一阴一阳之谓道。茶道者,茶气之阴阳也。阴阳和谐,则天下乐进。观天下之茶,因采制之术相异而分阴阳。未杀青而成分已化、茶气已成者谓之阳茶;杀青而后转化成分、积累茶气者谓之阴茶。阴阳之茶,各应于天地人三才之造,盖有六类。
The balance of Yim (Lunar) and Yaŋ (Solar) elements is called Tao (principle, the basic rule of evolvement). Tao of Tea (Tea Philosophy) is the principle of Yim-Yaŋ classification of the teas.With the balance of Yim and Yaŋ, the teas will be well accepted by all kinds of people. The teas in the world can be classified into Yim teas and Yaŋ teas according to their respective pneumas growing up during fermentations. Those teas with the nutrients and the pneumas created before the enzymes in the tea leaves are inactivated are called the Yaŋ teas (Solar teas); while those with the nutrients and the pneumas created after the enzymes are inactivated are called the Yim teas(Lunar teas). During fermentation, three types of major influences, i.e., the sky, the human, and the earth, will be exercised on Yim and Yaŋ teas, and therefore, the six types of tea are made.
得天之气,杀青不化者谓之绿茶,气属太阳,多咖啡因而利尿提神;
With the vital essence of the sky, green teas inactivated directly without any fermentation, keeps the original pneumas accumulated from sunshine during growing. Their pneumas are Grand Yaŋ.Grand Yaŋ pneumas are healthy for refreshing and urination, because caffeine, which has been proved to have the above-mentioned functions, is kept in the teas.
因人之力,摇青发酵者谓之青茶,气属阳明,多芳香酸而清肠排毒;
With the hard efforts of the human, blue teas are shaken to ferment. The pneumas of blue teas are Middle Yaŋ. Their pneumas are healthy for stomach and colon because the aromatic acids are created in the blue teas with these functions.
就地之厚,渥堆发酵者谓之红茶,气属少阳,多茶多胺而利胆养颜;
With the great virtue of the earth, red teas are piled up on the ground to ferment. Their pneumas are Little Yaŋ. Their pneumas are healthy for endocrine and gallbladder while amines and amides in red teas have those functions.
就地而烘青闷黄者谓之黄茶,气属少阴,多黄酮类而活血洗肾;
With the influence of the earth, yellow teas are inactivated by baking and subsequently wrapped up by moist bags to oxidize on the ground. Their pneumas are Little Yim. Their pneumas are healthy for cardiovascular and kidneys, and the flavones in yellow teas have those functions.
因人而炒青种曲者谓之黑茶,气属厥阴,多芳香苷而疏肝安神;
With the influence of the human, black teas are inactivated by pan-firing and fermented with fungi.Their pneumas are Middle Yim. Their pneumas are healthy for liver and emotion. The aromatic glycosides in black teas have those functions.
得天而晒青陈化者谓之白茶,气属太阴,多白茶酯而健脾润肺。
With the influence of the sky, white teas are dried in the sun to be inactive and keep basking to oxidize. Their pneumas are Grand Yim. They are healthy for immunity and breath. The esters in white teas have those functions.
阳者发散,阴者收敛。故阳茶日久则气失,不复可饮;阴茶则存之愈久,其气愈浓。
Yaŋ pneumas keep dissipating, while Yim pneumas keep absorbing. Therefore, Yaŋ teas will lose pneuma after a period and will not be edible. On the other side, the longer the Yim teas keep, the better they will be, because more and more pneumas are absorbed.
Figure 1.Philosophy of tea classification according to production procedures.
Figure 2.Classical teas with pneumas going to six channels
Figure 3.RP-electrophoresis based on molecular polarity isolates unique components for each type of tea, indicating that six types of tea contain totally different chemical compounds and therefore have different health relevance.
Figure 4.Peaks released by electrophoresis at around 24 minutes demonstrate a divergence of Yīm and Yáŋ teas, which might be the compounds that decided the directions of the body fluid.
Figure 5. The six teas go to six meridians of body fluid. The meridians line vertically through body. Peaks released by electrophoresis at around 13 minutes demonstrate the order of meridian axes from the body center to the margins.
Figure 6.Peaks released by electrophoresis at around 30 minutes demonstrate a divergence of Hand and Foot channels the teas go through.