What are the components of Chinese tea culture?
Tea originated in China. The Chinese have a long history of drinking tea — it goes back more than 4,000 years to Shennong period.
Over this long period, Chinese tea culture has become rich and meaningful. It combines ideas from Buddhism, Confucius’ teachings and Taoism. Now it has become a distinctive component of Chinese culture!
Tea Tasting
The Chinese emphasize the word "taste" when drinking tea. Tasting tea is not merely about assessing the quality of the tea. It also involves thinking quietly and enjoying the happiness of drinking tea.
Amidst your busyness, brew a pot of rich tea and seek out a quiet, pleasant place to savor it in solitude. This can help you feel less tired, forget worries, make your mind sharper, and lift your spirits.
One can also sip slowly, achieving a beautiful enjoyment and elevating the spiritual world to a higher artistic realm. The environment for tea tasting generally consists of buildings, gardens, furnishings, and teaware. Drinking tea requires quiet, fresh air, comfort, and cleanliness.
Tea Tasting Etiquette
China is an ancient civilization and a land of etiquette, placing great importance on manners. When guests arrive, the etiquette of preparing and serving tea is necessary. When guests visit, one should solicit their opinions and choose the teaware best suited to their tastes. Appropriate blending of tea leaves is also necessary when serving tea.
While being with guests, the host should pay attention to the amount of tea remaining in their cups and teapots. Typically, when brewing tea in a teacup, one should add hot water once half of the tea has been consumed. Refill it whenever needed to keep the taste the same and the temperature right.
You can also have some snacks, candies or small dishes with the tea. They make the tea taste better and can refresh you.
The Classic of Tea – The Classic of Tea
Chinese People wrote The Classic of Tea during the Tang Dynasty. It ranks as China’s — and even the world’s — earliest, most complete, and most thorough book on tea. People call it the "Tea Encyclopedia," and it boasts a history of more than 1,000 years. It represents the essence of the tea philosophy embodied by Lu Yu, the "Sage of Tea."
This book covers lots of information. It explains China’s unique tea through ten sections: where it starts, tools for tea-making, how to process it, serving ware, brewing steps, drinking ways, interesting events, growing areas, key points and drawings.
It uses both classical and simple Chinese. It also has pictures of teapots made by famous craftsmen and well-known teas. These make the book interesting to look at and full of useful information.
Finally, it includes historical records about Lu Yu from the Tang Dynasty. This book helps readers learn about tea and the legendary Tea Sage too. It’s a rare, valuable book for collecting.
Tea Ceremony
The tea ceremony originated in China. At least during or before the Tang Dynasty, the Chinese were among the first in the world to use tea as a way to cultivate oneself.
The Tang Dynasty book Fengshi Wenjian Ji records: "The tea ceremony is widely practiced — even princes and officials drink it." This is the earliest record of the tea ceremony we have. So Lu Yu from the Tang Dynasty made the boiled tea ceremony. That boiled tea ceremony became the earliest and most complete way to practice the tea ceremony.
Tea Art
Tea art began in the Tang Dynasty. It became popular in the Song Dynasty, changed in the Ming Dynasty, and hit its peak in the Qing Dynasty. It has a long history and forms its own system.
Tea art counts as a kind of culture. It includes many parts: picking good tea, choosing right water, ways to brew tea, the nice teacups and pots, and a pleasant place to drink. The background of tea art helps show its theme well. It makes people feel the tea’s pure, elegant and simple traits, and makes the art more attractive.
Different styles of tea art need different backgrounds. Choose the right one, and you can better taste the tea’s flavor.
Tea is an necessary part of daily life for Chinese people. China have a proverb: "Seven necessities of life: firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and tea." The cultural aspects derived from tea are countless; Chinese tea culture is profound and extensive, and cannot be fully described in words.
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