DonH
Well-Known Member
I've been reading the book, 1493 by Charles Mann (the guy who wrote 1491) about the world after Columbus. He was talking about when tobacco swept over China in the 17th century. In 1774 Lu Yao wrote a manual on how to smoke for the upper classes:
I don't know, personally I like to smoke when observing plum blossoms.
He also quoted a poet's hymn to tobacco:
Do smoke: after waking up; after a meal; with guests; while writing; when growing tired from reading; while waiting for a good friend who hasn't shown up yet.
Don't smoke; while listening to a zither; feeding cranes; appreciating orchids; observing plum blossoms; making ancestral offerings; attending the morning court assembly; sleeping with a beautiful woman.
I don't know, personally I like to smoke when observing plum blossoms.
He also quoted a poet's hymn to tobacco:
Puffing fragrance, exhaling the Sage's vapor;
Bluish tendrils born from the subtle Smoke.
The Gentleman's Companion, it warms my heart
And leaves my mouth feeling like a divine furnace.