The appearance of Tea Classic 1228 China International Tea Culture Research Association will hold the 10th International Tea Culture Seminar and the 1st Luyu Tea Culture Festival in the birthplace of Tea Classic, which will greatly promote the inheritance and innovation of tea culture.
In this 1200 years, books on tea and tea culture have emerged one after another. What is the connotation of tea culture? After in-depth analysis, the combination of tea and culture has expanded from poetry, calligraphy, painting and printing to novels, poetry, music and dance, involving almost all cultural fields. Tea leisure has become a social fashion from palaces and giants to the people. In this new situation, the author believes that it is the social responsibility of tea culture workers to study the inheritance and innovation of tea culture. This paper tries to express my thinking and understanding of this problem from three aspects.
First, inherit the scientific spirit and build the competitive advantage of modern tea industry.
By studying the Tea Classic and the tea books of past dynasties, we can see that both the Tea Classic and the tea books of various dynasties studied the regularity of tea planting, picking, making and drinking from the reality at that time, and expounded how to improve the quality of tea to meet the needs of tea drinkers at that time.
Through her own investigation and practice, Lu Yu summed up that good tea grows in the ecological environment of "Yang Ya Yinling" which is most suitable for tea tree growth, and pointed out that "rotten stone" is the best site condition; The time of tea picking depends on the climate in different regions and the growth law of different tea trees. The key is to look at the growth of tea buds. There are purple buds, bamboo shoots and leaves on the roll. Don't pick them when it rains, and don't pick them when the clouds are light and the wind is clear. After seven steps of picking, steaming, pounding, patting, baking, wearing and sealing, the popular cake tea was made at that time.
The main producing area of tribute tea in Song Dynasty turned to Jian 'an, and Cai Xiang's Tea Record focused on the identification and drinking methods of Jian 'an tea. Song Zian's "Dongxi Tea Trial Record" further clarified the relationship between the ecological environment of Beiyuan tea and tea quality; In particular, Evonne's "Daguan Tea Theory" describes the unique attributes of white tea in an ecological way, which has important implications for the cultivation of improved varieties of tea trees. In the Ming Dynasty, cake tea was changed to loose tea, so there was Xu Cishu's Tea Sparse, which introduced the advantages, picking and making methods and cooking essentials of camel tea in detail. Zhou's Dongshan Tuocha Series made an in-depth investigation and study on Tuocha and made a more accurate exposition. In the Qing Dynasty, with the rise of Longjing tea, Cheng Gan's Interview with Longjing Tea discussed the characteristics, site conditions, cultivation, cooking and collection of Longjing tea in detail.
What should we inherit from the Tea Classic and the tea classics of past dynasties? The author believes that the most important thing is to inherit the scientific spirit created in these works. We should adapt to the new demand, research and develop new tea varieties and finished products with better quality by scientific methods, and improve the competitiveness of tea industry.
More than 1,200 years ago, the ancient bamboo purple bamboo shoots in Changxing, Huzhou were the best tribute tea in the Tang Dynasty. Due to historical reasons, by the middle of last century, purple bamboo shoot tea was not so famous. Tea researchers in Changxing, Huzhou, started with the study of tea classics. In the primitive tea mountain of the Tang Dynasty, they picked the most nutritious tea buds. Although they were old and twisted, the buds were like bamboo shoots, and they made tea according to modern tea-making methods. Winning the title of national famous tea in one fell swoop is a successful example of innovation on the basis of inheritance.
Through the general survey of tea varieties in Anji county, a kind of white tea which is different from conventional tea was found in Hengkengwu, Daxi county, that is, the "different from conventional tea" described in the quarterly Daguan Tea Theory. Modern white tea with amino acid content two to three times higher than that of ordinary green tea was developed through asexual reproduction, and its market price was several times higher than that of green tea. In recent years, the planting area of white tea has expanded to more than 40,000 mu, becoming a "cash cow" for tea farmers in Anji. In fact, from unfermented green tea to semi-fermented oolong tea, to fully fermented black tea and post-fermented Pu 'er tea, it is also an innovation in tea processing methods. If we can use modern scientific methods to develop tea products that meet the new needs of consumers, we can further improve the competitiveness of Huzhou tea industry. The author believes that this is the correct direction to inherit the scientific spirit adhered to by tea people in previous dynasties and strive to innovate under modern conditions.
Second, enrich the cultural connotation and expand the industrial chain of tea and tea culture.
Studying the history of tea and tea culture, we can also observe that Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism and folk in the history of China all attached great importance to the spiritual civilization contained in tea culture and the combination of tea and culture.
People who study Confucianism, from the peaceful and noble nature of tea, lead to the philosophical proposition that tea is harmonious and harmony is precious, and combine tea drinking with self-cultivation; Buddhism puts forward that tea meditation is blind, and drinking tea is a combination of meditation and enlightenment. Taoism attaches great importance to the nourishing function of tea, believing that drinking tea can change the body and bones, and then pursue spiritual eternity. Folks take tea as a gift, take tea as a friend and treat guests with tea, forming their own social customs.
From the above ideas, the combination of tea and culture has many forms and carriers.
In the monograph Tea Classic, there are poems about tea written by famous poets. For example, Zuo Si's poem "Nv Jiao's Poems" in the Western Jin Dynasty said, "The heart is a tea play, boasting the calendar". There is a poem in Zhang Mengyang's "Climbing to the Chengdu Tower": "The fragrant tea is six clear crowns, overflowing with nine areas". According to a survey by Mr. Zhu Zizhen, a tea historian, there are about 17,000 and 8,000 tea poems in a broad sense in China since the Jin and Qing Dynasties. Almost all famous poets have poems about tea. Among them, there are poems about Chashan written by Tang Dynasty, songs about drinking tea written by Jiao Ran, songs about sending new tea by Xie Meng written by Lu Tong, poems in tea written by Tang Piri and ten poems about attacking beautiful tea written by Lu Guimeng.
The famous tea book (method) and tea painting are full of illusions and threats, and they are written vividly. Yin Mingtang's "Sitting at Night" and Wen Peng's "Lutong Tea Song" are long volumes; There are 34 kinds of scenery, such as Six Poems on Tea. Famous paintings describing tea affairs include Yan's Making Lanting Map, Tea Fighting Map and Mingyuan Gambling Map in Song Dynasty, Yuan Zhaoyuan's Tea Making Map, Zhiming's Huishan Tea Party Map, Tang Yin's Tea Tasting Map, and Qing's Mr. Yuchuan's Tea Stir-fry Map.
In seal cutting works, Yi and Zhao are both engraved with the "tea is ripe, fragrant, warm and conscious" and Tong Danian has the "heaven and earth a pot".
There are more artworks in the tea set. Since the Tang Dynasty, famous ceramic tea sets have been fired in famous kilns all over the country. Such as "celadon lotus leaf lamp, saucer" and "secret colored porcelain teapot" fired in Yue kiln in Tang Dynasty. Since the advent of purple sand tea sets, master pot makers Gong Chun, Shi Dabin and Hui in Ming Dynasty and Shao Daheng in Qing Dynasty have all made purple sand teapots handed down from generation to generation. In particular, Yang Pengnian, in cooperation with painter Chen Hongshou, carved a Mansheng pot integrating poetry, calligraphy and painting with purple sand art, which gave tea culture a new carrier.
Tea people of all ages, especially those who are proficient in culture and art, have integrated their ideals and pursuits into tea-related cultural and artistic works, making these works vivid and heavy, becoming treasures that people are scrambling to collect, and even becoming national treasures. This is the charm of culture and the spectacle of combining tea with culture. Tea is an ordinary agricultural product if it is not combined with culture. Once combined with culture, it becomes something with life and soul. Its value has increased exponentially.
In contemporary society, cultural expressions are more abundant, and the combination of tea and culture will inevitably have new extensions, new forms and new carriers. Can be combined with modern art for tea display; It can be combined with music, dance, drama and folk art and performed in teahouses, theaters and grand tea parties; It can also be made into CDs, movies and TV plays for people to enjoy, become new literary works and become new contents of modern people's lives.
In 2004, a session of tea culture was held in Ya 'an, Sichuan, with the theme of Longxing Eighteen Styles, a traditional tea art in Sichuan. Expanded to 108 people, the magnificent tea performance, accompanied by hundreds of chorus, won long applause from tea people at home and abroad attending the opening ceremony. This song and dance drama with the theme of praising Wu Lizhen, who pioneered the artificial cultivation of tea, vividly displayed the lofty image of tea people and won warm applause.
According to the China Cooperation Times "Tea Weekly", the shooting of the TV series "Legend of Tieguanyin" with Anxi Tea Town as the background has created a new form of combining tea with culture and given tea culture a new means of communication.
Simao City, Yunnan Province, is the original master of Pu 'er tea. The masters of Pu 'er tea include Xin Song, Song Na, Zhong Qi, Ji Ji, Xie Nai, Jiao Xiao and Cai Qiang.
Huzhou is recognized by tea people as the birthplace of tea culture. The conferences and festivals to be held in Huzhou in 2008 should be expanded in the combination of tea and culture. Huzhou Luyu Tea Culture Research Association is organizing tea culture workers to edit Huzhou tea culture series, including Huzhou tea history, Huzhou tea poems, Huzhou tea brushes, Huzhou tea customs and Huzhou tea industry. The Records of Ancient Bamboo Mountains edited by Xie will also be published in 2008. China International Tea Culture Research Association also has a plan to perform Tea Love, which will put the story of Cha Sheng Lu Yu on the stage and dedicate it to tea lovers and Yue Opera lovers at home and abroad.
Third, adhere to the service direction for the benefit of tea farmers and customers.
In the process of selecting the topic and writing this article, the author also pondered repeatedly: Why did the authors of tea classics and tea books all spend their whole lives choosing and writing tea books? After reading the Book of Tea carefully, there are some inspirations.
In the Book of Tea, Lu Yu told people from the beginning what tea is, how to grow it, what effect it has, and why it can't be made crudely. After listing the tools for picking and making tea, he further explained how to pick and make tea and how to distinguish the advantages and disadvantages of tea. Then he used a lot of space to list 25 kinds of utensils necessary for a tea artist, and then talked about how to make tea, how to drink tea and what problems to pay attention to. I understand very well that The Book of Tea is written for tea farmers and artists. But why does The Book of Tea list 48 tea stories in history and discuss in great detail the places where tea is produced in China? The author thinks that this is to broaden readers' horizons, know that drinking tea has a long history and a vast area of tea production, and it is beneficial to health, and at the same time advocate the spirit of thrift. This also applies to tea farmers, artists and tea drinkers. Therefore, the preface of the seven tea classics after the Song Dynasty all praised Lu Yu as "a person who is beneficial to tea", "a person who is beneficial to others" and "the contribution of Yu is not in Xia Ji". This is the internal reason why the Book of Tea is "read through the ages".
The authors of tea books after The Book of Tea have been guided by the purpose of The Book of Tea, constantly enriching the contents, absorbing the experiences of planting, picking, making, drinking and picking tea in different historical periods into the tea books, and introducing the advantages and disadvantages of tea produced in different regions to tea farmers and tea drinkers.
Without the efforts of tea culture workers, how can we know that there are so many varieties of tea trees, so many tea-making methods and so many teas and tea drinks suitable for various needs in the vast tea-producing areas of China? Tea produced by tea farmers all over the world cannot be exported to such a wide area and earn so much income. Similarly, without the introduction of tea culture workers, it is impossible for us to know that there are so many famous tea producing areas in China, and it is impossible to know that these famous tea producing areas have such a good ecological environment, such charming landscapes and such profound cultural connotations. These places can't be tourist attractions with tea culture as the main content.
Now, what we should seriously think about is: in the modern society with the continuous development of economy and society, the continuous growth of people's income and the continuous improvement of life quality, how should contemporary tea culture workers adhere to the correct service direction and serve tea farmers and tea drinkers?
The author believes that there are several things that should be done hard.
(1) Advocate that tea is the national drink, and give play to the social function of "tea leads to harmony" in building a harmonious socialist society. Tea is one of the three major drinks in modern society, which is more suitable for China people's drinking habits and conducive to creating a peaceful social atmosphere. Tea culture workers should strive to popularize tea culture in all walks of life. They can teach tea art in schools, hold tea culture lectures among citizens, introduce tea culture knowledge in the media, especially the knowledge that drinking tea is good for health, set up tea vocational schools and train full-time tea artists.
(2) In cities, the teahouse industry should be built into a modern service industry with rich cultural connotations, which can improve people's interest in life and promote social harmony. Teahouses can also be combined with cultural industries, so that tea lovers can not only taste different flavors of tea in teahouses, but also enjoy high-grade calligraphy and painting in the process of drinking tea.
(3) Building tea culture villages in famous tea producing areas. Meijiawu has become a world-famous tea culture village. In meijiawu, not only Longjing tea is produced, but also the ecological environment is very quiet. Tea lovers all over the world can not only buy Longjing tea in meijiawu, but also enjoy tea and relax there. There are countless places all over the country that produce famous tea and have the conditions to build tea culture villages, but there is often no convenient external transportation and no clean village environment. The cultural connotation has not been fully explored and its popularity is not so high. This is where tea culture workers can cooperate with the local government.
(4) Protect tea culture sites and create a number of tea culture tourist areas. For more than 200 years since The Book of Tea came out1,each famous tea producing area has its own cultural accumulation, leaving a very precious natural and cultural heritage. The responsibility of contemporary tea people is to get the support of the government, protect these heritages, and strive to restore the cultural buildings that have always existed in history, making them a desirable tourist destination.
Huzhou is Lu Yu's second hometown in Cha Sheng, the birthplace of the Book of Tea, and Guzhu Mountain in Changxing County under the jurisdiction of the municipal government is also the birthplace of tribute tea in the Tang Dynasty. As early as the middle Tang Dynasty, there was an institution specialized in making tribute tea-Gongcha Academy. With the attention of the municipal and county governments, the protective renovation project of Gongcha Courtyard in Tang Dynasty has been started, and the second phase of the project can be completed before the first session in 2008. The ancient tea mountain in the Tang Dynasty around Guzhu Mountain has been well preserved so far, and Jinsha Spring under Guzhu Mountain is still flowing. The city and county governments decided to build Guzhu Mountain into a tourist resort with tea culture as the theme.
People can expect that under the excellent situation of implementing Scientific Outlook on Development, adjusting industrial structure and changing growth mode, a large number of tea culture tourist resorts will be built all over the country, which will write a glorious page in the history of tea culture development.