The Symbol Of Tea Culture In Ancient China

The history of tea can be traced back to the time of “Three Emperors and Five Sovereigns” in ancient China. During Jin Dynasty and Northern and Southern Dynasties, tea became a favorite beverage to many literati who used to be fond of wine, therefore, the substitution of tea for wine was introduced. Later, they began to write poems and songs about tea, symbolized tea-drinking was seeped into the realm of spirit. It became a way of cultivating minds and expressing spirits for people to show hospitalities to guests and present respects to the gods.

As Buddhism was introduced into China and Daoism was rising, tea-drinking culture has formed a connection with these schools. Even though there wasn’t a comprehensive religious ritual for tea-drinking

In 780, the book “The Classic of Tea” written by Lu Yu was the symbol of tea culture of Tang Dynasty finally formed. The book covered the horticultural and cultural sciences about tea, discussed the art of tea-drinking and it was invested with a concept that tea culture was dominated by the religious thoughts of Buddhist, Daoist, and Confucian by the writer who first gave a definition to the spirit of Chinese tea ceremony. Since the monograph was completed, a lot of other tea books and tea poems were created.

During Song Dynasty，tea industry has grown greatly and that it stimulated the development of tea culture. There were professional tea-tasting clubs held by the literati. After some time, tea ceremonies have gradually developed into social institutions, of which, what has been an important approach was tea-granting. At the time, tea fight was popular among the people which brought a series of changes to tea culture. However, this kind of tea art was too meticulous that it overwhelmed the spirit of tea culture and abandoned the deep meanings from Tang Dynasty’s tea

People combined the spirit of tea culture with nature. By drinking tea, they expressed their spirit of constancy. Many literati in Ming Dynasty left great works to the world. Later on, types of tea were increased and the techniques for brewing tea were differed. Tea sets were varied in designs, materials and patterns. Until Qing Dynasty, tea exports has been a formal industry. There were countless tea books, tea anecdotes and tea poems.

After new China was founded, annual production of tea has increased enormously in China. This tremendous growth in tea material wealth laid a solid foundation for the development of Chinese tea culture. As tea culture rose, museums and conferences with theme of tea were more likely and more often to be held. They had attracted many foreigners to the country and given economy and trade a full-scale