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Song title: The Tea, The Tower
Song selected by: Henry
Original poem:(Chinese-English reference)
茶。
香葉，嫩芽。
慕詩客，愛僧家。
碾雕白玉，羅織紅紗。
銚煎黃蕊色，碗轉麹塵花。
夜後邀陪明月，晨前命對朝霞。
洗盡古今人不倦，將知醉後豈堪誇。
Tea
fragrant leaves, tender buds
The poets and Buddhist monks love tea.
Grind tea leaves with a white jade grinder and sieve with a red gauze sieve
Fry in a small pot till color turns yellow like buds. Pour in a bowl to see bubbles floating like flowers.
Drink tea at night with the bright moon or facing the morning glow at dawn.
Tea washes off exhaustion from ancient to now,
tea refreshes the mind
after getting drunk.
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About the poet: Yuan Zhen
 Yuan Zhen, of Tang Dynasty, courtesy name Wei Zhi or Wei Ming, native of Luo Yang, He Nan, descendent of the Mongols. He lost his father when he was eight, was rejected by his half brother, later moved in with uncle with birth mother. His family was poor, so his mother educated him. Starting from when he was fifteen, he had assumed numerous government posts. However, he got demoted four times in his career. He died at age fifty-three. His writings were deep in thoughts. He left the world with many famous poems.
| (Director Chu, 2014.04.18) / Picture : Henry
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About the poem:
This poem was purposely written and arranged in the shape of a diamond by Yuan Zhen of Tang Dynasty. The poem started by describing the characteristics of tea, why do people like it, then it moves on to analyzing the skill for making tea layer by layer, mentioning about the optimal time to savor tea. Finally, the poet pointed out the benefits of consuming tea. The whole poem can be interpreted from different angles. It describes comprehensively about the making of a good cup of tea, and its composition made people wonder if the poet was playing a game. However, upon closer examination, one would see the amazing literary talent possessed by Yuan. (Director Chu, 2014.04.18) 
‘The Tea, The Tower’ afterthoughts:
The crisp sound of bell in the beginning made me feel like I was in the open mountain. When it came to the chorus, the song became livelier, felt like the beat was bouncing back and forth. There was a scream in the middle, and it felt like someone was having a tough time picking tea leaves on the mountain. The scratchy sound in the middle sounded like they were trying to calm down. Finally, their voice went from loud to barely audible, and it felt like they were in a state of meditation. |
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Text: the Beautiful Voices Compiled by Henry │ Pictures: the Beautiful Voices 
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