The Environment of Tea Drinking

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Tea drinking also emphasized environment very much, since the Chinese saw tea drinking as a kind of art. Today, the places such as modern teashops and teahouses are mostly for people to gather and drink tea together, with a friendly and passionate atmosphere; however, what the traditional Chinese tea art emphasized was the secluded, quiet and elegant atmosphere. The Monk Jiaoran of the Tang dynasty held the opinion that tea tasting was a noble and graceful activity and should be combined with enjoying flower, reciting poetries and listening to the music etc. For this reason, we are left with many anecdotes about tea men in the Chinese history.

The tea drinking environment in the Song dynasty varied a lot according to different classes. The court emphasized luxury and etiquette while the ordinary people stressed friendship and atmosphere, and the men of letters paid more attention to naturalness and elegance. In the Ming and Qing dynasties the environment of tea drinking was emphasized, especially the artistic mood of being in harmony with the nature.

In fact, besides the scene and objects, tea drinking environment also emphasized moral character of the drinkers etc. The tea feasts in Hanlin Academy, although there was much etiquette, didn’t lack elegance; in the gathering of the men of letters, with beautiful and artistic scenes and together with graceful and elegant scholars, naturally it was of special appeal; the Zen Buddhism and Buddhist ceremonies needed quiet, and naturally kept far away from elegance and refinement.

While in the teahouses and tea stands, there was usually an atmosphere of gaiety; drinking at home together with wife and children, there was the warmth of affection in the tea; when good friends came, there was friendship in the tea. Therefore, the tea drinking environment emphasized the harmony of tea, drinkers, scene and objects in another word, tea should be of high quality, drinkers should be of the same ideals and thoughts, scene should be beautiful and artistic, and the display of objects should be elegant and graceful, hence the marvelous atmosphere of tea