Various authors

“ His father before him had been a Tea-Master. For generations the family of Lum Lee had been Masters of the most elusive of all beverages. And when Lum Lee poured tea he made a perfect ritual of it. It must be served in cups of finest china, so delicate that they might have been fashioned from the petals of a flower. To bring out the best that is in tea it must be handled with reverence. Never would he serve customers when there were harsh noises filtering into the shop. For tea is sensitive. It can only give of its best when it is serene. Tea is liquid poetry. It is music. ”

“ Then in silence they sipped their tea, while the perfume of wisteria and roses floated in from the garden and the wind sighed softly through the treetops. And the aroma from each cup swirled upward until it formed a golden spiral, a staircase down which a beloved woman walked. ”

“ Now once more the five merchants were on the road outside the garden of Mai-da's house.
"Let us return to the tea-house of Lum Lee," suggested Ling Yoong."I feel as though I need the steadying influence of that divine beverage."
"A good idea," echoed Dien Lee.
"But," mused Chu Kai, "will the aroma of the tea be as sweet now that there is no beloved woman for us to dream about?"
"After all," declared Chu Chen, who was a clever, shrewd business man, "what is one woman more or less? Truly it has been well said by the old philosophers that to educate a woman is to educate a monkey. ”

“ And it almost seemed as though the silk and the skin of the beloved woman blended and became one; for the love of a man can bring out the beauty in a woman. It is almost as though from his love she draws a divine light that makes her body glow. Now Dien Lee was returning to Canton with silks from the far north, the softest silks he had ever beheld or touched. And with them he intended to drape the gorgeous body of his lady.
Chu Kai was a philosopher and a dreamer, older than either Ling Yoong or Dien Lee. ”

“ But no tea has a flavor sweeter than the lips of her whom I worship. I am even now en route to her house in Canton."
Now Lum Lee had returned with the new tea. He placed a cup before each of the merchants.
"In truth," mused Chu Kai, "it seems that we are in a manner brothers even though we have only met this hour. For each of us is being drawn to Canton by the vibrations of love. And now we have paused to sip tea together. And by drinking this tea we become even closer. It is an invisible tie binding us together." ”

“ He invited them all to sit about a common table, a round table which was the pivot of the room.
"Tea makes all men brothers," he said as they eagerly complied with their host's suggestion. While he withdrew to bring new cups, they conversed in whispers with one another.
"I am Ling Yoong," said the first. "I am a jewel merchant. I have been on a long journey. Now I am returning to the woman I love, who dwells in Canton."
"I am Dien Lee," said the second, "a merchant in tapestry and rare silks. I too am returning to Canton to the woman I love." ”

“ Where jade was concerned his word was law, and not infrequently he was called in by wealthy Manchus, war lords, and even far-off Indian potentates, to appraise odd bits of jade and nephrite carvings. Few there were in all of China to compare with him in choosing jewels or women. Although he was an expert in all jewels, most of his attention was given to jade, for jade like women is endless in variety; no two specimens are alike, and like women it is alluring, pleasant to the touch and comforting. ”