Prose about tea customs

Part 1: Tea and Etiquette: Tea and Weddings

The relationship between tea and weddings, simply put, is the application and absorption of tea or tea culture as part of the etiquette in marriage. . In fact, the infiltration or absorption of tea culture into weddings is related to the custom of drinking tea and the etiquette of entertaining guests with tea in my country.

When a man marries a woman, the man must exchange or buy the woman with a certain amount of betrothal gift.

Since marriage is related to the lifelong happiness of men and women, for most parents of men and women, although the bride price has a certain economic value, more emphasis is placed on those auspicious things that can ward off disasters and bring blessings. thing. Tea has a special significance among the betrothal gifts of all ethnic groups in my country. On this point, Lang Ying of the Ming Dynasty had this paragraph in his "Seven Revised Drafts": "If you plant tea all at once, it cannot be transplanted, and if you transplant it, you will not be reborn. Therefore, when a woman is employed, it is called drinking tea."

If you hire someone who uses tea as a gift, you can see the meaning of the same thing. "From a literal point of view, it seems that it only talks about the significance of tea in weddings and has nothing to do with the inclusion of tea in wedding gifts. In fact, with a little analysis, we can still figure out the development process of tea in marriage etiquette.

"Seven Revised Drafts" is a work written during the Jiajing and Longqing years of the Ming Dynasty. It can be seen from it that the tea in the betrothal gifts at that time was no longer like rice or wine, but just a daily necessities. Instead of choosing, it gave the meaning of "conformity" in feudal marriage, and thus existed as a symbol of the entire wedding or betrothal gift. That is to say, in ancient Chinese weddings, tea has experienced two stages: a "general gift" in daily life and an "important gift" representing the entire wedding and betrothal gift. As a selection of daily necessities, as recorded in "Fengshi Hearing and Seeing Notes": Ancient people also drank tea, "but now people drink tea so much that it has almost become a custom to run out of days and nights." It will probably not be later than this The book was written in the middle of the Tang Dynasty. As for the primary betrothal gift, it is commonly known as "women being hired" or "having tea". This is most likely a matter after the Song Dynasty. Because, according to research, among the wedding items before the Tang Dynasty, there were things that reflected the superiority of men and the inferiority of women, but there were no gifts that required women to "consistently".

The Song Dynasty was the most prosperous period for Neo-Confucianism or Taoism in my country. The rulers of the Yuan Dynasty also praised Neo-Confucianism as "the state's right" and advocated "preserving the laws of nature and destroying human desires." Therefore, the moral values ??that require women to marry a husband and "remain together forever" are not those before the Song Dynasty, and are likely to be those of the Southern Song Dynasty and the At this stage of the Yuan Dynasty, it was initiated by Taoists. Tea growing in ancient my country, as Lu Yu said in "The Book of Tea": "Every art is not practical, and planting is rarely luxuriant." Due to the limitations of the level of science and technology at that time, it was generally believed that tea trees were not suitable for transplanting, so most of them were planted by direct seeding of tea seeds. Tea.

However, as the "Tea Classic" says, ancient Chinese people only believed that tea trees are "planted but rarely luxuriant", and did not think that tea trees cannot be transplanted. However, in order to incorporate the idea of ??"conformity" into weddings, Taoist scholars described the custom of growing tea by live broadcast as "untransplantable" and listed tea as essential among many wedding supplies. The primary gift is that tea acquires the meaning of symbolizing or representing the entire wedding. Today, in many rural areas of our country, engagement and marriage are still called "receiving tea" and "eating tea", the deposit for an engagement is called "tea money", and the bride price is called "tea ceremony", etc. These are the relics of old weddings in my country. . Below, list some customs of using tea in weddings of various ethnic groups in my country.

Engagement is also called an engagement, an engagement, a betrothal, a small betrothal, a gift of wine, tea, etc. There are many folk ways of calling it, and almost every place has its own way of saying it. In the old days, engagement was an important ceremony to confirm the marriage relationship. Only after this stage, the marriage contract was established. Engagement ceremonies vary greatly across our country, but one thing is the same, that is, the man must send certain gifts to the woman's family to seal the marriage. For example, in the rural areas of Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei, engagement is also called "giving small gifts"; among the small gifts given, in addition to jewelry, clothing, wine and food, tea is indispensable. Therefore, in the old days, asking a girl if she was engaged? It is also called whether you "receive tea". After giving small gifts, after a certain period of time, big gifts will be given (in some places, giving big gifts is combined with wedding), which is also called "sending betrothal gifts". Big gifts include more clothing, jewelry, and money than small gifts; depending on the family's circumstances, the amount may reach twenty-four or thirty-two tons.

But in the grand gift, no matter what the family background is, some symbolic gifts such as tea, dragon and phoenix cakes, dates, and peanuts are also indispensable. Of course, tea also has the meaning of "from one". After the woman receives the betrothal gift from her husband's family, she must also send her dowry and dowry. After these procedures, the betrothal is considered complete. The amount of the woman's dowry also depends on the family's economic conditions, but no matter what, a pair of tea cans and a dressing box cannot be dispensed with.

Tea, as a symbol of "conformity" in weddings, was mainly popular among the Han people in the past. However, most ethnic groups in our country have the habit of drinking tea. Therefore, the custom of using tea as a gift in weddings is also generally popular among all ethnic groups. For example, when the Wa people in Yunnan get engaged, they need to send "Dupa" three times (engagement ceremony): the first time they give six bottles of "clan wine", no more or less, and some tea, bananas, etc., the quantity is not limited. The second time he sent "neighbor wine", also six bottles, showed that the neighbor had agreed and could prove the marriage. The third time I gave him a bottle of "opening wine", it was specially given to the girl's mother to put on her pillow and drink while praying for her daughter at night. The Naxi people in northwest Yunnan call engagement a "wine gift". In addition to a can of wine, they also give two tubes of tea, four or six boxes of sugar, and two liters of rice.

Most weddings of the Bai people in Yunnan are the same as those of the Han people, and tea is indispensable as a gift. For example, in the "eight-character gifting" ceremony of the Xishan Bai people on the Erhai Lake in Dali District, tea is included in the gift given by the man to the woman. For example, if a Bai man and woman living in Eryuan can get married if they meet the "horoscope", the man will give the woman's family "a piece of cloth, three pieces of pork (one piece with tail), one ham, one sheep (slaughtered), tea leaves" Twenty taels, a silver hoop, a pair of earrings and some cash, along with a 'horoscope sticker'." Once the woman accepts the gift, the marriage is settled. The engagement gifts of the Bai people living in Yunlong are "four bags of clothing, two pounds of tea, half a piece of pork or a leg" and so on.

As for the use of tea in welcoming or wedding ceremonies, it is sometimes used as a gift, but it is mainly used for the groom and bride’s “cup of tea” and “hehe tea”, or as a “thank you” to parents and elders. "tea", "recognition tea" and other rituals. Therefore, in some places, getting married is simply called "having tea". The Han people's "tea-drinking" is the same as tea as a gift when they are engaged. Tea here has the meaning of "from one"; but other ethnic groups in my country give tea and offer tea when they get married. Most of them are just a ritual in life. For example, when the Bai people in Dali District of Yunnan get married, the day after the bride comes to the house, the groom and the bride get up in the morning and first serve tea and wine to their relatives and elders, then pay homage to their parents and ancestors, and then the couple have a reunion dinner together, and then leave. The shed declares that the wedding is over. When Bai people in Eryuan get married, the first day is usually for welcoming the bride, the second day is for formal guests (formally entertaining guests), and the third day is for idle guests (when the bride pays homage to guests); the newlyweds serve tea to their guests on the third day. During the reception, the man will also give gifts to the bride, her parents and brothers respectively. The gifts given to the bride are mainly the clothes that the bride will wear on the wedding day; two pieces of cloth are given to the bride’s parents, and the others are mainly pork, mutton, wine and tea, and other foods used by the bride to welcome guests; the gifts given to the bride’s brother are: ..."Half a pot of wine, two taels of tea, and a side of pork." Obviously, when the Bai people in Eryuan get married, tea is not given to the bride and her parents, but only to her younger brother. This kind of tea does not have the same special meaning as the Han people in weddings. In this regard, we can also take the marriage customs of the Pumi people in northwest Yunnan as an example. The Pumi people are fond of tea, and the process from engagement to marriage is also very cumbersome. It takes two or three years after the engagement to get married. The Pumi people in Ninglang area still have the ancient custom of "robbing marriages" when it comes to marriage.

The man and woman will first agree on a wedding date privately, and then ask the girl to go out to work. The man will send someone to approach the girl secretly, and then suddenly "rob" her and leave. While running, he shouted loudly: "So-and-so's house invites you to have tea!" Upon hearing this, the woman's relatives and friends quickly caught up with her and "recaptured" the girl, and then officially held the wedding ceremony at home. It is very clear that the so-called "inviting everyone to have tea" here is obviously not the same thing as the "eating tea" mentioned in Han wedding customs. Another example is the Yugu people in the northwest. On the first day of the wedding, the bride is only brought into a small special tent, and the woman stays with the bride for the night. The next morning, after having butter fried noodles and tea, the bride entered the big tent ceremony. When the bride enters the big tent, she must first offer a khata to the Buddhist niche in the main room and butter tea to her mother-in-law. After the entering ceremony, the bride turns to celebrations and banquets. The most distinctive one is the custom of presenting a lamb shank to the groom, which is actually an activity performed by singers during the banquet. The ceremony begins with two singers, one holding a lamb calf with a tuft of wool, and the other holding a bowl of tea with a large piece of butter and four small pieces of butter in the middle of the tea bowl. The tea represents the sea, and the large pieces of butter represent the mountains, and then everyone's favorite "Yoda Qu Ge" ("lamb shank" in Yugu language) is sung. Here, in the wedding ceremony of the Yugu people, tea only represents the sea.

As mentioned before, most of the ethnic groups in our country are fond of drinking tea; the weddings of all ethnic groups in our country are colorful, and every process of getting married is often inseparable from the use of tea as a ritual. Therefore, the examples cited above are just a drop in the ocean. If we collect all the tea cultural phenomena derived from weddings in my country, it will be an extremely splendid scroll of historical customs. Chapter 2: Introduction to different tea customs in various countries around the world

Thai tea customs:

Thailand, with its long history, also presents a unique national character in its customs and etiquette.

Northern Thailand, Myanmar and Yunnan are similar. People here have the custom of eating "pickled tea". The method of making pickled tea is the same as that of the ethnic minorities in Yunnan, China. It is usually pickled in the rainy season.

Pickled tea is actually a dish. Pickle the raw tea into a sour product, mix it with salt, ginger, peanuts, etc. When eating, mix it with spices and put it into your mouth and chew it carefully. Because the climate here is hot and the air is humid, pickled vegetables are both fragrant and cool. Therefore, pickled tea has become a home-cooked dish passed down from generation to generation.

Indian tea customs:

Indians drink tea in a very special way. They pour the tea on a plate and lick it with their tongues. In addition, in India, it is considered impolite to deliver tea sets with your left hand. Because Indians believe that the left hand is used for bathing and going to the toilet. They drink milk tea and also like to drink "Samara tea" with ginger or adzuki bean added.

Sri Lanka:

The residents of Sri Lanka love to drink strong tea. The tea is bitter and astringent, but they find it delicious. The country's black tea sells well all over the world. There is a large trading house that distributes tea in the capital Colombo. It has a tea tasting department where experts test the taste with their tongues and then determine the grade and price.

Turks in West Asia, both adults and children, like black tea. Teahouses are common in urban and rural areas, and it is convenient to go out to drink tea.

People in Iran and Iraq drink strong black tea with their meals, brewing it with boiling water and adding sugar, milk or lemon juice to the tea soup. Chapter 3: The Origin of British Afternoon Tea Culture

British afternoon tea originated in the Victorian era in the 19th century, so it is also called Victorian afternoon tea.

Britain's Victorian era was the most powerful era in the country. It occupied many colonies and dependent countries around the world and called itself the "empire on which the sun never sets." The strength and prosperity of the country have prompted people to focus on pursuing a tasteful life. In particular, some wealthy aristocrats hope to pursue new excitement to fill the emptiness and boredom of life during their boring days. In the afternoon of 1840, Lady Anna, Duchess of Bedford, woke up from her nap, feeling hopeless and bored, but not interested in anything. At about 4 o'clock, she suddenly felt a little hungry, so she asked the maid to go to the kitchen to find something to eat for her. When the maid went to the kitchen and saw that there was no suitable food, she simply baked some snacks for Madam and made a pot of black tea and brought them over. The Duchess of Bedford ate freshly baked bread and drank black tea, which she found very useful. A few days later, several friends of the Duchess of Bedford visited, and the Duchess ordered the maid to entertain the friends with snacks and black tea. Unexpectedly, these friends praised it unanimously, and visited one after another after returning, and gradually expanded it, forming an afternoon tea popular in the British Isles.

With the widespread popularity of afternoon tea, the way of drinking afternoon tea has become more and more complicated, from the utensils for drinking afternoon tea, the decorations for drinking afternoon tea, and the refreshments that accompany afternoon tea. Becoming more and more particular. In terms of tea sets for afternoon tea, porcelain teapots are very particular and exquisite. Teapots and teacups of different sizes should be selected according to the number of guests. For this purpose, sugar bowls, dessert plates, jam, cream, and Forks, napkins, tray mats and other utensils, there are also strict requirements for the decoration of these tea sets. Exquisite tea sets, elegant living room, and melodious classical music are used to accompany the afternoon tea. In this way, the mood when drinking afternoon tea is relaxed and comfortable, forming an elegant atmosphere that is simple but not shabby, gorgeous but not vulgar.

The time for drinking afternoon tea is 4 o'clock in the afternoon. The afternoon tea consumed is mostly black tea, such as Darjeeling black tea, Earl Gray tea (made with Chinese black tea as the basic tea and adding bergamot), Gunpowder green tea, Ceylon tea, etc. The refreshments provided during afternoon tea include smoked salmon, ham, cakes, sandwiches, English round muffins, jam, cream and fruit.

With the development of the times, the afternoon tea with its Victorian atmosphere has gradually fallen out of favor, but the form of drinking afternoon tea is still maintained in homes and offices. It is indispensable to have afternoon tea every day around 3:30 pm. Usually, a few white-collar workers sit around a round table, sipping afternoon tea, eating snacks, and taking a short rest and mental adjustment. As for blue-collar workers, they are often not so leisurely. They often eat and drink tea during dinner after get off work in the evening. This loses the leisurely taste and drinks tea purely out of physiological needs. Chapter 4: The artistic bridal tea is absolutely eye-catching

Bridal tea, as an ancient custom, has been passed down from generation to generation and has been passed down endlessly. It is said that the first thing the bride does on the day after her visit is to make fragrant tea with her own hands to present to her parents-in-law and the groom’s family. Of course, most people who sit and eat in a city with endless traffic have never experienced such rural rules.

At around seven o'clock in the evening, the red candles flickered in the hall. Under the guidance of her sister-in-law, the bride stepped lightly into the hall and saluted the guests around her. Offering fruit to the newlyweds, which contains red dates, peanuts, longans and melon seeds, is a sign that the bride will have a baby soon. Then boil water for tea. The bride brews rock sugar osmanthus tea, which means sweetness and bestows good luck and blessings on her relatives.

The most important thing in tea art is procedures and rules. The bride's tea ceremony is also orderly and respectful. According to the proven procedure, the first cup of tea to be served is, of course, to the in-laws above, and then the tea is served successively by pressing the left button, the lower right button, the upper left button and the lower button, and the upper right button and the lower right button. If the guests sit in rows, they will naturally go to the left first and then to the right, and first to the left and then to the right. But the restaurant was full of guests, and it was hard to tell who was close and who was distant, so I had to pick the casual guests to serve tea. The customer, who originally thought he was staying out of the situation, felt flattered by the sudden "love". A table of Indian and Pakistani guests couldn't help but mutter after drinking the tea served by the "bride": Chinese people also engage in performance art while eating?

The endless tea art performances may be just a way for restaurants to enrich the dining atmosphere. But the tradition of drinking tea at the dinner table should indeed be promoted, passed down from generation to generation, and carried forward all over the world. Chapter 5: Introduction to the tea-drinking custom of the Han people

Treat guests with tea. There is a Chinese proverb that says, "Seven things to do when opening a door: firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, tea." Tea is closely related to people's lives. Even if you are not a wealthy family, you still have to have a simple meal. When guests come to your home, it's okay not to invite them to dinner, but it would be rude not to offer them tea. The following is an introduction to the tea-drinking customs of the Han people.

In the tea-drinking custom of the Han people, except for Gongfu tea in Guangdong, Fujian and other places, those who are more particular usually use tureens to make tea. The custom of using a tureen to make tea is common in many places, but Sichuan is the most representative. Gaiwan is not only used in teahouses, but also in ordinary families.

A tureen is a three-piece set, including a lid, a bowl and a base. Using a tureen to make tea is indeed convenient and practical. You can uncover the lid to smell the aroma and watch the tea soup. You can drink it while it's hot and it won't be hot to your hands. As early as the Tang Dynasty, there was a tea cup with a holder. It is said that it was invented by the daughter of Cui Ning, a governor of the Tang Dynasty. She felt that it was hot to her hands when holding the tea cup, so she thought of a way to bake the candle until it was soft and put a candle on it. The small saucer became a tea cup holder, which was no longer hot. When it was passed to the craftsmen, it was made into a tea cup with a holder. Sichuan's tea masters made tea in a tureen a skill, even a stunt. A large copper kettle with a long mouth, a blue and white porcelain covered bowl, a saucer and a tea bowl flew out of the tea doctor's hand one after another. It's dazzling, but it all lands accurately on the guest's table. The tea doctor is far away making tea, just like a dragonfly swiping water, and some can even perform fancy and difficult movements.

Offering tea to guests is a sign of hospitality, as well as traditional etiquette and traditional virtues. "On a cold night, guests come to drink tea, and the bamboo stove soup boils and the fire begins to turn red." This poem from the Song Dynasty illustrates the etiquette and custom of guests offering tea in our country since ancient times. When guests come to offer tea, ask them what kind of tea they like to drink, whether it is green tea, scented tea, black tea or oolong tea. Of course, if there is only one kind of tea at home, that’s it. To entertain guests with good tea, you must not judge people by their appearance, or distinguish between near and far. It is said that Zheng Banqiao, a great calligrapher and painter of the Qing Dynasty, went to a temple to visit the abbot. When the abbot saw that he was dressed simply and looked like an ordinary layman, the abbot simply said, "Sit down." Then he turned around and told the young monk, "Tea." As soon as the two parties sat down and talked, the abbot felt that this man was unusual, his conversation was extraordinary, and he was quite knowledgeable. So he invited him into the side room and said, "Please sit down. I asked the young monk to serve tea!" Later, after further discussion, the abbot found out that the person who came was actually the famous Zheng Banqiao, one of the Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou. He immediately invited him to the abbot's room and said repeatedly, Please sit down! He quickly ordered the young monk to serve fragrant tea! When leaving, the abbot asked Zheng Banqiao to write an inscription and leave a calligraphy treasure. Zheng Banqiao wrote two couplets. The first line is, sit down, please sit down, please sit down; the second line is, tea, offer tea, offer fragrant tea. The abbot's face turned red with embarrassment. There are many versions of this story. Mr. Fan Zengping said in "Chinese Tea Art" that it is the story of Zheng Banqiao and Liu Yong.

Scholars’ tea is a traditional tea custom popular among literati in Wuyuan, Jiangxi Province in the early years. It is also drunk in a covered bowl. The covered bowl is also called the "Three Talents Bowl", which represents the harmony of heaven, earth and man. Scholar Tea pays attention to the elegance of the tea drinkers, the elegance of the tea drinking environment, and the elegance of the tea drinking utensils. It pursues the clear color of the soup, the clear spirit and the clear mood, so as to achieve the unity of things and myself, the unity of nature and man.

The above is an introduction to the tea drinking customs of the Han people. I hope it will be helpful for everyone to understand this knowledge. Chapter 6: Tea-drinking customs in "Jin Ping Mei": Jiuqu Red Plum Tea

Lingshan Village is located in the rolling hills of Lingshan Scenic Area. The forests here are dense and the climate is warm and humid. The unique terrain and climate create extremely favorable conditions for the production of the famous tea - Jiuqu Hongmei.

Jiuqu red plum tea is also called oolong tea by the locals. Speaking of the origin of this tea, there is an interesting legend: A long time ago, a boy went to school and passed a bridge. He found two fish snatching a sparkling dragon ball under the bridge, so the boy grabbed the dragon ball. In order to prevent his classmates from snatching it, he held the dragon ball in his mouth and accidentally swallowed it. Soon, something strange happened. The boy became itchy all over his body, and it became more and more itchy, as if something was growing on his body. The boy kept running back and forth in the classroom. At this time, the teacher noticed that the boy had dragon scales growing on his body. The boy was about to fly into the sky, and dragons cannot rise into the sky without water. The teacher then got wise and put the inkstone in the of ink splashed on the boy's body. In an instant, a miracle happened. The boy turned into a huge black dragon and swam westward, leaving a winding trail of water on the ground. After that, the black dragon rose into the sky and disappeared into the blue sky. The place where the oolong took off is the Dawu Basin, the origin of Jiuqu Red Plum Tea. The villagers believed that Oolong led them to find this excellent tea. In order to commemorate Oolong, the villagers called this strong black tea Oolong tea.

Dawu Basin is the origin of Jiuqu Red Plum Tea. The basin is surrounded by mountains and rivers and has beautiful scenery, which is especially suitable for the growth of tea. During the Qingming Festival every year, lush new buds sprout from the tea trees all over the mountains and plains, and tea farmers are busy picking tea leaves, creating a scene of a bumper harvest.

The sprouts collected by tea farmers are made into black tea, which is the famous oolong tea. In the past, black tea was made manually, but now it is processed by machines. First, put the new tea in the sun to dry, and then grind it with a machine. At this time, the tea is wilted but not broken, and contains juice. Then, wrap the tea leaves in a plastic bag and expose them to the sun for a few hours. After fermentation, the tea leaves in the bag will emit the refreshing fragrance of the tea itself. Then the fermented tea leaves are spread out and dried in the sun, and the fragrant and delicious Jiuqu Red Plum Tea is made. The best of the nine-bend red plum tea, it is dark in color, as fine as silk, as winding as a hook, and accompanied by a delicate fragrance.

When drinking tea, first sprinkle a few tea leaves into the cup and brew it with hot water. At first, the mouth of the cup was steaming, the tea in the cup was clear, and wisps of the unique tea aroma of Jiuquhongmei spread. Gradually, the heat subsided, the tea leaves slowly unfolded, the tea aroma became stronger, and the tea slowly turned brown-red. At this time, take a sip and you will feel that there is a hint of sweetness in the light sweetness.

I heard from the older generation that the Jiuqu Red Plum Tea has added a lot of glory to the village! In 1929, Jiuqu Red Plum Tea won the gold medal at the first Western Expo.