Tea Road, Swim In The Arts: Tea Ceremony Culture and Literati's Aesthetic

• Main Authors: WU, YOU-JEN, 吳宥蓁
• Other Authors: HSIEH, PI-E
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2017
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/4qn8rf

碩士 === 南華大學 === 視覺與媒體藝術學系 === 105 === 　　The essay sets out to conduct a literature review on The Classic of Tea(or Tea Classic) by Chinese writer Lu Yu (733 CE -804 CE). First, through guides and interpretation of The Classic of Tea, the essence of tea ceremony (茶道) is able to be appreciated. Furthermore, this study aims to grasp “the aesthetics of tea arts ”through “ tea liquid in daily life”. This “approach to the truth through tea” immerses people in the depth of tea culture through self-reflection to enter the idea of tea, the so-called “the truth, not very far, lies in the junction of the eyebrows; the destination, not distant, is situated in between the fingers”. 　　Chapter One introduces research motives and background, a brief description of literature review, and information evaluation, in addition to the definition section that includes more accurate translation of terminology, such as “tea ceremony” and “tea ceremony field”. The study methods adopt literature review, discussion and analysis, action research, and interview; among which, interview is designed for the field study of the data that are hard to collect, such as contemporary tea ceremony field and tea ceremony. 　　Chapter Two focuses on the origin and development of tea culture from its initial stage to an overview of the development context in each dynasty. It specifies the function of “tea” that began as an offering during ritual sacrifice, medicinal use, and using as food and finally evolved into characteristic tea drinking culture. 　　Chapter Three moves on to talking about tea savoring, tea recognizing, tea appreciating, and the connection between the pleasure and the aesthetics of tea tasting by the literati. This chapter portrays the ways of tea savoring, tea liquid, and drink ware. It includes boiling tea and sencha of Tang Dynasty; whisking tea and tea competition of Song Dynasty; boiling loosened tea leaves of Ming Dynasty; Gongfu tea of Qing Dynasty. Tea liquid and drink ware are an essential part of tea savoring through which this essay casts a glance at the tea drinking culture, savoring tea of the literati, and the aesthetic pleasure of tea appreciating. 　　Chapter Four explores tea ceremony’s culture and the artistic prospect of Zen tea. In the first section explain dtaw up of the Pure Rules of Baizhang and Zhaozhou Congshen’s “go for tea” that introduced Zen for enlightenment. The next section looks into the etiquette and the spirit of Japanese tea ceremony and talk about the origin of the tea Zen blindlv, and Sen no Rikyu‘s four fundamental qualities, “peace, respect, serene, and seclusion” and the thinking of “quiet simplicity and subdued refinement”. 　　Chapter Five discusses the literati’s tea ceremony and the aesthetic pursuit of contemporary tea arts. By over viewing the aesthetic pursuit of the literati in each era, the essay examines contemporary tea arts culture, including tea ceremony field and tea ceremony. Most part of this discussion is extracted from the interview during field research with contemporary tea masters. The questionnaire includes Taiwan contemporary tea arts and its potential in future development, how to integrate tea arts into the artistic facet of life, and reviewing the past tea ceremonies they have been a part as a reference for future improvement. 　　Chapter Six concludes that tea culture enriches people’s life as well as nurtures profound cultural heritage. It is the manifestation of both the practice of life and aesthetic value. Our life of tea drinking today should be more than merely material satisfaction but an arts-and-crafts event in which we could engage our life to “embody the recreational aspect of tea ceremony and present the loveliness of life”.