chinese tea culture
Chinese tea culture has a long history.Tea culture entered its most prosperous ear in Tang and Song Dynasty, which had evolved into a condition that the fashion drinking tea had extended all over the country and tea had thus won the status as national beverage. And at that moment Luyu who was honored as “ the Saint of Tea” and his masterpiece The Scripture of Tea appeared which promoted the Chinese tea culture to an altitude that had never been previously attained. Those continually emerging eminent figures in the tea industry propelled an intentional pursuit for water, tea, tea set and decoction in tea drinking to such an extreme elegance, perfection, delicacy and sophistication, so much so that in late Tang and Song Dynasty, an extravagant fashion was formed and occurred in tea culture.
That the fashion drinking tea had extended all over the country and tea had thus won the status asnational beverage. And at that moment Luyu who was honored as “ the Saint of Tea” and his masterpiece The Scripture of Tea appeared which promoted the Chinese tea culture to an altitude that had never been previously attained. Those continually emerging eminent figures in the tea industry propelled an intentional pursuit for water, tea, tea set and decoction in tea drinking to such an extreme elegance, perfection, delicacy and sophistication, so much so that in late Tang and Song Dynasty, an extravagant fashion was formed and occurred in tea culture.
The Buddhist monks also began drinking tea in large quantity in order to attain a better meditation on Buddhism. Their study on tea, interpretation of tea and pursuit for tea was completely different from the secular people. With the introduction of religious tinge and Buddhist meditation into the tea culture, a unique phenomenon in the history of Chinese tea culture came forth, that is an integration of tea and Zen.
After Ming and Qing Dynasty, tea culture seemed to take on a tendency of returning to the most basics in nature with less people deliberately seeking quality water and less occasions on which tribute tea was blindly elaborated. People paid more attention to and placed more stress on the pure flavor of tea and its inherent taste through which spiritual pursuit could be realized, solace to soul could be obtained and the pursuit for a supreme bourn that human being and nature had been integrated into one entity could be attained.
Tea culture is of much elegance. In the contemporary society, tea culture plays a role of enriching cultural and leisure life, promoting the development of tea-related economy and trade, and propelling culture exchange between nations. In the 21st century, tea culture will grow to an even larger scale, involve an even wider range of fields, perform an even stronger function and bring an even closer integration of tradition and modern times which will in turn promote tea culture to an international level.