Etymology
- Tea was called 'tu' (荼) (in the Chinese ancient classic Shi Jing (The book of Songs)).
- Tea was also called 'jia' (檟) in the ancient Chinese classic Er Ya compiled during the early Han Dynasty : " Jia is bitter tu". The word tu was further annotated by a Jin scholar, Guo Pu (276-324 CE): " Tu is a small plant, its leaves can be brewed into a beverage".
- Tea was also called "She' (蔎) in a West Han monograph on dialect: Fang Yian.
- During the Han Dynasty, the word tu took on a new pronunciation, 'cha', in addition to its old pronunciation 'tu'.
The syllable 'tu' (荼) later developed into 'te' in the Fujian dialect, and later 'tea', 'te'.
The syllable 'she' (蔎) later became 'soh' in Jiangsu province, Suleiman's 'Sakh' also came from 'she'.
The syllable "jia' (檟) later became 'cha' and 'chai' (Russia, India).
During the Sui and Tang dynasties, drinking tea became a widespread custom, then spread west to Tibet.
The first use of the word Cha instead of 'tu' for tea was in Lu Yu's Cha Jing, The Classic of Tea of 760 CE.
Read more about this topic: History Of Tea In China
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