Global EditionASIA 中文雙語Fran?ais
    Culture
    Home / Culture / Heritage

    A small cup of tea, a better tranquil world

    By Bao Yan and Guo Jiulin | chinadaily.com.cn | Updated: 2023-04-10 13:55
    Share
    Share - WeChat
    Lu Yu's Tea Brewing by Wen Zhengming.[Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

    In the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang advocated drinking loose tea and the traditional decocting method was changed to brewing method, for he perceived that making tea cakes was a waste of money and labor. Since then, the way of drinking tea dramatically changed. Tea poems, tea songs, tea dances and tea operas were created. Painters of the time loved to paint paintings on the theme of tea. Tang Bohu's Tea Tasting and Wen Zhengming's Lu Yu's Tea Brewing are representatives of them.

    From the Ming Dynasty onwards, green tea, yellow tea, white tea, black tea, oolong tea, black tea all appeared and the six kinds of tea are believed to have different effects. Black tea can warm the stomach and protect the heart, green tea can relieve the internal heat and prevent cancer, black tea can resist cold and reduce fat, oolong tea can moisten dryness and lose weight. Tea drinking became more creative and people in different regions of China chose different kinds of tea according to their specific taste and living environment. By the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), tea production and export had become a formal foreign trade industry.

    At present, China's tea production ranks first in the world. The history of Chinese tea export can be traced back to the Wei and Jin Dynasties, when the main export country was Turkey. In the Sui (AD 581-618) and Tang dynasties, the export trade gradually expanded, thanks to the expansion of border trade markets and the opening of the Silk Road. The famous "tea-horse trade", exchanging tea for good horses with west and north Asians and Arabians, became a typical win-win trade. The Arabs then resold Chinese tea to Russia and European countries.

    Through the ancient Silk Road (from the 2nd century BC to the 16th century BC), Chinese tea was delivered to every corner of the world. From the 17th century to the early 20th century, the Ten-thousand-Mile Tea Path, another international trade road across the Eurasian continent that took tea as its main commodity, came into being. With a total length of more than 14,000 kilometers, the path was the longest transcontinental trade route of the time and the continuation of the Silk Road in the Qing Dynasty. Besides tea, other bulk of commodities like fur, cloth, grain, medicinal material, salt were transported and traded through the road as well.

    To some extent, the influence of cultural exchange of the Ten-thousand-mile Tea Path exceeds that of commerce. The part of the road in China basically runs from south to north. The starting point was the regions of ethnic group communities in southern China, from there the produced tea was transported to the north, which facilitated the ethnic exchanges and integration, enhanced the understanding, unity and mutual trust among all ethnic groups. The overseas part of the road goes directly from north of China to Russia, Central Asia and European countries.

    With the increase of Chinese tea trade, drinking Chinese tea became a fashion of not only noble families but also ordinary people of the era in Europe. Along with tea came the Chinese culture, etiquette and customs, which further facilitated cultural exchanges and mutual learning between the East and the West.

    Through the ancient Silk Road to the Belt and Road today, Chinese tea is once again enjoyed by the people of the world.Chinese tea will be bound to become an envoy of Chinese culture to the world in promoting the development of a harmonious global community.

    About the authors:

    Bao Yan, lecturer at College of Liberal Art and Law, Dalian Minzu University

    Guo Jiulin, professor at College of Liberal Art and Law, Dalian Minzu University

    The views don't necessarily represent those of China Daily.

    |<< Previous 1 2   
    Most Popular
    Top
    BACK TO THE TOP
    English
    Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.
    License for publishing multimedia online 0108263

    Registration Number: 130349
    FOLLOW US
    中文字幕你懂的| 亚洲av无码不卡一区二区三区| 无码H黄肉动漫在线观看网站| 国产热の有码热の无码视频| 人妻AV中出无码内射| 久久精品中文闷骚内射| 精品久久久无码中文字幕| 在线a亚洲v天堂网2019无码| 精品久久久久中文字幕日本 | 欧洲精品久久久av无码电影| 性无码专区| 无码人妻精品一区二区三| 最近免费字幕中文大全| 无码人妻久久一区二区三区蜜桃 | 亚洲成AV人片天堂网无码| 精选观看中文字幕高清无码| 天堂а在线中文在线新版| 久久久久亚洲AV无码专区网站| 人妻少妇乱子伦无码视频专区 | 日韩精品无码熟人妻视频| 中文字幕亚洲无线码a| 日韩精品无码中文字幕一区二区| 国产亚洲精品无码专区| 国产精品无码一区二区三级| 免费无码VA一区二区三区| 无码精品一区二区三区在线 | 亚洲AV无码无限在线观看不卡| 中文在线最新版天堂8| 中文字幕在线视频网| a亚洲欧美中文日韩在线v日本| 欧美中文在线视频| 最好看的中文字幕2019免费| 中文在线√天堂| 亚洲一日韩欧美中文字幕欧美日韩在线精品一区二 | 日本精品中文字幕| 久久久网中文字幕| 无码乱码av天堂一区二区| 中文字幕精品无码一区二区三区 | 久久久久久国产精品免费无码| 无码人妻一区二区三区在线 | 中文无码喷潮在线播放|