Tea Ceremony
Tea and Water
Light, sweet, moist and transparent water must be selected for infusing tea as water will have a profound influence on the quality feeling of tea soup. To sum up, it must have two features: firstly, sweet and clean; secondly, alive and fresh. Modern water source is not as good as that in ancient time. Hence, the mountain spring, mineral spring and pure water can be selected. If the tap water is selected, a filter should be equipped or the water should be stored in a jar for half a day or one day before it is used for infusing tea.
Chinese Tea Lore:The Chinese tea lore is several hundred years old and much older than that of Japan. It can be said that the Chinese tea lore places an emphasis on spirit and makes light of form. It also has different representations at different historical stages. Teas are also different but all embody the spirit of 'clearness, respect, joy and truthfulness'.
Drinking tea: Tea is taken as a beverage to quench thirst.
Tasting tea: Emphasis is placed on the color, fragrance and flavor of the tea, water quality and tea set. When taking tea, the taster should also be able to savor tea carefully.
Tea art: Attention is paid to the environment, atmosphere, music, infusing techniques and interpersonal relationships.
The highest ambit tea lore: Philosophy, ethics and morality are blended into the tea activity. People cultivate their morality and mind and savor life through tasting tea, thereby attaining enjoyment of spirit.
Clearness: It stands for cleanness, incorruptness, quietness and loneliness. The essence of tea art not only seeks the cleanness of the appearance of things, but also pursues the loneliness, tranquility, incorruptness and shame awareness of the mind. In a still ambit, only through drinking clear and pure tea can one appreciate the profoundness of drinking tea.
Respect: Respect is the root of everything on earth and the way of having no enemies. People should show respect for others and be cautious themselves.
Joy: The meaning of harmony lies in form and method, and that of joy is in spirit and affection. Sipping bitterness and swallowing sweetness when drinking tea can enlighten life and cultivate a broad mind and farsightedness so that disputes between others and self disappear. The spirit of joy lies in that people are not pretentious and haughty but dwell in mildness and nurture courteous conduct.
Truthfulness: It refers to truth and genuine knowledge. The supreme good is the whole formed by a combination of truth and genuine knowledge. The goal of the supreme good is to retain nature, remove material desire without being tempted by advantages and disadvantages, study the physical world to gain knowledge and continually seek improvement. In other words, people should use scientific methods to seek the complete sincerity of everything. The essence of drinking tea lies in its enlightening capacity and conscience so that everyone can live a simple life to express their ambition and handle matters thriftily and virtuously in daily life, thus attaining the goal of truth, goodness and beauty.