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Abstract
The Chaliao ji 茶寮記 (A Record of the Tea Retreat) by the scholar-official Lu Shusheng 陸樹聲 (1509–1605) stands out in the vast corpus of essays on tea produced in the late Ming dynasty for two reasons. Firstly, the social status of its author, who held the highest official position among all tea writers of the period, shows that tea appreciation was actively discussed among the highest echelons of the late Ming gentry. Secondly, the Chaliao ji is the earliest publication to bring together the issues of the construction of a private tea room, prescriptions for the preparation of loose-leaf tea, as well as instructions for savouring the beverage, thus further delineating specific aspects of literati tea culture as social markers.
This study examines the background and content of Chaliao ji. It first provides an overview of Lu Shusheng's biography, from his experience in officialdom to his later life in retirement, focusing on his construction of a garden and his commitment to Buddhism and tea appreciation. It then discusses the contents of the text, the several extant editions and issues regarding its authorship. Finally, it provides an English translation of the Chaliao ji accompanied by the Chinese text and commentary.

The present article deals with the historical evolution and the current state of the classification and compilation of Chinese writings on tea. The Chajing (Tea Classic) by Lu Yu was the first essay entirely dedicated to tea, inspiring the composition of other writings on this subject. In the bibliographical catalogues of the Tang and Song dynasties, texts on tea were classified under different categories. Tea literature was recognized as an individual genre in 1612 with the publication of the first dedicated collectanea, entitled Chashu (Writings on Tea). During the Qing period there was no other comparable compilation of texts of this kind. In the twentieth century the term chashu was adopted by various scholars and compilers as a general label for tea literature. Nevertheless, there is at present neither a unique nor unequivocal term to denote tea literature, nor is there common acceptance of the scope and typologies of the texts that form this literary genre.