The thousand-year-old history of tea drinking has endowed tea culture with a profound heritage. Tea is not just a drink, but a way of life that gives us a rich spiritual experience. Tea culture is broad and profound, from edible to medicinal, from drinking to culture, all of which exude a unique charm and deeply influence the world.
Although there are many cultural similarities between China and Japan, the Japanese tea ceremony has a unique style, although it originated in China. The art of the tea ceremony plays an important role in Japanese culture, and it has gradually evolved into a comprehensive cultural system that is integrated into the Japanese national spirit.
China's tea culture has a long history, originating in the Shennong era. It is recorded in the "Book of Tea" that Shennong tasted herbs, discovered tea and used it as medicine, which laid the foundation for the development of tea.
In the Spring and Autumn Period, tea gradually developed into the direction of eating, and tea was the most famous. During the Han Dynasty, tea-related activities increased, and tea gradually became a commodity and began to spread.
In the Han Dynasty, Buddhism was introduced to China, and Buddhism advocated drinking tea, forming the habit of drinking tea. During the Tang Dynasty, tea drinking was popular throughout the country, tea culture reached its peak, and tea was also introduced to Japan.
According to historical records, Buddhists brought Chinese tea to Japan, which is closely related to the formation of the Japanese tea ceremony. The spread of Buddhism in China had a profound impact on Japan, and in the 6th century AD, Buddhism was introduced from China to Japan, and promoted cultural exchanges between China and Japan.
Buddhism's relationship with tea stems from its common doctrine of pure suffering and the need for monks' activities. It was the first time that Japanese monks brought back tea culture and tea varieties in Japan.
At the same time, Lu Yu of the Tang Dynasty created the style of tea tasting, and was influenced by Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism and other thoughts, and devoted himself to completing the "Book of Tea" and promoting tea drinking to the world.
It can be said that the monks of China and Japan jointly promoted the eastward spread of Chinese tea culture. 2.The Buddhist teachings are similar to the bitterness of tea, and both meet the needs of monks, so that Buddhism and tea have formed an indissoluble bond.
Japanese monks brought Chinese tea culture and tea varieties back to Japan for the first time, and Jianzhen traveled east to Japan six times, bringing not only Buddhism, construction technology, and medicine with him, but also tea bricks.
Lu Yu of the Tang Dynasty, through his young and studious studiousness, and under the influence of the tea style of the Tang Dynasty aristocracy, he showed a strong interest in tea, created the spirit of the Chinese tea ceremony, and devoted all his efforts to complete the first step in the study of tea monograph "The Book of Tea", and translated it into Japanese and other languages, bringing impetus to the spread of tea drinking to the world.
Therefore, Chinese and Japanese monks jointly promoted the eastward spread of Chinese tea culture. 3.Buddhism and tea are similar in their bitterness and meet the needs of monks, so Buddhism and tea have formed an indissoluble bond.
Japanese monks brought Chinese tea culture and tea varieties back to Japan for the first time, and at the same time, Jianzhen traveled to Japan six times, bringing Buddhism, construction technology, medicine and other technologies to Japan, as well as tea bricks.
Lu Yu of the Tang Dynasty, through his young and studious talents, and was influenced by the tea style of the Tang Dynasty aristocracy, showed a strong interest in tea, created the spirit of the Chinese tea ceremony, and devoted all his efforts to complete the first step to study the monograph "The Book of Tea", and translated it into Japanese and other languages, bringing impetus to the spread of tea to the world.
It is precisely because of the monks of China and Japan that the Chinese tea culture was able to spread eastward.
In the process of learning and integrating Chinese tea culture, Japan has developed a unique Japanese tea ceremony. As early as the Sui and Tang dynasties in China, Chinese tea culture was introduced to Japan through Japanese envoys to the Tang Dynasty.
After Prince Shotoku, Japan sent thirteen more envoys to the Tang Dynasty, among whom the monks were the first to introduce Chinese tea culture to Japan. In addition, the Japanese monk Saicheng also brought back tea seeds from Tiantai, Zhejiang, and sowed them in Japan.
With the encouragement of Emperor Saga, tea culture spread rapidly in Japan. During the Song Dynasty, Zen Master Rongxi spread China's Tiantai Zen Buddhism and tea art to Japan, and wrote "Eating Tea and Maintaining Health".
This marked that Japan had completed the complete imitation of Chinese tea culture and laid the foundation for the formation of the Japanese tea ceremony. After that, Japan began to develop a tea ceremony with its own national characteristics.
During the Muromachi period in Japan, under the influence of the Song and Yuan tea cultures, Japan began to imitate the "tea fighting" of the Song Dynasty and developed an elegant tea culture. The rise of the tea boom made tea gradually develop to the high-end, and combined with the Chinese Zen temple tea ceremony, laid the foundation for the formation of the later academy tea ceremony.
Although Japan has been accepting the Zen temple tea ceremony for a long time, there was no substantial intrinsic connection between tea and Zen throughout the period. However, after the Chinese Zen temple tea ceremony was introduced to Japan, it gradually evolved into the Japanese shoin tea ceremony.
Although there is a difference between the Shoin Tea Ceremony and the Kusan Tea Ceremony, the Japanese Tea Ceremony was basically formed during this period, and the procedures of the two gradually developed in two directions in the subsequent development of Chinese tea culture, but they still maintained a connection.
As a representative of the Kuan'an tea ceremony, Zhuguang introduced Zen into the tea ceremony culture for the first time, created the taste of tea Zen, and continued to develop it. Since then, tea culture has ceased to be just a food culture, but a reflection of the intrinsic connection with Zen.
As a result, pearlescent is considered the originator of the Japanese tea ceremony. The pearlescent tea ceremony popularized the tea ceremony of the aristocracy and the tea ceremony held in the literati and samurai class, and was a tea ceremony that tended to be simple, closer to the world and more suitable for the spread of tea culture in Japan.
During the Warring States period, the Japanese tea ceremony led by Sen no Rikyu reached its peak. Social turmoil made the tranquil teahouse a haven for the samurai's soul, and the tea ceremony became a compulsory subject for the samurai.
During these turbulent times, the Japanese tea ceremony continued to evolve, resulting in a unique aesthetic sense and expression. Sen no Rikyu developed a keen interest in the tea ceremony and worked with Toyotomi Hideyoshi for ten years, and the duo left a deep mark on the history of the tea ceremony and laid the foundation for Sen no Rikyu's later development in the tea ceremony.
After Sen no Rikyu became famous, he changed people's traditional concept of "Tang things are beautiful", reformed the samurai tea ceremony, and integrated the concept of Zen Buddhism into it, creating the "Tuo Tea Ceremony".
This change has made the tea ceremony no longer just a simple tea ordering and drinking activity, but a tea ceremony with religious aesthetics and purifying the heart and soul, forming a unique national culture and style, which has had a profound impact on the secular and spiritual life of the Japanese people.
The Japanese tea ceremony is a cultural form that vividly expresses the Japanese nation's emphasis on norms and etiquette. Compared to Chinese tea culture, the development of the Japanese tea ceremony is very different.
During the Tang Dynasty, Chinese tea culture was already very mature, however, the Japanese tea ceremony was still in its infancy. However, over the next few hundred years, the Japanese tea ceremony showed a passion and promotion for tea culture, culminating in the art of tea ceremony, which is unique in the world.
The Japanese nation values norms and etiquette, and has a unique tragic aesthetic. This national identity is even more pronounced in the ancient and modern Japanese hierarchy, and the Japanese nation therefore places special emphasis on norms and compliance.
The Japanese tea ceremony strictly prescribes procedures and movements, which is also an externalization of the Japanese national identity.
The Chinese art of tea originated in ancient times, but there were no specific procedures and action regulations. Lu Yu systematized it, mainly talking about the experience and skills of tea picking, tea making, water selection, water boiling, tea utensils and tea drinking.
In contrast, the Japanese tea ceremony, with its strict venue, house structure, procedures and movement norms, reflects the national characteristics of the Japanese people who value rules. There is also a deep culture of etiquette in the Japanese tea ceremony, which is reflected in speech and demeanor, which is manifested in bowing and greeting people of different statuses.
This stems from the fact that Japanese people are taught to conform to etiquette from an early age. Therefore, the tea ceremony is not only about drinking tea, but also an externalized expression of Japanese national etiquette. The spiritual characteristics of the tea ceremony are the profound and noble culture that is deeply hidden in it.
During the Sen no Rikyu period, the spirit of the Japanese tea ceremony was positioned as "harmony, respect, purity, and silence", and "respect" is the embodiment of the Japanese emphasis on etiquette in the tea ceremony. In contrast, Chinese tea art is relaxed and casual, without specific and rigid procedures, and people can relax and enjoy the beauty of tea in the process of tea tasting.
Japan's history is a glorious epic of eclecticism, innovation, and fusion of foreign cultures. When Japan absorbs foreign culture, it not only accepts it in an all-round way, but also understands and digests it more deeply, and then uses its own wisdom and creativity to perfectly integrate foreign culture with local culture to form a unique and novel cultural style.
The tea ceremony is a vivid microcosm of Japan's absorption and development of foreign cultures. Tea culture, which originated in China, has been skillfully transformed and sublimated by Japan to become a unique cultural phenomenon integrating art, philosophy and etiquette.
With their humble attitude and tireless efforts, the Japanese have taken the tea ceremony to new heights, making it an art form that embodies the national spirit and beliefs. This is not only the respect and inheritance of tea culture, but also the passionate pursuit of the spirit of innovation and integration.