Tea Stories: The Emperor’s Mysterious Tea Plant

During the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, the emperor had a recurring dream: a small bird with emerald feathers would land on a branch of an unknown tree and sing a single, perfect note before vanishing into the mist. The dream troubled him, for he felt certain it carried a message he could not decipher.

He summoned his most trusted servant, a quiet man named Li An, and described the dream in detail. "Find this tree," the emperor said. "I believe it holds something the empire needs."

Li An traveled for three years through mountains and valleys, following rumors of unusual plants and strange fragrances. He found many remarkable things, but none that matched the emperor's vision. Then, on the slopes of a mountain in Fujian, he came upon a grove of tea plants unlike any he had seen — their leaves a deep, luminous green, their fragrance unlike anything he could name.

He tried to pick the leaves, but each time he reached for them, a mist would rise and obscure his hands. He tried again and again, growing frustrated. Finally, exhausted, he sat down beside the plants and simply breathed. He stopped trying. He let the mountain be what it was.

The mist cleared. The leaves were within reach. He brewed the tea that evening over a small fire, and as he drank, he understood: the tea could not be taken. It could only be received, by those who came to it with stillness and without grasping.

He brought the seeds back to the emperor, along with this understanding. The emperor planted the seeds in the palace garden and drank the tea each morning in silence, before the day's demands began.

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Tea cannot be taken. It can only be received.