Ancient literati's four elegant life - burning incense, tasting tea, flower arrangement, hanging paintings

Ancient gentlemen had four elegance: burning incense focuses on the beauty of the "fragrance", tasting tea focuses on the beauty of the "taste", flower arrangement focuses on the beauty of the "color", and hanging paintings focuses on the beauty of the "environment". The beauty of "realm" is emphasized in hanging paintings.

Ancient literati like to pursue a slow life, the Qing Dynasty Zhang Chao in the "Dream Shadow" wrote: "People are happy to be idle, not doing nothing is also called. Idle is able to read, idle is able to tour the famous mountains, idle is able to make friends, idle is able to drink, idle is able to write a book, the world's happiness, no more so."

Incense burning refers to people will be animals and plants to obtain natural spices for processing, so that it becomes a variety of different types of incense, and on different occasions burning smoked, in order to get a sense of smell on the beautiful enjoyment.

The burning of incense from the beginning of people's physical needs and spiritual needs together. In China during the Tang Dynasty, the dignitaries, literati and wealthy people are often in the party, fighting incense incense, slowly incense has become an art, and tea culture developed together. To the Song Dynasty, China's incense art, and tea, flower arrangement, painting together, as the literati "four arts".

Lu Fangweng said in a poem: "the official body often owed reading debts, not for the money for wine, left to enjoy the silence of the day, burning incense to see the Yuxi poem. Ancient requirements for burning incense is smoke-free but the fragrance of low and long, the courtyard of the study, the ancient literati dream, red sleeves and incense night reading. Late at night, a wisp of dark incense flowing floating, intoxicated. In the midst of disorientation, read through how much prosperity and vicissitudes of life, and turned into wisps of smoke. Aroma leisurely, or hold knees to watch the book, or sit down to talk, are the classical Chinese timeless imagery.

Tea has played an important role in Chinese history. Since its discovery and consumption, tea has been sought after by literati throughout the ages. The Chinese literati style is characterized by the gathering of three or five friends in the mountains and rivers, sipping tea and talking about their ambitions.

Tea, water and self-sacrifice, and tea to drink, because of charity; leaves contain tea incense, as if the precepts incense, is to hold the precepts; bear the steam frying and fermentation, subjected to extrusion and kneading, is to endure humiliation; in addition to laziness and idleness, wake up the spirit of thinking, is the essence; and respect for the silence, tea flavor, such as, is Zen; behavior will be the method to help people countless, is the wisdom. Tea heart Buddha heart, what **** what difference? A cup of tea.

The ancients pay attention to the fire of tea. Water cooked tender, old and moderate, plus the time and method of tea, the way to cook tea and "soup flower" good or bad how much, the key to see will not master the soup. Xu Mingran in the "tea sparse" in this account: "water into the铫, it must be cooked in a hurry.

Waiting for the sound of pine, that is, to go to the lid, to message its old and young. After the crab's eye, the water has a slight wave, which is then. The big waves boiling, spinning soundless, is out of date, over the soup is old and fragrant scattered, never use." Tea scripture" also said: "its boiling, such as the eyes of the fish, micro-sound, for a boil; edge of the edge of the spring like a pearl, for the second boil; Tengbo bulging waves, for the third boil. Has been on, the water is not edible old" ("five-three boil").

Chinese floriculture, in addition to the importance of echoing the four seasons with the festival, pay more attention to the symbolism of flowers and trees, such as the early Ming Dynasty masters of birds and flowers Bian Wenjin once painted a large hall vase flowers, the choice of plum, pine, cypress, camellia, narcissus, Ganoderma lucidum, Zhu persimmon, and other ten kinds of symbolic flowers, symbolizing the perfect ten, all things are as good as expected.

For busy modern people, the meaning of flower arrangement is more close to nature as well as discovering the beauty of life in two layers of meaning. From choosing flowers from the market or nature, selecting the right vase, designing the flower arrangement, and executing it, the artistic process of discovery, appreciation, and creation is completed.

By the Ming Dynasty, the art of flower arrangement in China was not only widely popularized, and there are monographs on flower arrangement, such as Zhang Qiande's Vase Flower Spectrum, and Yuan Hongdao's Vase History. The development of Chinese flower arrangement art to the Ming Dynasty, has reached its heyday, in technology, theory are quite mature and perfect; in style, emphasizing the natural lyricism, beautiful and simple performance, elegant and bright colors, simple modeling. Qing Dynasty flower arrangement art in the folk but do not get attention, development and popularization.

"There is nothing much to do at the end of the year in the mountain house, and the plum blossoms will be inserted to celebrate the New Year". The emotional requirement of Chinese people for flower arrangement can be seen in general.

Burning incense focuses on the beauty of smell, tasting tea focuses on the beauty of taste, flower arranging focuses on the beauty of touch, and hanging paintings focuses on the beauty of perception, which is the four arts in one to show the elegance of the Song literati and the flavor of the aesthetics of life.

"Hanging painting" was first hung next to the seat in the tea party, the content is about the knowledge of tea, evolved to the Song Dynasty, hanging painting to poetry, words, characters, paintings of the scroll, when the literati pay attention to the content of the hanging paintings and the form of the display, as the usual home appreciation or elegant collection of activities **** appreciation of the important activities.