中國茶文化：泡好一壺茶，從了解茶文化開始

Chinese tea culture has a long history.
中國的茶文化有著悠久的歷史
Chinese people enjoy drinking tea.
中國人喜歡喝茶
Drinking tea is a tradition for the Chinese.
喝茶是中國人的一種傳統


中國茶文化起源:


Originally tea was used as a medicine instead of a drink. It was said that Shennong，the legendary ruler in ancient China，once tasted a lot of plants and was poisoned many times. It was tea that helped him get rid of the poisoning effect. Later the ancient Chinese got to know more and more about tea，and instead of being regarded as a medicine, it became a drink.
最初茶被用作藥物而不是飲品。傳說，古代中國神話中的統治者神農曾嘗遍百草，並因此多次中毒。正是茶幫助他消除了中毒的影響。

So originally, tea was only used as medicine and well-renowned for its medicinal properties. Aside from this sometimes tea was used for cooking.
因此，最初，茶只被用作藥物，並因其藥用價值而聞名。除此以外，有時茶還被用於烹飪。

Before tea drinking became part of the community, tea drinking was a general practice mostly undertaken by Buddhist monks. Some of the more famous teas are grown by monks in the mountain areas around monasteries.
在飲茶成為社會的一部分之前，飲茶幾乎只在佛教僧侶見比較普遍。一些比較有名的茶葉是由寺院周圍山區的僧人種植的。

The starting point of this habitual tea drinking came with the publication of 「The Classic of Tea」 by the Tang dynasty writer Lu Yu. This book tied tea-drinking with Buddhist thought, which greatly influenced the highly spiritual Chinese culture at that time.
這種飲茶習慣的起點是唐朝作家陸羽出版的《茶經》。這本書將飲茶與佛教思想聯系起來，極大地影響了當時高度精神化的中國文化。

As such eventually tea became a part of the Chinese daily routine and of occasions – and thereby truly embedded as part of the overall Chinese culture.
因此，茶最終成為中國人日常生活和場合的一部分，從而真正成為整個中國文化的一部分。


中國茶文化
Tea Culture of China

01.識茶具/The Tea Set
茶具，也稱茶器，是茶文化的重要載體。主要茶具有：kettle(水壺), covered bowl(蓋碗), teapot(茶壺), tea pad(茶墊), tea spoon(茶勺), lid saucer(蓋置), tea clip(茶夾),tea cup(茶杯), cup saucer(杯托), tea holder(茶荷), tea basin(茶盂), fair cup(公道杯), ea canister(茶罐), tea towel(茶巾), tea towel tray(茶巾盤), tea serving tray(奉茶盤), tea pitcher(茶蠱)等。
其實茶具起名也充滿哲學內涵。如蓋碗，也稱三才杯，蓋為天，托為地，碗為人，寓意天地人三才合一。公道杯，則提醒人們為人處事，要講求公道，知足戒貪。
So ,can you talk about all the tea set? Have a try!



02.識茶葉/Six Kinds of Tea Leaves

There are six kinds of tea leaves. There are green tea(綠茶), yellow tea(黃茶), white tea(白茶), oolong tea,(烏龍茶/青茶), black tea(紅茶) and dark tea(黑茶).
So, which one do you like?

03學茶禮/Etiquette of Tea Culture

茶道禮儀，也是茶文化的核心與靈魂，體現茶人修身養性的生活方式。我們一起來學習幾個重要的茶道禮儀吧。

1，清潔茶具/ Clean the tea set
泡茶前，先用開水燙茶具，幹凈衛生，去除杯上異味，有利於醒茶。
We should clean the tea set with hot water before we make tea.


2，備茶/Prepare the tea
尊重客人，根據客人的喜好挑選茶葉，按客人習慣把握茶水濃淡。
When we prepare tea, we should ask the guests what kind of tea they prefer and the taste of the guests, strong tea or weak tea.

3，取茶/Take tea
取茶時，不要用手直接抓取茶葉，用茶勺或直接抖進茶壺里。
Do not grab tea leaves directly by hand. Use a tea spoon or shake them directly into the teapot.

4，泡茶/Make tea
揭開茶壺蓋，將水環壺上壺蓋口沿壺邊沖入，避免直沖壺心。
Open the lid of the teapot and flush the lid opening on the water ring pot along the edge of the pot to avoid directly flushing the pot core.

5，出湯/Out of soup
將泡好的茶水倒入公道杯中，出湯需要低避免泡沫四起，快，保持茶的熱。
Pour the tea into a reasonable cup. The soup should be low to avoid foam. It should be fast to keep the tea hot.

6，倒茶/Pour tea
給客人倒茶時，茶倒七分滿，中醫留下三分表情意。倒太滿，不方便端給客人，還易燙手。
Don't overfill your tea. You'd better fill your tea seven cents full. Pour too full is not convenient for guests to carry the cup, and it』s easy to burn hands.

7，端茶/Giving tea to guests
給客人遞茶時註意拿杯子的位置，不要用手觸碰杯口，右手拇指和食指端著茶杯邊沿，中指護著茶底，無名指和小指收緊，不能指向別人，以示尊重。
When giving tea to guests, you should pay attention to the position of the cup.
The thumb and index finger of the right hand are holding the edge of the tea cup, the middle finger is protecting the bottom of the tea, the ring finger and little finger are tightened, and cannot point to others to show respect.


8，添加茶水/Add tea water
在喝茶過程中要及時添杯，通常等客人喝過幾口後就要主動續杯，不要讓客人空杯。添茶時，先客人，後自己。
Remember to add tea water to the guests. Don't let guests' teacups space out. And when adding tea, guest first.