Tea appreciation is a lifestyle, a fashion, an art, and a culture.
Tea originates in China. In ancient times, it was used both for quenching the thirst and for its medical effects. Tea was once prepared by boiling in the Tang dynasty and whisking in the Song dynasty, while later on it was made by steeping tea leaves in hot water from the Ming dynasty to this day. As methods of tea making evolve over centuries, tea set formats and how people enjoy tea have changed as well. In the meantime, through the introduction of envoys and traders, tea consumption became a part of everyday life in Mongolia and Tibet too. Nomads also developed their own tea equipment and culture.
During the Tang and Song dynasties, Japanese diplomats, student monks, and merchants brought tea back to Japan. The integration with local cultural essence and etiquette gave rise to sadō, a meticulous form of tea ceremony. In the late Ming dynasty, monks from Fujian introduced Fujian-style tea brewing and Yixing tea ware to Japan. The combination of tea drinking and scholarly conversation soon became popular among intellectuals and developed into tea ceremony known as senchadō.
Immigrants from China to Taiwan during the late Ming and the early Qing dynasties brought tea culture with them. Today, Taiwanese society not only preserves the tradition of the gongfu tea ceremony from Fujian and Guangdong but has elevated it to the realm of art.
In such historical context, this exhibition is divided into four sections: "Chinese Tea Culture," " Japanese Tea Culture," "Milk Tea of Mongolia and Tibet," and "Taiwanese Gongfu Tea," each showcasing related artifacts from the museum collection. Situational displays, such as the rooms for tea drinking in the Ming dynasty and Japanese tea ceremony, or a table of Taiwanese modern tea practice, are intended to convey the artistic atmosphere of tea appreciation and to present the diversity of tea culture in various areas.
Chinese Tea Culture
The Taste of Tang and Song
Tea drinking and its associated culture have a long history in China. It has been widely popular since the 7th century. During the Tang Dynasty, tea was ground into powder, boiled in a pot called fu, and poured into tea bowls. Yue celadon tea bowls and Xing white-glazed ones were the most popular at the time, known as "bowls of ice and snow" for their texture.
During the Song Dynasty tea powder was placed directly in the tea bowl instead. One poured boiling water into the bowl and whisked the tea. The method is called diancha (whisking tea). People in the Song Dynasty fell for a kind of activity named doucha (tea contests), where tea was beaten with a spoon or whisk in order to create foam. Tea bowls in black glaze were often used to better complement the foam; on other occasions, celadon tea bowls or those with white glaze were commonly used.
The Elegant Pursuit of the Ming Literati
In the Ming Dynasty, tea leaves were brewed in teapots, much as they are today, and the tea was then poured into cups. Teapots and teacups became the principal items in the tea service. White porcelain teacups were the most popular, as it was considered that those "white as jade is best able to show the color of tea." Blue and white tea cups were also quite popular. Besides the usual porcelain ware, teapots made from zisha purple clay and zhuni red clay from Yixing were greatly sought-after.
The Tea Drinking Practices in the Qing Dynasty
Tea drinking during the Qing dynasty was similar to that in the preceding Ming dynasty. During the prosperous reigns of the emperors Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong, the imperial kiln at Jingdezhen produced large quantities of high quality tea ware. Enamel painting, introduced by foreign missionaries, was applied to the manufacturing of tea wares. Production and decoration techniques reached the highest level during this period, such as the refinement of clay, the invention of various paints and glazes, as well as the diversity of material and forms.
Milk Tea of Mongolia and Tibet
The Qing imperial family, being descendants of Manchu, retained their custom of drinking milk tea. To entertain Mongolian nobles and Tibetan monks, the feast in court also served milk tea, hence leaving an extensive collection of milk tea ware. In Mongolia, people add butter, salt, and cow’s or ewe’s milk in strong tea, and boil the mixture until the ingredients blend well. Tibetans put tea, butter and salt into a cylindrical vessel called duomu to churn and blend. This section exhibits milk tea service items in the museum collection to show the various facets of Qing tea culture.
Japanese Tea Culture
Harmony, Respect, Purity, and Tranquility
Tea culture was introduced to Japan by Japanese missions and monks sent to Tang China in the mid-8th century. Tea drinking became popular throughout the country after Myōan Eisai (1141-1215), also known as Eisai Zenji (Zen master Eisai), brought back tea practices from Southern Song Zen monasteries. During the 15th century, Ashikaga Yoshimasa (1436-1490), the 8th shōgun of the Muromachi period, combined the cultures of the samurai, nobles, and Zen priests. He held tea gatherings in chashitsu (literally “tea room”) inside studies, known as shoincha at the time. Later, Murata Jukō (1423-1502) established chashitsu that were simple and unsophisticated, arguing that the practitioners of tea should free themselves from desire and comprehend the inner spirit of sadō through self-cultivation. Sen no Rikyu (1522-1591) advocated "harmony, respect, purity, and tranquility" as the spirit of sadō, arguing that practitioners of sadō should not stick to the karamono tea equipment from China but rather use unsophisticated utensils. Simple and plain tea service items thus began to be produced in Japan.
Sencha Tea Ceremony and Tea Parties
During the mid-17th century, traders from China to Nagasaki and Yinyuan Longqi (1592-1672), a Chinese Buddhist monk from the Wanfu Temple on Mount Huangbo in Fujian, brought the tea service of the late Ming dynasty to Japan. By the 18th century, Kō Yugai (1675-1763), also known as baisaō, advocated a free and unrestrained style of tea appreciation that there should not be any distinction between the nobility and the civilian, and between the Buddhist and the profane. It was known as senchadō and soon became popular among Japanese literati.
Taiwanese Gongfu Tea
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the habits of tea drinking were introduced into and developed in Taiwan by immigrants from the southeast coast of China. Early tea practices in Taiwan followed the tradition of gongfu tea from Fujian, using Chaoshan stoves, Yushu kettles, Mengchen teapots, and Ruochen tea cups as the main utensils.
According to the General History of Taiwan, Wuyi tea was introduced into Taiwan from Fujian during the Jiaqing reign of the Qing dynasty, and oolong tea was cultivated and exported by British merchants during the Tongzhi reign. In the late 20th century, oolong tea became a feature in Taiwanese tea. With the attention to color, fragrance, and flavor, the habit of tea drinking thrived and prevailed. Since the 1970s, the art of tea has combined modern fashion trends and local culture, giving rise to practices of polished and diverse styles.