陆羽在湖州之际遇考——兼论陆羽撰著《毁茶论》的历史背景

Lu Yu’s Experiences in Huzhou and Historical Background of His Essay On the Destruction of Tea Ceremony

湖州的人文和地理环境,成就和丰富了陆羽的人生。但陆羽在湖州也遭遇了不容回避的失意一面,其一是大历前期,为摆脱生活困境欲投鲍防;其二是因建议李栖筠进贡紫笋茶导致贡茶制度设立,致湖常两州人民深受其害,陆羽也于心不安;其三是陆羽目睹唐王朝及其官吏对茶的索取与利用,完全违背他对茶的认识与理解,严重背离他在《茶经》中倡导的“精行俭德”精神,于是,愤然撰写《毁茶论》,抨击唐王朝为“口腹玩好”创立新制,索茶无度;各级官吏不顾人民疾苦,借贡茶制度横征暴敛,致茶区民不聊生。陆羽或于文中向茶区人民表达歉意。

Though the cultural and geographical environment of Huzhou enriched Lu Yu’s life, he encountered inevitable frustration there. First, in the early days of Dali Period, he intended to seek Bao Fang’s help to improve the poor living condition. Second, Lu Yu felt uneasy because he advised Li Qijun to pay tribute to purple bamboo shoots tea which led to the establishment of a tribute tea system, causing people in Huzhou and Changzhou to suffer a great deal. Third, Lu Yu witnessed the demand and utilization of tea by the Tang Dynasty and its officials, which was completely against his understandings of tea and greatly deviated from the spirit of “cultivating a kind of morality inwardly and keeping desires under control to excel in virtue” advocated by him in Tea Classics. Therefore, in anger he wrote down On the Destruction of Tea Ceremony to attack the Tang Dynasty for creating a new system for such little cases and for demanding excessive tea. Regardless of people’s suffering, officials at all levels extorted taxes ruthlessly under the guise of the system, causing people in the tea district living on the edge of starvation and desperation. Lu Yu expressed his apology for the people in that essay.