The Meaning of Offering Tea in a Ceremony

A visual history of the evolvement of the gaiwan/ 10th century: Integrated receptacle saucer Detail from an important 10th century painting depicting an evening party at the house of Han Xizai (the bearded man sitting in foreground of the man in red). We have highlighted a tea bowl rested in a receptacle style saucer with a small circle here in the lower corner of the long table. The tea bowl and the saucer are obviously designed and manufactured as one set. Such teaware appears in many a paintings of civilian life in that time and in antique collections.

chinese new year special feature Truth about tea offering “Ceremony” tea etiquette for chinese new year tea etiquette: the gaiwan as a cup a visual history of gaiwan

Amidst the loud tunes and vulgar chromaticity of Chinese celebrations, be it New Year, weddings or birthday banquets, so there is the tranquility and modesty of tea, the constant reminder of the wisdom of life beyond the ceremonies, as the banality of tea itself takes the center stage, albeit a brief moment.

The stylised receptacle saucer In a painting 3 centuries before the one above, two servants are preparing tea during a meeting between a minister and two monks. The tea bowls are fitted with receptacles of a different material or colour, made to certain stylised design. Metal artifacts of such design are excavated from tombs from the 7th to the 9th centuries. The tealeaf grinder, a disc with an axis, is seen in the lower left of the table. It was a popular tool until teh 14th century. Detail from Xiaoyi Swindling for the Lanting Scroll (an invaluable piece of calligraphic work) , Yan Liben, 601~673

The Most Important things in Life Comes in Ordinary Ways

Much as the subtlety in fine tea, the most important things in life come to us in ordinary ways but with touches that one needs to be alert enough to be conscious of, to appreciate. Tea appears misleadingly simple as dried leaves, and a clear easy beverage that one can drink throughout the day. It had been the default liquid intake for China for at least a millenium.

To construct a ritualistic position of the ordinary item as the carrier of the key message in a ceremony therefore signifies the humility of both the giver and the taker: that the most ordinary is the best we have — it is the message that is the important part, not the carrier. That is why the popular traditional saying — I travelled a thousand miles to bring you the gift of a goose feather; light it is but it bears the weight of our friendship to you (qian li song er mao, li qing qing yi zhong)(2).

Song: Golden Age of Design A remake of a Song (10th~13th century) style Jian ware tea bowl with a receptacle saucer: the kind of tea bowl people had been drinking from for hundreds of year before the eared or straight teacup or gaiwan was popular. This ancient form is actually a far more civilized tool to handle tea infusion with and for offering and drinking from. The base is heavier and the bowl snugs in it very comfortably and stably. Author's own collection

Tea as the Ideal Gift

In the olden days, it was therefore a distasteful, if not vulgar, act to give the gift of materialistic items amongst scholars and officials who would liked to be considered as uncorrupted. Tea was thus not only a key ceremonially served drink but also a most popular gift. To appreciate a gift of such a humble nature and yet the most subtle fineness demands on the quality discriminatory ability of again both the giver and the taker. The very acts of examination of tea quality have thus become part of the appreciation ritual. This will be covered in another article on Gongfu Tea Preparation Part 2.

Tradition destroyed, Vulgarity Rules

Early form of the Gaiwan A mural from the tomb of a wealthy man in later 10th century. A man servant is getting tea ready to serve. The lids, the cups and receptacle style saucers are piled neatly on the table. This looks like an earliest depiction of the predecessor to the modern gaiwan.

Thereby, the humble act of tea offering acquires a lofty air of the cultured ability of appreciation. The touch of this aspiration for the learned has a deep root in the tradition: the respect for knowledge and the scholarly throughout all walks of life and classes in the social structure. In the deafening gongs and trumpets, blinding reds and golds of Chinese celebrations, the aspiration of a people is sublimated into a small cup of a quiet drink in the hand, a constant reminder of what is really valuable amongst the extravagance of rare dishes, expensive dresses and glitzy body ornaments. This was, however, the past.

The clever modern people always have better ideas. Tea is too undramatic so it should be pushed aside. Gold plated dragons and shark fins thus go unrestrained without the humbling reminder hidden in proper tea offering. In Mainland China, tea itself has been so altered according to the desire of the nova riche that the names are now crowned with characters for "emperors" or "kings", the preparation process itself has become an artificial performance conducted by showgirls in imitation glossy silk costumes. This is not Chinese tea ceremony, but only vulgarity on display. It has nothing to do with the grand tradition or its wisdom.

Variations Gaiwan in relief carved jade. Qing dynasty. Collection of the Taiwan Palace Museum. The gaiwan has evolved into different forms subsequently. The bowl shape being a popular one. Notice that there is no saucer in this one. This format used to be particularly popular in daily use as a teapot in dimsum restaurants, obviously not in jade. Doing without the saucer saved the restaurants one third of the breakage wastage. The part is neither used in most gongfu style infusion today.

The spirit of tea offering is a living one

In your next celebration, be it Chinese New Year or Thanksgiving or your own birthday, try to offer tea nicely and respectfully to your seniors as if it were a precious item, but treasure instead the moment of the offering. See it for yourself the magic it may bring on the face of your folks. It really does not matter if you are Chinese or Japanese, Italian or Moroccan, Russian or American… the idea is to deliver a message of gratitude, respect and love. And if you are Chinese and getting married, do get down on your knees to tell them how you are thankful for having been their child on this day when you are to begin a new phase of your life.

Now over 30 years after she offered tea to her in-laws and parents as a bride, in Chinese New Year or on her birthday, Beth, my high school friend, would be all delighted to receive a cup of sweetened tea from her grand daughter.

Next story> Tea Etiquette for Chinese New Year

note

2. This is a translation made according to the original saying made in Tang Dynasty (7th~10th century) by an ambassador sent to see Emperor Tai Zhong in a international comity context. The saying is more often used in personal relationship nowadays, sometimes with modifications.

This is the first article in which we have merged two into one: a continuation from the key written content of Tea Offering as a Ritual: A True Chinese "Tea Ceremony" a related pictorial article about the evolvement of the gaiwan. This is an experiment which we think has some meaning in it. Please let us know if you like this too or if you have any other comments or idea. See below for contact links.