石渠寶笈三編(延春閣),第四冊,頁1787&*故宮書畫錄(卷八),第四冊,頁77&*故宮書畫圖錄,第六冊,頁257-259&* 沈周(西元一四二七-一五○九年)字啟南,號石田,江蘇蘇州人。精於山水、花卉,為明四大家之一。 稀疏的林間,童僕沿著小路,前往汲泉準備烹茶。畫上題詩說茶,與圖同佔重要分量。虎邱位於蘇州市北,不僅生產虎邱名茶,而且虎邱石泉,自唐代以來便被評為天下第三泉,也就是沈周詩中所指。茶與水關係密切,故謂「水為茶之母」,好茶尚須好水沖泡。歷來均以山泉為上品。 &* Shen Chou, a native of Soochow, excelled at landscape and flower painting and was ranked as one of the Four Ming Masters. In sparse woods, an attendant follows a narrow path apparently making his way to a spring in order to prepare tea. Shen’s long inscription above is about tea and takes up about half the painting. Tiger Hill, located north of Soochow, was not only a source of tea but also a spring by the same name. Since the T’ang dynasty, Tiger Hill Spring was renowned as the third most famous in China (as Shen Chou mentions in his inscription). Quality water is essential for tea, hence the saying “Water is the mother of tea”. Fine tea even more so requires the best water for brewing, and the finest has always been spring water.