茶由心生

茶由心生

琴棋書畫，詩酒花茶。茶不僅是中國人生活之必需品，更代表了一種修身養性、天人合一的東方文化理念。小小一杯清茶，在茶藝師手里，被賦予了靈魂。

Chinese high culture can be summed up as: Zither, chess, calligraphy, painting, poetry, wine, flowers, and tea. Tea is considered an essential element of the Chinese lifestyle. The practice of drinking the aromatic beverage represents a cultural philosophy that emphasizes personal perfection and unity between the individual and nature. A tea master and his/her practice can impart cultural essences to a simple cup of tea.

There is a Chinese folk saying that goes: The seven essential elements of any household: Fuel, rice, oil, salt, soy paste, vinegar, and tea. This expression emphasizes the importance of tea throughout China.

It was said that the history of Chinese tea drinking began during the reign of the legendary sage king Shennong. Tea originally served as an appetizer and a beverage for staving off thirst. Later on, the Chinese people integrated the act of drinking tea with ritual, health, and cultural elements. The culture of Chadao (the way of drinking tea) reached its peak of development and popularity in the Tang Dynasty. Chayi (the art of drinking tea), the medium for the practice of Chadao, also emerged during this time.

The Han Chinese practice of tea drinking focuses on Pin (to imbibe). The ritual of preparing and offering tea is an integral part of a host entertaining a friend who has travelled a long way. Traditional procedures describe every single act and gesture with great detail, and its proper practice symbolizes a most warm welcome and respect offered to the guest. Brewing tea is a very simple act: place the tealeaves into a cup and pour some hot water over it. Chayi, however, brings it to another level of sophistication. It must begin with wenbei (warming of the cup) and wenxiang (sampling the aroma). A dozen steps follows suit from pouring hot water to offering the tea to the guest. With a staggering 21 steps, Chaoshan Kungfu Tea is known as the most complicated Chayi procedure.

The simple act of tea drinking is therefore given cultural context and properties through this art.

Ling Jielin is a professional tea master and tea appraiser, and has studied the art for over 10 years. All her gestures, routines, and description of the tea ritual allow guests to appreciate the melodious elegance offered by Eastern cultures.

Ling emphasized that Chayi practitioners must be familiar with the means by which different categories of tea were prepared as well as the practice of Chinese traditional culture in order to attain perfect integration of form and spirit required by Chadao.“When treating guests, the tea master would refer to the season as well as the age of the guests toselect a suitable tea,” she said.

According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, the selection of tea must correspond to the season.

Drinking different teas at different seasons will provide a variety of health effects: spring is perfect for fl oral teas to keep out fevers and generate the Yang spirit. Lucha (green tea) should be drunk in summer to refresh the body and expunge the element of fi re from the body. Qingcha (oolong tea) should be drunk during autumn to prevent dehydration and improve appetite. Hongcha (black tea) should be taken during winter to generate heat and protect the stomach.

A skilled tea master must know the exact amount of water to be poured and how long one has to wait for boiling water to cool down to 80 degrees Celsius to create the perfect tea liquor. They also must exercise precision and know exactly how much tea they have acquired in a single pinch.

The fi rst step of tea brewing is wenbei (cup warming). Boiling water is fi rst poured over the teapot and cups for rinsing. This is then followed by wenxiang (sampling the aroma) where the tealeaves are placed in the warmed teapot to bring out its gentle fragrance. After wenxiang, the tea master shall pour boiling water into the teapot and let it sit for a while. The resulting tea liquor shall then be poured into a bowl used to dispense tea into individual cups, which are fi nally served to the guests.

“Yingde black tea does not require the step of washing and generates a perfect tea liquor within fi ve to eight seconds after pouring. To pin (imbibe) the tea, one must fi rst observe the color of the liquor and appreciate its aroma before drinking.,”described Master Ling.

Every step of Chayi was given enigmatic yet enchanting names such as: the phoenix nods thrice, reversing the heavens and earth, transferring the jade liquor, and water fl owing from the peaks. All these names illustrate how the entire universe and its ecologies can be condensed into a seemingly simple cup of tea.

溫杯Cup warming

投茶Placing tea leaves

沖泡Pouring water

出湯Generating tea liquor

分茶Dispensing the tea

奉茶Serving the tea

Ling Jielin, senior tea master and tea appraiser.凌結林，高級茶藝師、國家高級評茶師。

中國有句俗語——開門七件事：柴米油鹽醬醋茶——可見茶在這個國度的重要意義。

據說，中國人飲茶的歷史始于神農時代，最初只為生津止渴。后來，中國人將禮儀、養生、文化注入飲茶當中。在唐朝，茶道文化開始大行其道。茶藝，作為茶道的載體，也在此時興起。

漢族人飲茶，講究一個“品”字，有朋自遠方來，主家沏茶、敬茶的禮儀必不可少，沏茶、敬茶從手勢到程序都有一定的規矩，以此表現對客人的歡迎與尊重。

泡茶本是頗為簡單的行為：放茶葉、倒熱水，但茶藝卻將其復雜化，從溫杯、聞香，到沖泡、奉茶，往往需要十多道程序。最繁瑣的潮汕功夫茶甚至前后有21道程序。

飲茶這一行為習慣由此被賦予了文化內涵。

凌結林是高級茶藝師、國家高級評茶師，從小在茶鄉長大，學習茶藝有近10年的歷史。茶席前，其舉手投足、談吐舉止都無不讓人領略到東方文化的典雅韻味。

凌結林介紹說，學習茶藝，既要對不同茶類的制作工藝有所了解，又要學習中國傳統文化禮儀，這樣才能達到形神結合的茶道文化要求?！懊鎸腿藭r，茶藝師會根據季節以及客人的年齡等選擇適合的茶葉沖泡?！?從中醫養生角度講，飲茶分季節。不同季節，喝不同的茶，起不同功效：春飲花茶，驅寒邪，生陽氣；夏飲綠茶，清熱去火；秋用青茶，清燥生津；冬品紅茶，生熱養胃。

一位好的茶藝師，不僅要知道注水后多久出茶湯，知道沸水多久后能降到80度，而且手感極準，取一小撮茶葉便知道是幾克。

泡茶第一步便是溫杯，即用沸水將蓋碗、茶杯等沖洗一番，隨后便是賞茶聞香，將茶葉放入溫熱的蓋碗，使其香氣四溢。聞香后，茶藝師將沸水注入蓋碗沖泡茶葉，一定時間后，將蓋碗的茶湯倒入茶盅，由茶盅再倒入各個茶杯，分給每位客人。

“品英德紅茶，沖泡前無須洗茶，注水后5—8秒就出茶湯，品茶時一看茶湯，二聞茶香，之后便可入口品茶。”凌結林說。

在這一系列的沖泡過程中，幾乎每一道程序都有個耐人尋味的名頭：鳳凰三點頭、乾坤倒轉、玉液移壺、高山流水……仿佛天地萬物此刻都交匯在這一杯一茶中。

TEA FROM THE HEART

Text by Ge Rufeng Photos by Zeng Jian