中英茶文化差异

精品文档AcknowledgementsI am very grateful to my supervisor Ms.Zhang who gave me encouragement, careful guidance and helpful advice to me throughout the writing of this thesis. It is she that not only gave me many valuable advices but also let me know how to write this topic. Whats more, I should express my gratitude to Ms. Zhang again for her insightful advice on my choice of the topic and valuable comments on my thesis. I am also indebted to my other teachers who had given me their sincere help and guidance and to my classmates who had given me their constant encouragement to me in the course of my studies. Of course, I also thank our school library which provides me with so many useful reference books and collected data. And my last special thanks would go to my dearest families. When I make a success, they are more excited than me, and support me to do better. Even though I failed, instead of blaming, they always share sorrow with me, an encourage me not to give up. In a word, the support from these people is always my momentum during my university study years even all the way. AbstractTea is one special kind of drink without alcohol that originates from China, and it is usually used as antidote. Then people found it was good for health to drink tea, and could refresh oneself, making people calm down. Thus tea has become more popular gradually and more and more people are fond of drinking tea every day. When it comes to Chinese Tea, it can be traced back to ancient times and was especially flourished in the Tang Dynasty and the Song Dynasty. We can say that the events about tea all around world are mostly and basically spread out from China. Tea was initially introduced to Europe and was all the rage in Britain in 17 century. Tea plays more and more important role of British in their daily life. When the general tea culture was combined with the culture in Britain, a new unique British type of tea culture formed, for example, the afternoon tea. There are some similarities of tea cultures between China and Britain, such as tea to guests, tea poets who like writing poems connected closely with tea. And there are also many idioms about tea can be found in both countries. Of course, there are still many different aspects owing to the quite different cultures in East and West. For example, the difference of teas development of history; especially the customs of drinking tea is totally different. In fact, the more important reasons that lead to these two distinctive tea cultures are different points of value and world outlook of two nations. Chinese people who respect and rely on nature think that man is an integral part of nature. We human beings should get along with nature harmoniously. The British who advocate and emphasize individualism hold that human beings are independent, and they attempt to conquer the nature while Chinese people emphasize the importance of collectivity; they always believe collective benefits outweigh the personal interest which opposites to the view of British people who emphasize personal interest than collective benefits. On the basis of analyzing the history and customs this thesis just makes a brief study on the similarities and dissimilarities in Chinese and British tea culture.Key Words: Tea Culture; China and Britain; Comparison; Afternoon Tea摘要茶是一种不含酒精的饮料，起源于中国，它通常被用作解毒剂。后来人们发现它是一种健康的饮品具有使人神清气爽的功效。随着人们喝茶的日趋普遍，茶成了每天的必需品。在民间也相应地出现很多谚语来形容茶的重要性，如茶被形容为“一日不可无茶”，“开门七件事：柴、米、油、盐、酱、醋、茶”。中国的茶叶可以追溯到古代，特别是在唐、宋时期达到鼎盛。此外，据说世界各地关于茶的主要事件都基本上是从中国传出去的。17世纪，茶传入欧洲并在英国风靡起来，在人们的生活中扮演越来越重要的角色。这种舶来品与当地文化的融合形成了一种新的以下午茶为代表的独特英式茶文化。中国与英国作为饮茶大国都有久远而浓厚的饮茶文化，有很多的相似之处，比如都会以茶代客,诗人都喜欢写关于茶的诗词，而且两个国家都有很多与茶相关的谚语。当然，茶文化在中国和英国也存在有着差异。比如，其历史渊源的不同，特别是饮茶习俗，俩国是完全不同的。而导致这些差异的根本原因是其渗透在各自茶文化中的世界观和价值观不同。中国人认为天人合一，自然是不可战胜的，人类要按客观规律办事，要与自然和谐相处。英国人则提倡个体，认为人是独立的，人要勇于征服自然。本论文在研究中、英茶的历史渊源、饮茶习俗、习惯等方面的基础上，展开对中英茶文化差异的探讨。关键词：茶文化；中英；对比；下午茶Contents1.Introduction12.Similarities in Chinese and British Tea Cultures22.1 Tea to Guests22.2 Poets and Tea32.3 Idioms about Tea32.4 The Elegance of Tea43.The Dissimilarities of Chinese and British Tea Cultures53.1 The Different Histories53.1.1 Chinese Tea History53.1.2 British Tea History73.2 Different Customs83.2.1 Chinese Tea Customs83.2.2 British Tea Customs93.3 The Ways People Drink Tea103.3.1 Chinese Way103.3.2 British Way103.4 Different Spirit Pursuits When Drinking Tea103.4.1 Chinese Spirit Pursuits103.4.2 British Spirit Pursuits114.Integration of Tea Culture in China and Britain115.Conclusion12Bibliography1419欢迎下载19欢迎下载。精品文档Exploring the Differences of Tea Culture between China and Britain1. IntroductionAt present, the cultural communication among countries has become more popular and frequent. We have to say it is the age that culture fiercely agitates each other; all countries have to face the challenge brought about by diversified and globalized society, the conflict and friction between the national traditional cultures and modernization, as well. People like to discuss which one is much better. To be honest, people should judge on their own culture objectively, and view culture of other countries fairly in perspective. People need absorbing others cultural merits to remedy and update defects of their culture while retaining own culture feature. China, as is known to all, is the birthplace of tea and Britain is also considered as another country of drinking tea. Both of them are two big countries that have long history and strong cultural base. However, their respective cultures are quite different. This paper will just show a tiny part of difference between Chinese and British cultures by comparing the tea cultures.Tea is a kind of shrub with so fragrant white flowers and evergreen leaves. The dried leaves of this plant which are plucked in different stages of growth and prepared by various processes can be used to make a hot beverage. According to historical records and some legend, tea has been known in China since about 2700B.C.personally, I am so proud that It is Chinese who earliest discover and use tea.As the homeland of tea, China has long history, extensive and profound tea culture .In China, tea is not merely one kind of drink but it a symbol of culture that refers to the Humanities and it is always considered as a mysterious but harmonious combination; Furthermore it is a carrier of tea culture by which spread out various kinds of culture. In fact tea culture is organic integration of tea and culture, which include and reflect a certain period of material civilization and spiritual civilization in China. Also it is invigorating as well as pacifying. Its character is flexible in different environments. For example, a different tea culture would be formed only if tea goes in a different direction. It also represents a state of peace - peace of mind. Or it is regarded as a symbol of not seeking fame and wealth of tranquility, of recovering to the simple and coming to the nature. At present, tea culture is a very typical and important carrier of leisure culture for Chinese. When it is introduced to Britain with popularity, tea combined with native culture has gradually formed a new unique tea culture. Although Britain is not a country to product tea just like China, the British are absolutely and most definitely true the second largest per capita tea consumers in the world, with each person consuming on average 2.1 kg per year.（Evans, 2000: 3) In particular, the ways to drink tea of them are so popular among people all around the world even include Chinese. There are similarities and difference between western and eastern tea culture because of its own economic and traditional cultural background .This article will do make effort to explore a comparative study on tea culture between China and Britain. First, I prepare to discuss the similarities that are closely followed by describing or illustrating the differences caused by the dissimilarities related to development of history and customs. Then, a set of important conclusions that is derived from the whole paper will be made.2. Similarities in Chinese and British Tea CulturesThere is a long history of tea in both China and Britain. On the one hand, tea cultures in China and Britain are quite different owing to their different native cultures in West and East. On the other hand, when tea acts as a kind of beverages there still exist something in common.2.1 Tea to GuestsChina is a country with a time-honored civilization and a land of ceremony and decorum. In China, tea is always severed hospitality to show their kindness and high respect to the guests when guests visit to their homes .Most of time the hosts try to prepare better tea ,especially when some more important or upper class come. It seems to be necessary to welcome guests with tea. Moreover, tea has always been rooted in peoples heart as a symbol of civilization that stands for thousands of years of Chinese great fame - “礼仪之邦. So wont be so surprised when you get into an eatery and see the waiter make a cup of tea to the guest hospitality. In Britain, its also common to receive guests with tea. Lets take the Early Morning Tea as example. It would be a best choice to treat the guest by making a cup of tea because it can firstly wake him up and help him keep more energetic. Whats more, it also shows the great care of host. But, Afternoon Tea is served together with dessert to treat the guests. There is no doubt that China and Britain share the same communicative functions of tea.2.2 Poets and TeaIn China, tea plays a special role that is closely related to literatus even from ancient time. In their opinion drinking tea or exactly savoring tea is one kind of elegant activities like writing, drawing and so on. Tea-drinking sometimes gives them inspiration and helps them to create classic works which describe tea and relationship between peoples lives and tea. In Britain, poets are interested in writing some works about tea as well as those Chinese poets. Famous poets like W.N. Cowper, Alexander Pope, and B.P. Shelley write some works about tea. For example, “The Rolliad” (1785) written by British Liberals and several sentences are written as follows: “What tongue can tell, the various kinds of tea? Of black and green, Of Hyson and Bohear; With Singlo, Congou, Pekoe and Souchong, Cows lip the fragrant, Gun powder the strong. ” (It described the character of tea, and did some compares). And one of Alexander Popes long satire poems named “The Rape of the Lock” (1712) like this: “Here thou, great Anne! Whom three realms obey, dost sometimes counsel take, and sometimes tea.”(Its a kind of satire)2.3 Idioms about TeaIn China, we can find many idioms connected with tea, such as “one of seven daily necessities, the others being firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar”, “A family cant have no tea one day”, which emphasis the importance of tea in peoples daily life as necessaries. Meanwhile, in Britain many idioms about tea are known to people as well .For example: not quite my cup of tea refers to somebody doesnt like the one offered very much. By contrast, someones cup of tea means something that someone cares about or is fond of. Besides, “As useful as a chocolate teapot” that refers to something is suitable for decorative for decorative purpose but unsuitable for utility”. “Not for all the tea in China” means I would do nothing no matter how much benefit can be given.” And the phrase “Tea and sympathy” means the comfort and sympathy for. “For all the tea in China” leaves me a deep impression that means a great asset. This idiom occurs in late 19th century when tea was considered very precious, most tea of western countries is imported from other countries and China was the words greatest tea producer so “all the tea in China” is indeed a huge wealth. Furthermore, another example is a tea hound which is interesting. It means someone who likes to initiate a conversation with beauties on the balls, tea parties and other social occasions. The sentence “Jack is mature enough; I think he is not a tea hound any longer.” means Jack is no longer a playboy. Last but not least example, a tempest in a teapot or a storm in a tea cup means “make a mountain out of a molehill” or “ make a big fuss over a minor issue. For example, the whole affair is just a tempest in a teapot, in a couple of months everyone will have forgotten about it. The sentence means the thing is so common that people should not make much fuss about trifles.2.4 The Elegance of TeaIn fact, tea drinking and tea tasting are different in China. Drinking tea does mainly work teas ability to quench their thirst. Diversely, tea tasting has cultural meaning that stresses color, fragrance, taste. When people taste tea they pay great attention to the quality of tea wares and they like to drink slowly and savor every drop. Subsequently, a special tea culture has become formed. When tasting tea it requires that Tea and tea wares should match with surrounding elements such as breeze, bright moon, pines, bamboo, plums and snow which show the ultimate goal pursued by Chinese: the harmonious unity of human beings with nature. The traditional Confucian theory believes that personal character can be compared to tea that is sober, sensible and gentle. Tea can make people feel stimulating, exciting in a way. The fragrance of tea is not aggressive but, is pleasant, comforting and lasting. Its said a friendship between gentlemen is also like a cup of tea. You will feel a strong sense of peace when you hold a cup of tea in hand, enjoying the green leaves in a white porcelain cup. Gradually, other earthly concerns such fame, wealth are far away. Tea is really the symbol of elegance.In Britain, people also pursue and worship elegance while drinking tea. For example, during afternoon tea, the best room and porcelain would be prepared by the hostess to treat the guests warmly. They also offer some delicious and exquisite snacks to entertain guests. Whats more both men and women should be meticulously dressed. Men guests often wear tailcoat and women used to wear robe in Victoria age but today wear formal Western style clothes. Of course it is necessary for the hostess to wear formal dress. We can see the elegance becomes visible in all those details. In Britains history, tea was eaten frequently in imperial palace, being started from upper class firstly , then became more popular among the common people, so obviously it is natural that the tea culture has elegance of the noble.3. The Dissimilarities of Chinese and British Tea CulturesTea has become sought-after by more and more people which act as a very important role in both Chinese and British culture. However, a distinction should be made between tea cultures in China and Britain because cultural background in west and east are quite different.3.1 The Different Histories3.1.1 Chinese Tea History As a national drink, Chinese tea has enjoyed a very long history that even can be tracked back to about 3000 thousand years ago. In around 2737 BC tea was firstly discovered. According to one ancient record, it is the legendary emperor Shennong who is considered as inventor of Chinese medicine and agriculture liked drinking boiling water very much. Once, on the trip to a distant place, he and his servants had a rest and drunk some water just boiled when a few leaves fall into his water from a nearby tree. And then, his bowl of water has changed the color miraculously. The emperor was pleasantly surprised by its flavor after taking a sip of the brew. Originally, tea is just treated as herbs as medicine did. There is a story about Shengnong tasting a hundred varieties of herbs mentioned in Luyus famous work titled Cha Jing that tells Shengnong would try to chew different kinds of leaves, stems of even poisonous plant to find out suitable and useful herbs. Tea is used to counteract the poison if he is unlucky to be poisonous during the process of tasting, as is mentioned in Lu Yus famous early work on the subject, Cha Jing. A similar Chinese legend goes that the god of agriculture would chew the leaves, stems, and roots of various plants to discover medicinal herbs. If he consumed a poisonous plant, he would chew tea leaves to counteract the poison. In Tang Dynasty, another legend odd spread out widely. It tells about the founder of Chan Buddhism, Bodhidharma, was sunk in sleep for nine years after sincere meditating in front of a wall which made him so regretful and disgust that he cut off his eyelids decisively. How gruesome it is that the eyelids fell to the ground and took root, finally growing into tea bushes unexpectedly. Probably, there is no historical basis at all but it is true that tea has played an important and significant role in Chinese culture for centuries whether it acts as a beverage, an herb, and a symbol of ones social status. Naturally, the theories of its origin are bound up with court and religion in essence. In China, people have consumed tea for thousands of years and it is said that China has the earliest records of tea consumption. Laozi (ca. 600-517 BC), one of excellent Chinese philosophers who described tea as the froth of the liquid jade and thought it was a necessity to the elixir of life is closely connected with tea. It is told that master Lao was so disappointed by moral degeneracy, believing that the dynasty would come to the end soon, therefore, he decided to leave for another land. On the road, he met and was offered tea by a customs inspector called Yin Hsi whom he took encouragement from in his study. This directly led to the appearance of his well known Dao De Jing, a collection of Laozis famous sayings. Latter, Wang Bao wrote a book referring to some information about buying and preparing tea in59