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Origins of the name "TEA" and "CHA"

During the Tang dynasty in China, more than 10 different words refer the meaning of tea. Among then, the Chinese character "Tu" was most frequently used. However, this Tu also means other 2 kind of plants. Therefore from the book written in this time, it is hard to know if Tu really means tea or not. In the book written in B.C.59, "DongYue" by Wang Bao, there are expressions such as "boil Tu, or buy Tu" This Tu probably means the tea. Dong Yue is probably the oldest book mentioning about tea. During the Tang dynasty, around 760, the Chinese character "Tu" evolved to "Cha"which we use today, and specified the meaning of tea. Therefore, everything written before that time and used this Chinese character are considered to be rewrote in later. The pronunciation "Cha" is tea in Guandong dialogue of Chinese. The word"Cha" is used widely in East Asia and East Europe. The pronunciation "Tea" is came from Amoi, Fujian province in China. Most of the European countries and the South Asia countries use similar pronunciation "Tea". However people in Portugal use "Cha" instead of tea. It is because Portugal was the very first country in Europe to bring tea from China, and the trader was happen to be a man from Guandong, China.

(Shigehiro Kodomari)