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Lu Yu (728-804), otherwise Lu Hongjian, Lu Ji or Lu Jici, was born in Tianmen County of Hubei Province in the Tang Dynasty. His childhood was spent in a Buddhist monastery. In the reign of emperor Li Longji (712-755) the governor of Lu’s native province discovered his talent and helped him to go to school. A talent he really was, he studied strenuously and was known to the society very quickly and was given an official post of literary instructor to the heir apparent. He was soon promoted to the chief governor of royal ritual services which he had not taken office.

Lu Yu declined the idea of marching into officialdom. He lived a literal life yet he liked to study, research and communicate with well-known figures and scholars. He showed intense interest in tea. Through researches he knew well in the art of planting, growing and processing, especially tasting tea. He lived a hermaticl life in Huzhou of Zhejiang Province and wrote the book Tea Classic, reputed as the first expertise book on tea in the world. There are ten sections in the book. The gist is as follows:

The origin: The origin of tea, characteristics in its biology, relations between circumstances and quality and the effect of tea-drinking on health.
The utensils: The 15 different utensils and their usage in plucking and processing of tea.
Manufacturing: The best way of plucking and technological requirements in processing.
Tea Sets: The 25 utensils in boiling and drinking tea, the correct way of tea-drinking.
Boiling: The directions for boiling of brewing tea, stipulating standard of quality control of tea.
Drinking: Introducing the art of preparation and drinking, pointing out nine important keypoints of tea processing.
History: Relating the history about tea and stories of tea-loving men, with therapeutic effects of tea.
Regions: Laying down the regions of tea production (in Tang Dynasty) and comments on the different species from different regions.
Simplification: Preparing tea in a simplified way when it is done in rare occasions such as at a monastery in secluded hills.
Illustration: To illustrate all procedures about tea with drawings and then hang the painting on wall of the study to keep it always in view.
The book is really a classic written on the activities about tea, and is a condensed conclusion of the knowledge and facts about tea in Tang Dynasty and the pre-Tang times. It bestowed splendor to the tea culture of olden times.

People in the hometown of Lu Yu established a 32 meter bronze statue of Sitting position, tasting a cup of tea with the yixing teapots, in the newly built memorial hall of Lu Yu in acknowledgement of his historical merit in contribution on tea.