Re: The Book of Tea by Kakuzo OkakuraOn Sun, 18 May 2008 06:55:14 -0700 (PDT), mermaidscribe@gmail,com
wrote:
>The Book of Tea by Kakuzo Okakura is available via eBay here:
> http :// cgi.ebay,com /The-Book-of-Tea-by-Kakuzo-Okakura W0QQitemZ200225005766QQihZ010QQcategoryZ378QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
>
>
>More on Kakuzo Okakura can be found here:
> http :// en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Okakura Kakuz%C5%8D
>
>All books posted (by me) on eBay can be found here:
> http :// search.ebay,com / W0QQsassZmermaidscribe
From the site at
http :// www .kellscraft,com /bookoftea/bookofteacontents.html
(quote)
THE BOOK OF TEA
BY
OKAKURA-KAKUZO
NEW YORK
DUFFIELD & COMPANY 1919
COPYRIGHT 1906, BY
FOX, DUFFIELD & COMPANY
To
JOHN LAFARGE
Sensei
CONTENTS
CHAPTER I. THE CUP OF HUMANITY
Tea ennobled into Teaism, a religion of ecstheticism, the adoration of
the beautiful among everyday facts – Teaism developed among both
nobles and peasants – The mutual misunderstanding of the New World and
the Old – The Worship of Tea in the West – Early records of Tea in
European writing – The Taoists' version of the combat between Spirit
and Matter – The modern struggle for wealth and power.
CHAPTER II. THE SCHOOLS OF TEA
The three stages of the evolution of Tea – The Boiled Tea, the Whipped
Tea, and the Steeped Tea, representative of the Tang, the Sung, and
the Ming dynasties of China – Luwuh, the first apostle of Tea – The
Tea-ideals of the three dynasties – To the latter-day Chinese Tea is a
delicious beverage, but not an ideal – In Japan Tea is a religion of
the art of life.
CHAPTER III. TAOISM AND ZENNISM
The connection of Zennism with Tea – Taoism, and its successor
Zennism, represent the individualistic trend of the Southern Chinese
mind – Taoism accepts the mundane and tries to find beauty in our
world of woe and worry – Zennism emphasizes the teachings of Taoism –
Through consecrated meditation may be attained supreme
self-realisation – Zennism, like Taoism, is the worship of Relativity
– Ideal of Teaism a result of the Zen conception of greatness in the
smallest incidents of life – Taoism furnished the basis for aesthetic
ideals, Zennism made them practical.
CHAPTER IV. THE TEA-ROOM
The tea-room does not pretend to be other than a mere cottage – The
simplicity and purism of the tea-room – Symbolism in the construction
of the tea-room – The system of its decoration – A sanctuary from the
vexations of the outer world.
CHAPTER V. ART APPRECIATION
Sympathetic communion of minds necessary for art appreciation – The
secret understanding between the master and ourselves – The value of
suggestion – Art is of value only to the extent that it speaks to us –
No real feeling in much of the apparent enthusiasm to-day – Confusion
of art with archaeology – We are destroying art in destroying the
beautiful in life.
CHAPTER VI. FLOWERS
Flowers our constant friends – The Master of Flowers – The waste of
Flowers among Western communities – The art of floriculture in the
East – The Tea-Masters and the Cult of Flowers – The Art of Flower
Arrangement – The adoration of the Flower for its own sake – The
Flower-Masters – Two main branches of the schools of Flower
Arrangement, the Formalistic and the Naturalesque.
CHAPTER VII. TEA-MASTERS
Real appreciation of art only possible to those who make of it a
living influence – Contributions of the Tea-Masters to art – Their
influence on the conduct of life – The Last Tea of Rikiu.
(unquote)