Cultural Development Of Ancient China

New agricultural techniques, porcelain, metallurgy, printing, and naval technology were few of the technological elements that reinforced the established features of social order. New agricultural techniques helped in the expand of their agricultural potential, the dynasties gained reputation from porcelain technology which moderately diffused to other societies producing porcelain in large quantities, metallurgical techniques as well diffused to lands beyond China, printing produced texts quickly and popular works appeared in huge quantities, and naval technology included of the magnetic compass which soon became common for mariners to use. Population growth, patriarchal social structures, and gunpowder were technological elements reinforcing established features of political order. Population growth reflected the capacity of economy and distribution of food, patriarchal social structures included of concern to preserve family fortunes and foot binding, and gunpowder was an element used for military effectiveness. These aspects provided a fundamental change in traditions because they changed their whole concepts of how to use goods as in previous Chinese eras.

When mediocre tea leaves meet the best water, tea became the best; however, mediocre water with the best tea leaves only results in mediocre tea.” Above quotations are some representative examples of describing the relationship between water and tea. They have shown that, the evaluation of tea as a drink always goes along with the quality of water during the late-Ming period. Tracing back to the Tang Dynasty, drinking water has already played an important role in tea drinking; however, the understandings of water, including the taste of water and the relationship between water and tea were much simpler, because the flavor of water had not been stressed by tea experts yet. When Lu Yu (733-804?), known as the Sage of Tea, was writing The Classic of Tea in 760s, he had already noticed the importance of the quality of water in tea drinking. In the fifth chapter of this classic, he had categorized drinking water into three types and ranked them by their connections with tea.

During the earlier Northern and Southern dynasties (420–589), and perhaps even earlier, the drinking of tea (Camellia sinensis) became popular in southern China. Tea was viewed then as a beverage of tasteful pleasure and with pharmacological purpose as well.[202] During the Tang dynasty, tea became synonymous with everything sophisticated in society. The poet Lu Tong (790–835) devoted most of his poetry to his love of tea. The 8th-century author Lu Yu (known as the Sage of Tea)

Coffee and tea have been around for many centuries. Coffee was discovered in the land of Abyssinia or also known as Ethiopia (Pendergrast, 2001). It became one of the many sources to create ideas, a common drink for work or school, and created problems. It is common to buy coffee now from Starbucks, Philz Coffee, or brewing it ourselves. Coffee is use to start out our day and keep us awake. Since discovering coffee, Americans consume it everyday. On the other hand, not only is coffee very popular drink but so is drinking Tea. The discovery of tea is very diverse, it goes through many histories and cultural stories. The history of it started out when the British made tea their representing drink, believing no one else can have it (Mair &

According to legend, tea originated in China in 2737 B.C. with Emperor Shen Nung, who observed that those who boiled their water before drinking it were bestowed with good health. One day he was boiling water when a gust of wind blew leaves from a tea tree into his pot. He was very pleased with the drinks aroma and taste, and thought the drink to be sent from heaven. Shortly after tea was invented, it found its way to Japan and spread throughout Asia (2). Tea did not make its way to the United States and Europe until about 1650, when it was brought over by the Dutch. At first, tea was only available to the rich and royalty because it was so expensive. Tea leaves were brought to England

Iriye (2012) maintains that the journey of globalisation in China is one that has been a very gradual process, having history that can be traced to several centuries back (p. 83). The slow and steady nature with which China has evolved into what can now be termed as a globalised country is largely attributed to China’s quest to remain inward-looking for a very long time. In most historical accounts, the evolution of China from an inward-looking country to an international stage player who has a lot of influence on other countries and take influence from others have been divided into five major era. These are early dynasties, modern China in the 20th century, modern China in the 21st century, economic shifts in China, and cultural shifts in China (Guo, 1999, p. 344; Lee, 2009, p. p.211; Adshead, 2000, p. 54). Whenever these contexts of evolutionary discussions are done, they are done with a broader overview of China’s inward-looking motive. That is, across each of the major five era, China has exhibited some form of resistance to cultural infiltration as a way of strictly being concerned with its own culture and economy. In the sections that follow, the five evolutionary era are given further exploration by looking at some facts and a discussion of these facts from a broader context of political science literature.

This caused the Japanese monks to learn on how to drink tea which was utilized as a medicinal beverage, so as to remain alert while meditation. Hence, tea was highly consumed by the Buddhist priest to awaken them and to ease them of their physical fatigue (388). De Bary points that during the 12th-13th centuries, resurgence occurred with tea when Buddhist priest returned to Japan after their studies. They came back with tea seeds and planted them in numerous areas of the country. Japanese priest, Eisai and pioneer of the Rinzai sect of Zen Buddhism is particularly known for introducing tea seeds which are still grown until today. Eisai also returned with unfermented, powdered green tea to Japan (known as matcha in Japanese). This caused Eisai to put in writing the first book on tea and underline on his experience, beliefs, as well as the virtue of drinking tea. Tea was prepared by dipping fermented leaves in hot water. Tea drinking extended across Japan and was not only drunk by priest and religious orders, but also by the ordinary people. In the early medieval age, tea was consumed as a beverage for all classes in Japan. Tea drinking was embraced by the Japanese nobility, samurai, and commoners. By the late 14th century, tea was used at the social events of the basara daimyo, to review competitions (tocha). This special tea drinking game was formulated by the wealthy warrior classes. In the 15th century, drinking tea was taken into serious

The roots of tea settled in Japan during 1191, marking the beginnings of Japanese tea ceremonies and architecture. The architecture of teahouses in Japan bloomed slowly, with the birth of tea masters and disciples. The architects of these spaces were credited with the art of tea before the analysis and creations of rooms to share this art. Many of these tea rooms had the same tea master, architect, and builder. As such, this was the case with the Tai-an designed by the legendary tea master Sen no Rikyu (1522-91) in 1582, and the Shoko-ken designed by Sen no Rikyu’s disciple Hosokawa Tadaoki

Many cultures still use tea for medicinal and therapeutic uses. Every country has it’s own way of enjoying tea and brewing it. No matter how an individual enjoys their cup, “tea is the universal drink of countless millions,” all thanks to Ancient China (Saberi, 2010).

As Japanese Tea Ceremony is an important part of Japanese food and culture, drinking tea was initially popular in China since the fourth century. From history, tea plants did not grow in Japan initially until the first seeds were brought from China during the Tang Dynasty (China 618-907). During this period, the two countries were at their prime as they were experiencing growing relationships and cultural exchanges between each other. In China, tea was esteemed for its medicinal value and represented an elegant drink.

In 1191, the famous Zen monk Eisai brought back tea seeds to Kyoto. Eisai started to introduce green tea in Japan. He popularized the

Green tea use has been recorded Chinese culture since the third century B.C. One story suggests that Shen Nung, a scholar and herbalist, was responsible for making the first tea accidently while boiling water under a tea tree. The story goes to say that the wind blew some of the leaves into the boiling water which flavoring the water from the leaves. Later there is documentation of green tea being used in the third century A.D. to aid in alertness and to resolve depression, digestive, and nervous difficulties. The Tang Dynasty of A.D. 618-906 is when steaming of the leaves became a custom. During this period of time ceremonies for making and consuming tea were created.

Drinking tea has been a long time tradition in many countries for example China, Japan, India or England. In Japan, tea is served sophisticated like a form of art. Tea is believed to be the best medicine, a secret for the longevity as stated by Eisai, the founder of Japanese Rinzai School of Zen Buddhism and also the person who brought powdered tea and tea seed from China to Japan .The Japanese tea ceremony which is called Chanoyu was popular among wealthy class and military as way to socialize and show their high status in society (Reider, 2012). However, in the present, tea is widely known and become one of the most favourite beverage throughout the world among all ages, genders or classes in society.

Consumed as a beverage for the past two to three thousand years in southeast China, tea has an extensive past (Eden 1). The first Chinese tea leaves were believed to be brewed in open pans, however during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 AD) it was discovered steeping the leaves in hot water produced the most flavorful drink (Tillberg). Since the heat of the water was an essential component to producing a desirable beverage, a lidded vessel was created to contain the heat during the steeping process. This vessel evolved into the teapot most of us are familiar with today.

Tea is an indispensable element in both Chinese and British cultures, but due to the cultural and other historical reasons, it is hard to find Chinese tea here in the UK market. Therefore, the author decided to choose ‘The possibility to promote Chinese tea here in the UK’ as the dissertation topic.