[Source: Rizhao, China Author: Information Center Reading:]
History of Tea Culture in China
Tea, as a cultural phenomenon, appeared in the Northern Jin Dynasty. If its origin is said, it will be traced back to the Han Dynasty, and there are official documents (written by Wang Bao, a Han Chinese). Most of the earliest people who liked tea were literati. In the history of China literature, Sima Xiangru and Yang Xiong were the first to mention Han Fu, both of whom were famous early tea men. Sima Xiangru wrote "Fan Jiang" and Yang Xiong wrote "Dialect", all of which talked about tea from the medical and literary perspectives. In Jin Dynasty, Zhang Zai once wrote "Poem of Climbing the Tower of Chengdu": "I want to invite Yangzi Society to see Changqing Road", "The fragrant tea is full of six emotions, and the fragrance is scattered in nine districts". At the beginning of tea culture, Confucianism actively joined the WTO. During the Jin Dynasty and the Northern Dynasties, some visionary politicians put forward the idea of "keeping honesty with tea" to counter the extravagant wind at that time. Since the Wei and Jin Dynasties, the world has been in chaos, and scholars have no choice but to rectify the world, which has gradually become a breeze. These people talk all the time, and there must be some entertainment, so there are many banquets, so there are many light drinkers at first. Such as: seven sages of bamboo forest. Later, the breeze developed to ordinary literati, but after all, only a few people can drink hard all day and stay awake, while Chaze can drink for a long time, so the breeze literati turned to good tea. So there were many tea people in the later period. Scholars in the Han Dynasty advocated drinking tea, which opened the way for tea to enter the cultural field. By the Northern and Southern Dynasties, almost every cultural and ideological field was related to tea sets. For politicians, tea is a tool to promote honesty and resist extravagance; In Ci writers, tea is a means to stimulate thinking and help Qing Xing. In the eyes of Buddhists, tea is a necessary thing for meditation. In this way, the cultural and social functions of tea have gone beyond its natural use function, which led to the emergence of tea culture in China. The formation of tea culture in Tang Dynasty was related to the economy, culture and development at that time. The Tang Dynasty had a vast territory and attached importance to foreign exchanges. Chang 'an was the political and cultural center at that time, and China tea culture was formed in this climate. The formation of tea culture was also related to the development of Buddhism at that time, the imperial examination system, the prosperity of poetic style, the rise of tribute tea and the prohibition of alcohol. In the Tang Dynasty, Lu Yu's unique thinking on tea science, tea art and tea ceremony, as well as his book Tea Classic, were epoch-making symbols. The Book of Tea is not only about tea, but also permeates the essence of various schools, the poet's temperament and artistic thoughts, laying the theoretical foundation of China tea culture. The Tang Dynasty was a tea culture dominated by monks, Taoism and literature, and it further expanded upward and downward in the Song Dynasty. On the one hand, the emergence of court tea culture, on the other hand, the rise of citizen tea culture and folk tea fighting. In the Song Dynasty, the direct tea-making method in the Tang Dynasty was changed to tea-ordering method, emphasizing the unity of color, fragrance and taste. In the early years of Southern Song Dynasty, the method of making tea reappeared, which opened the way for the popularization and simplification of tea drinking. The skill of drinking tea in Song Dynasty is quite exquisite, but it is difficult to melt into thoughts and feelings. Because most of the famous tea people in Song Dynasty were famous literati, the process of the integration of tea and related arts was accelerated. Writers like Xu Xuan, Lin Tong, Fan Zhongyan, Ouyang Xiu, Wang Anshi, Su Shi, Su Zhe, Huang Tingjian and Mei all like tea, so famous poets have tea poems, calligraphers have tea stickers and painters have tea paintings. This expands the connotation of tea culture and becomes a direct part of pure spiritual culture such as literature and art. In the Song Dynasty, the tea culture of citizens mainly used tea drinking as a means to enhance friendship and social communication. (Bianjing folk custom in the Northern Song Dynasty, someone moved into a new house, and the neighbors invited each other to "offer tea"; Please have a cup of tea between neighbors and call it "a cup of tea". At this time, tea tasting has become a folk etiquette. In Song Dynasty, people broadened the social level and cultural form of tea culture, and tea affairs flourished, but tea art became complicated, trivial and extravagant, and lost the ideological spirit of tea culture in Tang Dynasty. In the Yuan Dynasty, although the northern nationalities loved tea, they were impatient with the tedious tea art of the Song people. Scholars have no intention of expressing their charming feelings with tea, but hope to express their chastity and temper their will in tea. In tea culture, these two thoughts coincide, that is, tea art is simple and simple, and returns to simplicity. From Yuan Dynasty to the middle of Ming Dynasty, the forms of tea culture were similar. First of all, it simplifies the tea art. Second, the spirit of tea culture is in harmony with nature, and tea is used to express one's own sufferings. In the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, fine tea culture reappeared. Although making tea and cooking tea did not return to the tedious work of Song people, the tea style tended to be refined, and many tea people even soaked in tea all their lives, showing a tendency to play with things and lose heart.