Second, the connotation of tea culture Tea culture is an integral part of China's traditional excellent culture, which is very rich in content, involving science and technology education, culture and art, medical care, historical archaeology, economy and trade, catering and tourism, press and publication and other disciplines and industries, including tea monographs, tea periodicals, tea and poetry, tea and song and dance, tea and novel, tea and art, tea and wedding, tea and sacrifice, tea and Zen, tea and catalpa.
Third, the history of tea culture system: the origin, discovery and utilization of tea, the formation, development, evolution, characteristics and manifestations of tea culture;
Sociology of tea culture: the influence of tea culture on all aspects of society, the role of social development and progress on tea culture and the relationship between social class and tea culture;
Tea-drinking folklore: the tea-drinking customs of history and modernity, regions and nationalities, cities and rural areas;
Tea aesthetics: the shape design of finished tea, the naming of famous tea, the design of tea packaging and advertising, etc.
Tea culture communication: international and domestic seminars, tea culture exhibitions, tea performances, children's tea art, tea historical and cultural fairs, tea tourism; Functionalism of tea culture: tea culture resources, characteristics, historical tea culture, tea culture function in the new period, and the role of tea culture in modern society and spiritual civilization construction.
Fourth, the historical characteristics of tea culture: the formation and development of tea culture has a long history. Tea has always been used as a tribute to the king of Wu. In the late primitive commune, tea became a commodity exchange. During the Warring States period, tea had a certain scale. Tea was recorded in the Book of Songs in the pre-Qin period.
In the Han Dynasty, tea became a special tonic for Buddhist meditation. During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, there was an atmosphere of drinking tea. During the Sui Dynasty, the whole people generally drank tea. In the Tang Dynasty, the tea industry flourished, and tea became "indispensable to others". Teahouses, tea banquets and tea parties appeared one after another to encourage guests to worship tea. Fighting tea, tribute tea and gift tea were popular in Song Dynasty.
In the Qing Dynasty, Quyi entered the teahouse and the foreign trade of tea developed. Tea culture was born with the emergence of commodity economy and the formation of urban culture. The tea culture in history pays attention to cultural ideology, elegance, poetry, painting and calligraphy, drinking tea, singing and dancing. In the process of its formation and development, tea culture has integrated the philosophical colors of Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism, evolved into the customs and habits of all ethnic groups, and became an integral part of excellent traditional culture and a unique cultural model.
Times: The development of material civilization and spiritual civilization has injected new connotation and vitality into tea culture. In this new period, the connotation and expression of tea culture are constantly expanding, extending, innovating and developing. In the new era, tea culture has merged into the essence of modern science and technology, modern news media and market economy, which makes the value function of tea culture more remarkable and further strengthens its role in modern society. The consciousness that the value of tea is the core of tea culture has been further established, and international exchanges have become increasingly frequent. In the new era, the forms of tea culture communication show the trend of scale, modernization, socialization and internationalization. Its connotation is expanding rapidly and its influence is expanding day by day, attracting worldwide attention.
Ethnic group: All ethnic groups love to drink tea. The combination of tea and national cultural life has formed tea ceremony, tea ceremony, tea drinking custom and festive wedding with their own national characteristics. On the basis of national tea drinking methods, national tea art is formed through artistic processing and tempering, which is more lively and cultural, showing the diversity and colorful life interest of tea drinking. Tibetan, Tujia, Wa, Lahu, Naxi, Kazak, Xibe, Bao 'an, Achang, Bulang, De 'ang, Jino, Salar, Bai, Kemi, Yugur and other tea cultures and festive weddings have also fully demonstrated the nationality of tea culture.
Regionality: Famous teas, famous mountains, famous waters, celebrities, places of interest and local tea culture with their own characteristics. China has a vast territory, a wide variety of tea, different tea drinking customs, and differences in history, culture and life economy, which have formed a tea culture with local characteristics. In the big cities with economic and cultural centers, with its unique advantages and rich connotations, it has also formed a unique urban tea culture. Since 1994, Shanghai has held four consecutive international tea culture festivals, showing the characteristics and charm of urban tea culture.
Internationality: China's ancient traditional tea culture has evolved into British tea culture, Japanese tea culture, Korean tea culture, Russian tea culture and Moroccan tea culture by combining the history, culture, economy and culture of various countries. In Britain, drinking tea has become a part of life, a kind of etiquette for the British to show their gentlemanly manners, an indispensable procedure in the life of the Queen of England, and a necessary ceremony in major social activities. Japanese tea ceremony originated in China. Japanese tea ceremony has a strong Japanese national flavor, forming a unique tea ceremony system, genre and etiquette. Koreans believe that tea culture is the root of Korean national culture, and May 24th every year is the National Tea Day. China tea culture is the cradle of tea culture in various countries. Tea people don't care about national boundaries, races or beliefs. Tea culture can unite tea people all over the world to discuss tea art, academic exchanges and economic and trade negotiations.
5. The social function of tea culture is mainly manifested in carrying forward traditional virtues, displaying culture and art, cultivating self-cultivation, cultivating sentiment, promoting national unity, demonstrating social progress and developing economy and trade. Traditional virtue is a beautiful morality accumulated for thousands of years and respected by people of all ages, and it is the embodiment of national spirit and social fashion. The traditions of tea culture mainly include loving the motherland, selfless dedication, perseverance, modesty and courtesy, thrift, mutual respect and mutual accommodation. Mr. Wu Juenong and Mr. Liu Xianhe from Hunan are both devoted to the tea industry. They are both patriots and outstanding representatives of contemporary tea people.
Lu Yu's Tea Classic is the crystallization of ancient tea people's diligent study, assiduous study, painstaking exploration and indomitable spirit. Treat guests with tea, replace wine with tea, and "a cup of green tea is intoxicating" is a true embodiment of the Chinese nation cherishing the fruits of labor, saving and resolving risks. The social functions of tea culture with tea characters as the head are "thinking about the source of tea, entertaining guests with tea, making friends with tea, socializing with tea, being honest with tea, educating people with tea, replacing wine with tea, keeping fit with tea, entering poetry with tea, entering art with tea, painting with tea, dancing with tea, singing songs with tea, rejuvenating culture with tea, giving gifts with tea, promoting agriculture with tea and promoting tea". Tea is the pride of China, the self-esteem, self-confidence and pride of the nation. You can think of the source when you drink tea. Dr Joseph Needham, a world-famous historian of science and technology, regards China tea as the fifth greatest contribution to mankind after the four great inventions of China (gunpowder, papermaking, compass and printing). Lu Yu's Tea Classic in Tang Dynasty was the first tea book in the world. China tea culture has a great influence on the world. Taking tea as a friend is one of the most extensive social functions of tea culture. Today's market economy is characterized by fierce competition, survival of the fittest, and emphasis on interests and benefits. However, human feelings are relatively indifferent and interpersonal relationships tend to be indifferent. Through teahouses and teahouses, friends get together to exchange information, feelings, understanding and friendship. Friends gather in the old teahouse, talking and laughing at will, recalling life and enjoying life again. In ancient times, there was a saying that "tea is wine when guests come on a cold night". Replacing wine with tea embodies traditional virtues, which conforms to the requirements of the central government advocating strict economy and putting an end to extravagance and waste today. Educating people with tea is a new social function bred by tea culture in the new period. Shanghai children's tea art learns tea by itself, promotes traditional excellent culture and receives patriotic education. When offering tea, we respect the elderly, elders, parents and classmates.
The role of tea culture in modern society Modern society relies on high technology and information to create more social wealth, more and more material wealth and richer life. In the process of industrialization in some East Asian countries, while absorbing excellent western technologies and crafts, decadent western cultural values and customs have also eroded society, resulting in moral crisis, money worship and extreme individualism. The experience of social development shows that modernization is not the only goal. Modern society needs a spiritual civilization that adapts to it, and it needs to explore the spiritual resources of excellent traditional culture. Tea culture has historical, contemporary cultural factors and reasonable factors, and has played and is playing its own positive role in modern society. Tea culture is an elegant culture, and celebrities are willing to participate. Tea culture is also a popular culture, in which people participate extensively. Tea culture covers the whole people and affects the whole society.
There are five main functions of tea culture in modern society:
First, tea culture takes morality as the center, attaches importance to people's group value, advocates selfless dedication and opposes mercenary. Advocating justice over profit, paying attention to coordinating the relationship between people, advocating respect for people and paying attention to self-cultivation are conducive to balancing people's mentality, solving modern people's mental confusion and improving people's cultural quality;
Second, tea culture is a good friend to meet the challenges of life. In the fierce social competition and market competition, intense work, entertainment, complicated interpersonal relationships and various pressures attached to people are not light. Participating in tea culture can relax the spirit and body and meet the challenges of life, and the role of Hong Kong teahouse is very significant.
Third, it is conducive to the construction of community civilization. The economy has gone up, but the culture can't lag behind, the social atmosphere can't be dirty, and the morality can't be decadent and ugly. The spread of tea culture after the reform and opening up shows that tea culture has the functions of changing unfair consumption activities, creating spiritual civilization and promoting social progress;
Fourth, it plays an obvious role in improving people's quality of life and enriching cultural life. Tea culture is knowledgeable, interesting and entertaining. Tasting famous tea, tea sets and refreshments, and watching tea-folk tea art, all give people a beautiful enjoyment.
The fifth is to promote opening up and promote international cultural exchanges. Zhabei District of Shanghai held the International Tea Culture Festival for four consecutive years, which expanded the visibility of Zhabei District at home and abroad. The four teams in Zhabei District decided to hold a tea culture festival all the time and invest in the construction of tea culture attractions in Zhabei Park in order to build a tea culture grand view garden.
The frequent exchange of international tea culture has made tea culture cross national boundaries and become the spiritual wealth of human civilization.
The requirements of a perfect tea set should be various, but from the standpoint of the tea set itself, its practicality should be emphasized first, so convenient operation, beautiful appearance and practicality are the most basic conditions of the tea set. Whether a pot has good practicability can be observed from the following aspects: whether it is easy to hold, whether the center of gravity can be grasped, whether the holding size is moderate, whether the water flowing out of the mouth is smooth, whether there is residual water in the pot, and whether there are cracks or defects in the teapot. The firing temperature of the teapot can be measured by the sound frequency, and the tea suitable for brewing in the teapot can be measured. The tea with high sound is suitable for making fragrant tea. The lower firing temperature is suitable for brewing mature and fragrant tea, so that the tea soup will be more mellow and smooth. Usually, when we buy a pot, we can consider the number of people who drink tea at home, or we can drink tea from one person, three or four people to a dozen people, and prepare several teapots. The size and shape of the pot have a great influence on the taste of tea soup. Generally speaking, the round shape is better in the stretching of tea and the performance of tea soup, while the small pot can better grasp the characteristics of tea. Therefore, according to the daily needs of drinking tea, we should consider our own tea and choose matching utensils in order to enjoy the fun of drinking tea easily and happily. Besides the usual brewing, the teapot needs proper maintenance. The newly bought teapot can be boiled in tea soup or tea leaves to remove the earthy flavor, and it can be used to make tea after a while. Because of the hot and humid weather in Taiwan Province Province, the brewed teapot should be cleaned as soon as possible, so as to avoid the sour tea, which is difficult to deodorize for a long time and affects the taste of tea soup. Purple clay pots and pottery pots not only have good aroma and taste of tea soup, but also are fascinating.
The purpose is to change the luster of teapot after absorbing tea soup. In order to make the teapot glow in a short time, some people often ignore the tea stains attached to the outside of the teapot, but they don't know that this is just the so-called "monk light", which is not the real natural luster of the teapot and does not meet the hygiene requirements. In fact, as long as the teapot is carefully maintained and wiped, it will naturally glow after a long time.
"Tea" and "pot" are closely related and inseparable in China's tea drinking culture. Drinking tea pays attention to the aroma and charm of tea soup, and the appreciation of teapot lies in the visual appearance, the firmness of internal aggregate and the change of texture after absorbing tea soup. The play and appreciation of teapot vary with everyone's appreciation angle and level. Whether it is an ancient pot with historical value, Yixing pot, hand-painted pot, or a pottery pot with cultural color of Taiwan Province Province, it has its own attractions. The quality of teapot is not measured by price. There is jade in pushi. From a creator's works, we can see its painstaking efforts and spiritual connotation, and we need people with discerning eyes to use it to make a sound. When purchasing, we should consider its practicality and artistry, but the most important thing is the raw materials and firing of teapot. There are many changes in the shape of the teapot.
At both ends, one after another, because of the changes in the market, many tea sets only have appearance, not to mention the basic practical requirements. Many people follow the trend of "playing with teapots" and buy them blindly. As for what is a fun teapot? I still want you to feel it with your heart!
When drinking tea, the specific varieties of tea you choose are different, and the varieties of tea sets you need will be different. But generally speaking, tea storage utensils, tea making utensils and tea drinking utensils are indispensable for drinking tea. Below, briefly introduce the main points that should be paid attention to when choosing these tea sets.
1, tea storage utensils
Tea ware storage refers to the special apparatus for storing tea on weekdays. Its basic requirements are: moisture-proof, light-proof, heat insulation and tasteless. Therefore, it is best to use special tea cans, such as aluminum cans, iron cans, bamboo cans, etc. to store tea. Try not to have unqualified glass cans and plastic cans, and don't use paper to package and store tea for a long time.
When entertaining guests with tea, it is best not to take tea from the tea storage vessel in front of the guests for brewing. If you must do this, remember not to grab the tea directly, but to take it with a spoon, or to pour the tea directly into the teapot cup with a tea can.
2. Tea set
People who pay attention to tea drinking are very picky about tea-making utensils. On more formal occasions, tea-making utensils and tea-drinking utensils are often divided into two parts to ensure the delicious and appropriate tea. Regular tea-making utensils, the most common is the teapot. They vary in size and appearance, but most of them are made of purple sand pottery and ceramics, which contributes to the pure taste of tea.
Wash the teapot before making tea, and don't get tea stains all over it. Don't entertain distinguished guests with a broken teapot. Especially don't entertain guests with the old tea left over from the teapot.
3. Tea drinking utensils
Tea drinking utensils, here refers to the tea set used when drinking tea. In most cases, tea drinking utensils are mainly cups and bowls. At present, drinking tea in cups is more common and formal than drinking tea in bowls. Drinking tea in a tea bowl is more common in antique teahouses.
The best teacup should contribute to the pure taste of tea soup. In line with this requirement, the purple sand pottery teacups and ceramic teacups are first popularized. If you want to appreciate the shape of tea and the clear flow of tea soup, you can also choose glass teacups. Enamel teacups are generally not suitable for use.
If you use a teapot at the same time when drinking tea, it is best to match the teacup to be beautiful and harmonious. Try not to make a patchwork, so that the two have different textures and different shapes. If you use multiple cups at the same time, you should also pay attention to their collocation, and don't let them vary widely.
Never use a broken, incomplete or cracked teacup unless you use it yourself, especially don't entertain guests with a teacup with tea rust or dirt.
The glass is suitable for drinking delicate and precious green tea, which is convenient for fully appreciating the appearance and quality of famous tea; Purple sand Chen Meng pot, if Chen cup, suitable for drinking green tea (oolong tea); Porcelain tea with bowl cover can better reflect its floral tea flavor.