Lu Yu has a special interest and affection for tea. He often talks about tea with Jiao Ran and others, and makes a comprehensive and systematic investigation and study on the botanical characteristics, collection, cooking and drinking of tea. He wrote many books in his life, but "Tea Classics are handed down from generation to generation, and none of his books have been handed down from generation to generation".
The Book of Tea is a monograph on tea which combines history and reality. The book is divided into ten classics with more than 7,000 words. There are mainly two aspects: first, the botanical characteristics and processing of tea trees, the textual research of the name of "Yiyuan" tea, the characteristics, habitat, cultivation, variety identification and utilization of tea trees; "two tools" remember the tea picking tools; "San Chuang" records the processing process of tea; Geographical distribution of tea plants in "Eight Places". Second, make tea and drink tea. The "four devices" remember the tools for cooking and drinking tea; "Five Boiling" notes the method of making tea (baking, boiling and grinding) of cake tea; Remember the tea drinking method in "Six Drinks"; Seven Things is a compilation of historical materials. The former is related to agronomy, and its main content is "the origin of one"; The latter is related to drinking tea, and its main content is "five boiling".
The Book of Tea systematically summarizes the experience of picking and drinking tea at that time, comprehensively discusses the origin, production and drinking of tea, spreads the scientific knowledge of tea industry, promotes the development of tea production, and creates the precedent of tea ceremony in China. Moreover, The Book of Tea is the most complete book of tea in ancient China. Besides the tea method, all kinds of contents related to tea are described. All future tea books will be based on this.
According to historical records, due to the advent of tea classics, "the world can learn to drink tea". Although it is exaggerated, Lu Yu's tea classics did play an important role in history. China's tea planting, tea making, tea cooking and tea drinking methods were introduced to North Korea in the 6th-7th century. Japanese Buddhists and monks are not empty. They brought cakes, tea leaves and tea seeds from the mid-8th century to the early 9th century and planted them in Shiga Prefecture, Japan. Later, under the advocacy of Shang Cheng, tea cooking and tea tasting developed into a special art-tea ceremony. The tea ceremony also absorbed the tea ceremony in the temples of the Song Dynasty, which not only became a means of communication in the upper class, but also became a way of preaching and practicing Zen in Buddhist temples. These are all influenced by Lu Yu's Tea Classic. It can be said that Japanese tea ceremony is the product of Sino-Japanese cultural exchange, and Lu Yu is the disseminator of tea culture.
Therefore, later generations revered Lu Yu as Cha Sheng, the originator of tea industry.