Category: Chinese Food

Tea ceremony in China belongs to oriental culture. There is no scientific and exact definition for it. Instead, people need to be close to it and understand it through their own existence.中国的茶道属于东方文化，它没有一个科学的、准确的定义，而要靠个人凭借自己的悟性去贴近它、理解它。
The word “Tea Ceremony” can be dated back to the Tang Dynasty in China, e.g. “as for theory of Hong Jian which was refined extensively, tea ceremony was popularized” in The Record of What Mr. Feng Sees and Hears. Liu Zhenliang in the Tang Dynasty had put forward explicitly in Ten Virtues in Drinking Tea, “Tea brings Tao and Elegance.” The word “Tea Ceremony” has been used for over 1,000 years since the Tang Dynasty, but this entry still can not be found in reference books such as Xinhua Dictionary, Word-Ocean Dictionary and Etymology till now. So, what is tea ceremony?早在我国唐代就有了“茶道”这个词，例如，《封氏闻见记》中：“又因鸿渐之论，广润色之，于是茶道大行。”唐代刘贞亮在饮茶十德中也明确提出：“以茶可行道，以茶可雅志。”尽管“茶道”这个词从唐代至今已使用了一千多年，但至今在《新华辞典》、《辞海》、《词源》等工具书中均无此词条。那么，什么是茶道呢？
Mr. Wu Juenong thought, tea ceremony is “To regard tea as precious and gracious drink while drinking tea is a spiritual enjoyment, an art or a means of cultivating the moral character and nourishing the nature.”吴觉农先生认为：茶道是“把茶视为珍贵、高尚的饮料，饮茶是一种精神上的享受，是一种艺术，或是一种修身养性的手段。”
Mr. Zhuang Wanfang thought, tea ceremony is a kind of ceremony to teach people about the law and discipline of rite as well as moral cultivation by means of drinking tea. Mr. Zhuang Wanfang also summarized the basic spirit of Chinese tea ceremony as, “honour, beauty, harmony and respect” and explained, “cultivating morality, being honest and money saving, in order to conduct oneself in society harmoniously and honestly, and to respect and love people.”庄晚芳先生认为：茶道是一种通过饮茶的方式，对人民进行礼法教育、道德修养的一种仪式。庄晚芳先生还归纳出中国茶道的基本精神为：“廉、美、和、敬”他解释说：“廉俭育德、美真廉乐、合诚处世、敬爱为人。”
Mr. Chen Xiangbai thought, Chinese tea ceremony includes seven philosophical connotations listing as tea art, tea morality, tea rite, tea principle, tea feeling, tea science and tea ceremony guidance. The essence of Chinese tea ceremony spirit is harmony. Chinese tea ceremony is to regard tea as a process that guides individuals to move towards and finish moral cultivation, thus to realize harmonious and peace between human beings. Tea ceremony theory of Mr. Chen Xiangbai can be simplified as, “seven arts in one heart.”陈香白先生认为：中国茶道包含茶艺、茶德、茶礼、茶理、茶情、茶学说、茶道引导七种义理，中国茶道精神的核心是和。中国茶道就是通过茶是过程，引导个体在美的享受过程中走向完成品格修养以实现全人类和谐安乐之道。陈香白先生德茶道理论可简称为：“七艺一心”。
While Mr. Zhou Zuoren explained tea ceremony leisurely as, “To put it simply, the meaning of tea ceremony is to take a break from a busy life and seek joy amidst sorrow. It is to enjoy a little beauty and harmony in an imperfect reality and taste eternity in a blink.”周作人先生则说得比较随意，他对茶道的理解为：“茶道的意思，用平凡的话来说，可以称作为忙里偷闲，苦中作乐，在不完全现实中享受一点美与和谐，在刹那间体会永久。”
Mr. Liu Hanjie, a scholar in Taiwan propose, “Tea ceremony is a method and artistic conception of drinking tea.” As a matter of fact, to define tea ceremony is a waste of time. If a definition must be determined for tea ceremony and regard it as a fixed and rigid concept, the mystique of tea ceremony will be lost. Meanwhile, it limits the imagination of tea drinkers and the mysterious feeling which comes from discovering the philosophic theory with heart will be faded away. To understand the mysterious feeling of tea ceremony with heart is just like that “The moon is reflected in thousand rivers but the reflections are diffent from each other.” “tea ceremony” resembles the moon while people’s heart are the rivers. Everyone who drinks tea enjoys the wonderful feeling for tea ceremony which are different from others’ in their own hearts.台湾学者刘汉介先生提出：“所谓茶道是指品茗的方法与意境。”其实，给茶道下定义是件费力不讨好的事。如果一定要给茶道下一个定义，把茶道作为一个固定的、僵化的概念，反倒失去了茶道的神秘感，同时也限制了茶人的想象力，淡化了通过用心灵去悟道时产生的玄妙感觉。用心灵去悟茶道的玄妙感受，好比是“月印千江水，千江月不同。”“茶道”如月，人心如江，在各个茶人的心中对茶道自有不同的美妙感受。
Chinese regard Tao as a complete system which is the rule and law of universe and life. Therefore, Chinese do not speak of Tao easily, which is different from Japanese who have tea ceremony for tea, ikebana for flower, incense lore for scent, kendo for sword, even judo and taekwondo for wrestling and striking. Among Chinese food culture, entertainment and other activities, it is tea ceremony that can only be qualified to Tao.中国人视道为体系完整的思想学说，是宇宙、人生的法则、规律，所以，中国人不轻易言道，不像日本茶有茶道，花有花道，香有香道，剑有剑道，连摔跤搏击也有柔道、跆拳道。在中国饮食、玩乐诸活动中能升华为“道”的只有茶道。