Wen Zhenheng: Life, Tea and a Treatise on Superfluous Things

You might be a fan of Chinese tea but you may not have heard of Wen Zhenheng.

The man himself, possibly thinking about having a cuppa

Born in Jiangsu province in 1585, Lao Wen was something of a polymath, successfully turning his hand to writing, painting and even garden design during his 60 year life. But he is maybe best known for his ambitious work “A Treatise on Superflous Things” – known as Chang Wu Zhi in Chinese pinyin, or 长物志 in Mandarin script – written over seven years in the 1620s.

 It is in this work that Wen sets about itemising and cataloguing his wisdom on a variety of quotidian subjects, including food, clothing, interior design, art and – maybe most famously – tea. The final section of this twelve volume work is dedicated to incense and tea, two subjects intrinsic to the Chinese cultures of worship and manners. There are 24 chapters in this tome alone, which reflects the importance of incense and tea in Ming Dynasty China.

 [Note: although maybe not as important as “Utensils”, a subject to which Wen Zhenheng devotes 58 chapters] 

There is no complete translation of 长物志 in existence, but the Shandong Pictorial Publishing House published an abridged edition of the work back in 2004. You can take a look at excerpts from the last volume of Wen Zhenheng’s 长物志 by clicking here.

Different types of teas feature different health benefits. Click here for more information.