Session 19—Mon, Oct 10: Song China ①: Tea practices 1

Topics

❖ Introductory comments
◊ Tea cultivation
◊ Tealeaf crafting
❖ Imperial tribute tea
◊ Extra-country trade

Thoughts—read before class, revisit for tests

From the most general of perspectives, the 300 years or so of the Song dynasty saw many changes in tea at all levels. Among these of particular note the lead role that imperial patronage takes in enhancing, regulating and taxing tea cultivation and this, together with weakened Buddhist institutions, in some ways would seem to shift the focus from religious institutions to government ones. However, from our perspective, which is the regional developments of tea culture, tea as it is being developed within Buddhist institutions is the tea that Japanese visiting monks will encounter and learn and bring back to Japan in the late 1100s. Nevertheless, imperial patronage stimulates tealeaf crafting (in particular the imperial love for white tea, in a "true" powdered form—the powdered tea that will be the basis for the Japanese tea ceremony), tea cake making (smaller, more beauitful, with emboss designs an area of artistic competition), and tea contests (for selection as imperial tribute tea and for entertainment—imperial tribute tea competitions also stimulate teaware design including striking black ware meant to show off beauitfully the white froth of competition tea). The Jianzhou region of Fujian province becomes the preeminent tea-producing area. All imperial tributes teas are located somewhere in Fujian though tea is being produced in nearly all provinces of China by this time.

Widespread production and consumption of tea supports the full development of teahouses and it is in conjunction, in part, with the entertainment provided at these houses that important developments in Chinese literature and theater occur.

Required—to be completed for today's session

✓ Nothing.

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