Not only had the tea classics produced in previous dynasties enhanced the reputation of famous springs, but also have the circulated “books about things” and encyclopedias for daily uses that published for educating the public about the objects and knowledge during the late-Ming Dynasty contributed to the popularity of notable spring sites. These “books about things” include Desultory Remarks on Furnishing the Adobe of the Retired Scholar (Kao pan yu shi) by Tu Long, Eight Discourses on the Art of Living (Zunsheng bajian) by Gao Lian, Treatise on Superfluous Things (Zhangwu zhi) by Wen Zhenheng, etc. These authors usually contributed a large portion of their books discussing the water sources for tea drinking. On the other hand, the encyclopedias for daily uses, such as Wanbao quanshu, also contains very specific knowledge of spring water tasting under the tea section. Since the publishing of these “books about things” and cheaper-edition encyclopediaas for daily uses was quite common due to the development of woodcut-block printing during the time, a large number of knowledge about famous springs could be informed to a larger population, including commoners and merchants. Ming people’s fascination of things and knowledge might have been under the influence of Wang Yangming’s and his followers’ idea of “investigation of things.” Benjamin Elman suggested, …show more content…
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