la-t stacemeut corre- 

 sponds to Mr. Povery's virtue No. 9. Excessive tea- 

 driuking is said to interfere with the all-important 

 Ch'i as is seen in the fact that teadriukere oaui. >t 

 walk without panting and puffing In short, all tlie 

 five viscera are injured by tea. This, however, by 

 the way. 



We are next informed that "Marco Polo, the fam- 

 ous luediajval traveller, also distinctly lueutious tea 

 in his travels iu the East." Onr hebdo.i.adal 

 friend is good at copying rare maiuisciipt, but, 

 as we have remarked, he does not shine in quot- 

 ation. He appears indeed to have confined liim- 

 self to the manuscript department of the Brit- 

 ish Museum. It is well known, however, that 

 there is an enormous library in that respect- 

 able institution, full of books for reference and 

 co-1 sulfation. -If he had taken the trouble to stroll 

 round to the librarian, and .isk for " The Book of 

 Ser Marco Polo the Venetian, newly translated and 

 edited with notes by ColoneljHenry Yule, C. B." (the 



