[162] According to Dr. W. H. Medhurst's translation of this rare work, for a copy of which, rescued from the last great conflagration at Canton, we are indebted to the kindness of Mr. Wylie, the portion especially referring to this runs as follows: "The mulberry ground having been supplied with silk-worms, the people descended from the hills and dwelt in the plains," (p. 91,) and further on, "their tribute baskets were filled with black silks and checkered sarsenets" (p. 96). See Ancient China,
The Shookin, or the Historical Classic. Being the most ancient authentic Records of the Annals of the Chinese Empire. Illustrated by later commentators. Translated by Dr. W. H. Medhurst, Sen. Shanghai, 1846.
[163] Thus Yuen-tschin in the third month (April of our calendar), Chay and Yuen in the fourth month (May), Gae-tschin in the fifth month (June), Sai in the sixth month (July), Han-tschin in the seventh month (August), Szé-tschan in the ninth month (October), and Haù in the tenth month (November).
[164] The value of a tael, as already stated, varies from 6s. to 6s. 6d. It is estimated that a bale of silk, until it is shipped at Shanghai for England, has cost from £80 to £100 sterling.
[165] The word Châ is, however, used by the Chinese to designate not the tea plant alone, but every description of Camelia.
[166] Arabian travellers who visited China in the 9th century, A.D. 850, speak thus early of tea, as of a beverage in universal use. According to Kämpfer tea was introduced from China into Japan about A.D. 519, by a native prince named Dæme, who, during his residence in China, had learned its invaluable properties. The Japanese, however, do not drink their tea as an infusion, but grind the leaves into powder, pour hot water upon them, and stir them with a bamboo-stick till they are thoroughly mingled together, when they swallow the decoction and the powder together, as is done with coffee in some parts of Asia.
[167] The term "Bohea" is in fact only a corruption of the Chinese Wu-yi, which again is derived from Wu-i-kien, a well-known Chinese divinity.
[168] In Java, where the tea plant has been cultivated for a series of years, the mountain region from 4000 to 5000 feet above the sea, and with an average temperature of from 58°.1 to 73°.7, Fahr., has been found best adapted for the growth of the plant.
[169] The first scientific arrangement of the tea plant according to dried specimens was made in 1753 by Linnæus, who in his Species Plantarum included among these one species, which he called Thea Sinensis. But by the time the second edition of his renowned work made its appearance in 1762, Linnæus found himself compelled to make two species of it, and to assign them the names by which they are known to the present day. The first living tea plant was brought to Europe in October, 1763, by a ship captain named Ekeberg, and planted in the Botanic Garden of Upsala.