We held our first traditional Chinese Tea Ceremony in November 2017 which was accompanied by a separate calligraphy workshop hosted by our Chinese Tea Master.
Pictures from the event can be found here Tea Ceremony web pics [PDF 2,030KB]
Chinese Black Tea’s European Journey
Three Confucius Institutes in the UK and France Cooperated in Chinese Tea Cultural Communication
On 21st to 25th November, the audience in London and France had a great time enjoying the feast of Chinese calligraphy and tea at the Confucius Institutes at Queen Mary University of London, Université Paris Nanterre and Université de Lorraine which was presented by the Lapsang Industry, a Chinese black tea enterprise with a legacy of 449-year tea production.
The long-standing Chinese Calligraphy is one of the best representation of Chinese thousands of years’ history, every stroke contains Chinese culture’s essence. This exhibition took calligraphy fans wander in the paradise of brush and ink, not only echoed the theme of Tea but also wrote a chapter of China-UK friendship. Chinese and British people’s hearts get closer in this calligraphy cultural communication.
Lapsang Industry brought 30 pieces of calligraphy works which are written by 30 excellent calligraphers in China for the exhibition. All sorts of calligraphy works were hung up high attracting many passer’s eyes and were highly praised, book aroma traveled around.
In the calligraphy experience, Yuwei Wang, vice secretary-general of Lapsang Painting and Calligraphy Institute, took people to experience the charm of Chinese calligraphy. The topic was set as “Tea” and “China-UK Friendship”, Yuwei Wang led audience appreciating and learning Chinese calligraphy in the aspect of different types of script for a more multiple perspective. One stroke by one stroke, every friend felt the complicate changes of Chinese characters and the unique fascination of Chinese calligraphy.
Sailin Zhang, CEO of Lapsang Industry made greatly vivid explanation of Chinese tea’s history and black tea’s origin under the lectures on “Chinese Tea Culture and Black Tea”. It was so fascinating that it seems people were brought to the real tea garden and could smell the fragrance of tea. During the lecture, there were lots of positive interactions between lecturer and audience, in the Q&A session, one guest asked about the worship ceremony of mountain before tea-leave picking, which is an important composition of Chinese folk tea custom and the precious treasure behind ancestors in the processing of history, it deserves to be inherited and passed on. What’s more, some French friends even know the close connection of Chinese tea and culture of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism.
After the lecture, Chinese National Senior Tea Master, Senior Tea-taster Zhang Yi took audience to know about tea sets, learn how to make Kungfu Tea and how to taste. Fancy black tea of Lapsang combined with exquisite Jingdezhen porcelain, meanwhile with the most refined technique and the earnest attitude, audience followed Yi Zhang to warm cup, recover tea, brew, divide tea, the venue is flooded with tea’s fragrance. And then, serve tea, smell tea, taste tea, use traditional Chinese etiquette to write tea culture. In the session of tea experience, audience aimed to covered tea cup to make tea, the big challenge lies in how to do it without scalding hands, every time when someone made it, there would be a warm applause on the scene. “Making Kungfu Tea is even harder than Chinese Kungfu”, one British student said as the crowd burst into laughter. At the end of the event, everyone was unwilling to leave and just want to sip more tea to keep this beautiful memory in mind.
Toussaint, French Director of Confucius Institute at Université de Lorraine took full participates in and helped a lot with the translation, let the local audience get a thorough understanding on the lecture.
The Chinese Tea Culture Event’s success brings Chinese characteristic tea product, tea culture and tea spirit to global audience. At the same time, it expands China-UK’s tea culture communication, enhances friendship between Chinese and British people. Chinese tea culture is a brilliant pearl in the treasure-house of Chinese traditional culture, each angle of it reflects the light of Chinese factors, tells world the long history and legends of thousands of years.
This event got strong support from the three Confucius Institutes. Qian Bin, the Chinese Director of Confucius Institute at Queen Mary University of London, Yan Lu, Chinese Director of Confucius Institute at Université Paris Nanterre, Yao Li, Chinese Director of Confucius Institute at Université de Lorraine and Houg.
(story by Zhai Man)