CH-O-13
THE VALUE OF PU-ERH TEA CEREMONY-CONTEMPORARY GRACEFUL WORK LIU DI (The first Tea Ceremony Artificer in China) No.6 Yuan-dong Rd. Jin xing district, Kunming, Yunnan, 65-0224 P. R. China tel:86-871-5718754 Fax:86-871-5712740 ochacandy007Cj4yahoo.colu.cnC(4yahoo.colu.cn Summary Work is man's liberator from nature, his creator as a social and independent being. But, in nowadays, tea skill and tea ceremony, these graceful works, are man's liberator from upset world, and are closed to nature.
Keywords Pu-erh tea, Pu-erh tea ceremony, tea Tao, nature, charm
Introduction Work is not only an inescapable necessity for man; work is also his liberator from nature, his creator as a social and independent being. He emerges from nature by mastering her; he develops his powers ofco-operation, ofreason, his sense ofbeauty. The more his work develops, the more his individuality develops. In molding nature and re-creating her, he learns to make use of his powers, increasing his skill and creativeness. So, after tea was discovered, man ate tea leaves as medicine, drunk it as beverage, tea ceremony and tea Tao are came into being.
Pu-erh tea ceremony During the period of the Tang Dynasty and the Song Dynasty in China, literature and Buddhism became good carriers of Tea Tao. Tea drinking, tea tasting and tea match were popular at that time. Today, Tea Tao comes back in this prosperous world again. The Tea Culture of China, the Tea Manners of Korea, the Tea Ceremony of Japan, the afternoon tea activity ofEngland, and the promotion ofChinese tea in France, all make people get to know the tea and love the tea through Tea Art and Tea Tao, then furthermore learn the tea culture and tea manners, and finally clarify their heart and soul, recognize themselves again, keep the clearness ofsoul and improve aesthetic capacity in the pure world of tea, and consequently have people find beauty, create beauty and advocate the beauty of nature. With the trend of drinking Pu-erh Tea in the recent years, the Pu-erh Tea Tao has become a hot point of modem elegant activities (such as calligraphy Tao, Flower Tao, Chess Tao, and yoga).
As for the Pu-erh Tea Tao, which is one of the modern elegant activities, we have to have a view on the material carrier of its dense cultural favor, i.e., the globally well-known Pu-erh Tea.
Pu-erh tea The definitions ofPu-erh Tea vary. Out ofthem, I hereby select one to give a picture: Pu-erh Tea refer to scattered tea leaves and compressed tea made of raw Shai qing Tea that is made of Yunnan Big Leaf Tea produced in certain re~ions of Yunnan in China, through fermentation processing. Its external appearance looks rufous; the liquor color is rich-red and bright; the fragrance is special and thick, with sweet aftertaste; the used tea leaves appear rufous as well. ---"Yunnan Provincial Regional Standards for Pu-erh Tea"
Classification according to techniques oflate-fermentation: Pu-erh Tea aged naturally in dry storehouse: Never been artificially accelerating to age. Stored in storehouse with a relative humidity below 80%, the Pu-erh Tea is naturally late-fermented, slowly aged, and forms aged fragrance through the tea's natural respiration. For its aging procedure is natural, the time of aging is longer and the characteristics and effects of the tea are both promoted after aging, the real and old dry-stored Pu-erh Tea is especially rare. Moist-Stored Pu-erh Tea: It refers to the Pu-erhTea made of compressed Shai Qing Tea, raw Shai Qing Tea (processed in moist storage and then shaped via braising and compressing), or artificially fermented Pile-fermentation Ripe Pu-erh Tea. To Put them into artificial moist storehouse, keep the relative humidity exceeding 80% in the circumstance, so as to accelerate it promptly transfer. This late-fermentation procedure is also called Aspergillus Late-fermentation. Fast Pile-fermentation Pu-erh Tea under high temperature: Pile-fermentation means to pile scattered raw Shai Qing Tea (mainly using summer tea, because spring tea cost more, over-tender, and have worse shape than summer tea) to trapezia piles, accelerate the fermentation through artificially watering and the temperature ofthe tea piles.
To elegantly represent the elite of the Pu-erh Tea Tao through the Pu-erh Tea Art that complies with the rule of nature: Pu-erh Tea Performance The characteristics of Pu-erh Tea are similar with the density, peace, and modesty of Bodhi Damo. Therefore, the selection ofwater, music and instruments to have Pu-erh Tea should comply with its characteristics. In addition, the preparing and serving should also comply with the rules of"combining the flavor and spirit ofthe tea". The preparing and serving of Pu-erh Tea should be filled of harmony. Gently begin, slowly move, and continuously act. The movement of hands follows with the mind. The change of mind complies with the condition. The energy flows with the mind. The movement of wrists and elbows is similar as that in Chinese calligraphy, with moderate speed. The decent preparing method should be companied with music ("harmony among people is more important in music than rhyme itself'-"Yueji"). The movement should keep smooth, no complicated actions needed, but simple yet meaningful spirit. the key of Pu-erh Tea Performance The key ofPu-erh Tea Performance is its charm. With charm, it would be active, while without that, it would be dull. The charm makes the music graceful along with the tea flowing down from hands; otherwise the performance will be come apart from the natural Tao. It was stated in the "General Summary of the Charm of Poem" by Lu Shiyong from the Ming Dynasty that "the good looks depends on details; the gainly pose depends on transition; the affairs depends on hesitation; the graceful bearing depends on circumbendibus; the force depends on movement; all above tell how charm is created." Presented through such charm, the immanence ofthe Pu-erh Tea Culture is unique and deep. The quotation of "the simplest is the noblest; the quietest is the greatest", which was the summary of the arts of ancient Greece made by Winckelmann, is very appropriate to summarize the Chinese Pu-erh Tea Art as well.
Pu-erh Tea Art The Pu-erh Tea Art is a technical art formation that has the Pu-erh Tea as carrier of tea serving, contains the elite of the tea drinking custom of Yunnan, complies with the true characteristics of Pu-erh Tea and the spirit and conception of Chinese Tea Tao, represents the tea performer's comprehension upon the characters and quality of Pu-erh Tea and himself/ herself cultural and moral characters through his/her art performance, and is represented through the procedure andal1d technique of preparing and serving, and the procedure oftasting ofPu-erh Tea.
the core of Pu-erh Tea Art The core of Pu-erh Tea Art is "combination of flavor and charm". The movement, the expression, and the company music of the whole performance all need both the flavor and the charm of the performer. Therefore the performer should have inside cultural contains and keep adding energy to himself/herself. So both the "flavor" and the "Charm" are indispensable.
Pu-erh Tea Tao Pu-erh Tea Tao refers to an ethical and comprehensive integrated cultural system that takes the tasting and appraisal of Pu-erh Tea as a chance, with elegant manners and moving conversations as a style, scientific and healthy technique as a standard, performance of Pu-erh Tea Art as a base, containing factors of art, social communication, courtesies, and cultivation of oneself. The spiritual condition of it could be summarized as "arrogant on account of one's seniority, the older the fresher". Because tIlethe tea gets aged, just like a person gets aged. When you have a cup ofPu-erh Tea at hands, enjoying the fresh red and golden tea liquor, unhurriedly and undisturbedly, you would feel the incredibly calmness and peace inside, which is the aged atmosphere. While when you have the tea flowing through your body, deeply indulged in the incredibly pure, peaceful, and graceful color, fragrance and taste, you would suddenly understand more upon the life. Although one's life is close to the fall of the whole life, he/she still could be so fresh and active, just as the taste of the tea. The Tao of life and the Tao of Tea are so similar for metempsychosis works in both of them.
Relationship between Pu-erh Tea Art and Pu-erh Tea Tao The relationship between the Pu-erh Tea Art and the Pu-erh Tea Tao is supplementing , each other and indispensable for each other. The carrier of Pu-erh Tea Art is Pu-erh Tea. As an objective action, the Pu-erh Tea Art goes towards Its ultimate, which is the Pu-erh Tea Tao. The principal part of the Pu-erh Tea Art is the "person serving tea", i.e., the tea performer, whose object to represent his/her performance the tea drinker. Both the tea performer and the tea drinker enjoy the tea with their hearts. Because the Pu-erh Tea has the character of modesty and purity, the tea performer has to experience this feeling so as to represent the true spirit of Pu-erh Tea. Therefore the represented atmosphere must be unique comparing with other tea arts. Except for ingenious application of eyes and hands, i.e., application of scientific method of preparing and serving and appropriate expressive methods of art, the performer has to further use his/her heart-a pure, modesty, and unpolluted heart-to understand the essence of tea and consequently represent the meaning ofTao.
The Golden Damo Pu-erh Tea Art leading people into the world of spirit and Buddhist allegory through elegant performance and the Buddhist topics.
Bodhi Damo came to Songshan Mountain from India. He is of the character of modest, sedate, and simple. After ten-year facing the wall, he became the originator of Zen. Pu-erh Tea has the characteristic of rough-shaped but pure-quality inside, which is similar with Damo. Tasting Pu-erh Tea with concentration, people will understand the rule ofuniversal and obtain wisdom as well. At the greatly enjoying the moment oftea drinking, people can feel the mind opened and still peaceful like a lake. The combination of tea and Zen, which could not be expressed by words but realized by heart, will be recognized well. That's why super-classed Pu-erh Tea named "Golden Damo", which is exactly the most appropriate title for it. Pu-erh Tea Art is used to represent the Golden Damo Pu-erh Tea Tao, including the procedures of ikebana, censing, poem, thinking, tea preparing and serving, and tasting, understanding the topic . ofTea Tao, and finally experiencing the Buddhist enjoyment, getting soul released, and closing to the nature.)
Conclusion To put all into a nutshell, as an elegant graceful activity, Tea Art is not a show or necessary work, but a method for contemporary busy people to obtain wisdom through the tea, further experience and appreciate the life.