Chinese tea culture
In the long history of China, different customs of drinking tea
exist in different nation, different social milieu and natural environment,
and for people of different age. Chinese tea custom lies in each
realm of our life and society, dazzling with its spectacularity,
including its straightforwardness of Qin and Han Dynasty, its luxury
of Tang and Song Dynasty, its coziness of Ming and Qing Dynasty,
and especially its contemporary grandness.
China is a multiracial country, built up by 56 nations of which
each has its distinct custom of drinking tea for geographic, environmental,
historic, and cultural difference, additionally for different life
style. In practical life, the custom is even diverse in different
region of the same nation. Yet it is a common point of view that
tea is a healthy drink that presents chastity and friendship.
There are numerous kinds of famous tea in our country, each containing
a miraculous folk story. Do you know the history of Da Hong Pao,
Ti Kuan Yin and Pi Lou Chun ? Have you ever heard the story of how
Shennong first found tea, how Luyu boiled tea, and how Emperor Qianlong
nominated tea for imperial use? Indeed so many recorded historical
anecdotes about tea matter catch our eye and supply us with significant
thought. For example, people drink tea instead of wine in the Three-Kingdom;
there is a story about the 40 beats to punish dissipation of people
in kingdom Jin; Wang Anshi checked the water by making tea and then
found the flaw made by Su Dongpo about the source of water; Emperor
Zhu Yuanzhan of Min Dynasty beheaded his son-in-law because of tea
smuggling; Emperor Qianlong of Qin Dynasty rated water by measuring
with silver container, and initiated the method of washing water
by water.
World tea culture
Tea also has its long-term history and different and colorful tea
culture in the worldwide. The UK, China, North Europe, Russia, USA,
Japan, and so on. For example, the Thai like put ice into the tea,
the Egyptian like put sugar into the tea, and so on. All these countries
have their own tea cultures, and the different tea cultures have
been developing together harmoniously.
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