Chinese tea culture

Chinese tea is part of Chinese culture.Many people likes drinking tea,and a lot of kinds of tea have become famous.Tea has a long history in China.There are a variety of good tea which attract many foreigns.So we must do more to improve Chinese tea and add up more history stories and culture to it.At the same time ,we should prevent some bad tea from damaging the fame of Chinese tea.Only by doing so can Chinese tea become more and more popular and valuable.

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.

• 茶者，南方之嘉木也。——陆羽．《茶经》
• 国家令番夷纳马，酬之以茶……故以是羁縻而。——明《名臣奏议》
• 君不可一日无茶——乾隆论茶
• 况茶叶大黄，外夷若不得此，即无以为命。——林则徐评茶
• 茶是最合卫生最优美之人类饮料——孙中山评茶
• 和、敬、清、寂。——千利休评茶
• 我觉得心儿变得那么富于同情,我一定要去求助于武夷的红茶。——拜伦.《唐璜》
• 茶叶在英国如同蒸汽机一样重要，它帮助英国人度过危机并创造了一个新世界。——A·麦克法兰
• 中国茶叶提供了英国国库总收入1/10和东印度公司全部利润。——格林堡.《鸦片战争前中英通商史》
• 英国和美国对于茶叶的需求增大，只会使鸦片贸易继续增长。——卡尔·马克思.《鸦片战争史》

History of tea in China(中国茶叶的历史) 
 Introduction of Chinese Tea - 中国茶叶的介绍   
Introduction of Chinese Tea - 中国茶叶的介绍2   
Lu Yu and Chinese Tea Culture(陆羽和中国茶文化)
Chinese Tea Party:BeijingWuyutai Tea Shop(中国茶馆:吴裕泰茶馆)   
Chinese Art of Tea;Tea Drinking in the Palace
Oolong Tea(乌龙茶)
Chinese Tea Classification(中国茶叶品种分类)
Chinese Tea culture and Chinese Tea History)   
美国独立战争((American War of Independence)与波士顿茶叶事件(Boston Tea Party)