Okakura turns the humble cup of tea into an Eastern philosophy of life, tracing Teaism from Chinese medicine to Zen-flavoured Japanese ceremony. He moves from the bare tea-room and its Taoist love of the imperfect to flower-arranging, art appreciation and the tea-master Rikiu's final tea before his suicide.
Books mentioned in The Book of Tea (5)
The Web of Indian Life by Sister Nivedita: “It is rarely that the chivalrous pen of a Lafcadio Hearn or that of the author of "The Web of Indian Life" enlivens the Oriental darkness with the torch of our own sentiments.”
The Classic of Tea by Lu Yu: “Luwuh, a poet, saw in the Tea-service the same harmony and order which reigned through all things. In his celebrated work, the "Chaking" (The Holy Scripture of Tea) he formulated the Code of Tea.”
I Ching: “The archaic records of China, especially the Book of Changes, foreshadow his thought.”
Tao Te Ching by Laozi: “Laotse himself spoke of it thus: "There is a thing which is all-containing, which was born before the existence of Heaven and Earth. How silent! How solitary! It stands alone and changes not.”
Pingshi by Yuan Hongdao: “It has been written ["Pingtse", by Yuenchunlang] that the peony should be bathed by a handsome maiden in full costume, that a winter-plum should be watered by a pale, slender monk.”