译文及注释:
Translation:
The people of Yue sent me the famous tea from Shanxi picking the tender tea leaves and brewing them in tea utensils. The tea soup in the white porcelain bowl is filled with green foam like the essence of the immortal tree falling from the sky. After drinking it I feel refreshed and my mind is clear with thoughts filling the world. Drinking it again cleanses my mind like a sudden rain falling on light dust. After three cups I attain the true path without the need to struggle with worries. The world doesn't know the purity of this tea as people deceive themselves and others by drinking alcohol. I pity Bi Zhuo who indulges in drinking and spends the night by the wine jar and I laugh at Tao Yuanming's drinking poems written under the eastern fence. When Cui Shijun drinks too much he even sings astonishing songs. Who knows that drinking tea can lead to the true path? Only the legendary immortal Dan Qiu Zi understands.
Annotations:
诮 (qiào): Originally means to mock. Here the character 诮 is not derogatory but rather has a humorous and teasing meaning mocking Cui Shijun's inability to handle tea. Cui Shijun was appointed as the governor of Huzhou in the early Zhenyuan period while Monk Jiaoran lived in Miaoxi Temple in Huzhou.
越: Ancient Shaoxing.
遗 (wèi): To give as a gift.
剡溪: A water name. 剡溪 is located in the eastern part of Zhejiang also known as Shanjiang or Shanchuan. It is more than 200 kilometers long and is an ancient river that has existed for thousands of years. It winds around the three famous mountains of Kuaiji Siming and Tiantai from Xinchang to Xikou with its clear streams and stunning scenery. As early as the Qin and Han dynasties there was a saying There are Tiantai Mountain and Shanxi River. Li Bai wrote in his poem Send me to Shanxi River; Du Fu wrote in his poem Shanxi River is extraordinary. More than 400 Tang Dynasty poets left their footprints here in the Shanxi River area so Shanxi River is also known as the Road of Tang Poetry. Shanxi River tea became famous because of Monk Jiaoran's poem. However in this context Shanxi River should specifically refer to Shengzhou.
金芽: Goose-yellow tender tea leaves.
爨 (cuàn): To cook in this context it means to boil or brew tea.
金鼎: A wind furnace tea brewing utensils.
素瓷雪色: The tea soup in the white porcelain bowl.
缥 (piǎo) 沫香: Green foam.
琼蕊: The essence of the immortal tree consuming it leads to immortality.
毕卓: A person from the Jin Dynasty known for his love of alcohol. One night he sneaked away to steal someone's wine got drunk and lost consciousness and was tied up by his companions and placed by the wine jar. The next day the shopkeeper saw him tied up and thought he was a government official from the Ministry of Personnel.