Economist Tea House · Issue 17

Author: Jin Mingshan
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-08-01
Features: Drinking tea and savoring the finest brew, chatting about the world and life, is a great joy. The tea culture not only directly gives rise to tea art, tea ceremony, and tea culture, producing many timeless masterpieces such as Lu Yu's The Classic of Tea from the Tang Dynasty and Zhu Quan's Tea Spectrum from the Ming Dynasty, but also evolves into a series of related anecdotes and fascinating stories: Lao She's Tea House depicts the changes in modern Beijing; the Big Bowl Tea Trading Group tells the story of China's reform and opening-up; The Economist Tea House provides scholars with a platform. The Tea House may be small, but it attracts guests from all walks of life; a teacup may be small, but it can hold the waters of the three rivers and five lakes. After four years of operation, it has thrived, gained fame far and wide, and attracted a steady stream of customers, with regulars and newcomers alike. The author is also among the onlookers. Although everyone has different tastes and preferences, the tea shop offers all six major tea categories—green, red, yellow, white, black. The Tea House is also a place where all kinds of voices are heard, from sweet to sour, from bitter to spicy, from sharp critiques to praise, and from fascinating stories to essays. It is truly a place for both the refined and the common. "Three parts quenching thirst, seven parts enjoyment." The ancients often used tea drinking to cultivate themselves, nourish their spirits, and express their thoughts and aspirations. There was a saying: "To be free from the dust of the world, to live outside the material world, to be different from the mainstream, and to be untainted by the customs of the times. Sometimes meeting between rocks, sometimes under pines and bamboos, sometimes facing the bright moon and clear wind, or sitting by a bright window, to engage in quiet conversations with guests, to explore the mysteries and contemplate the creation, to purify the mind and transcend the mundane." In the fast-paced modern life, tea drinkers may either indulge freely or savor the tea slowly, depending on the individual. Whether The Tea House can guide its readers to enter a state of serene contemplation and delightful enjoyment from the preparation to the drinking of tea is uncertain. But this idea is worth reflecting on and savoring.
Table of Contents:
Nie Huihu—Childhood Dreams [Academic Chatting]
Huang Youguang—How to Make Good Use of This Small Hole Perspective Mirror in Economics?
Chen Kang—Why Do Capitalists Destroy Capitalism?
Wang Jianguo—Don't Mistake an Economist for a Manager
Zhao Quan—Neglected and Unneglected—China Economy Review
Li Wentuo—A Bloody and Turbulent Textbook
Xie Zuoshi—Economic Methodology [Academic World]
Jing Linbo—"Tie Shui" Looking in the Mirror for Contrast
Tian Fangmeng—Violent Economics and Political Ecology—A Brief Discussion on Wu Si's Academic Thoughts and Methods
[Learning from Others]
Li Xiaofeng, Xiang Junying—South Korea's Credit Cards: It's Not Easy to Love You
Chen Caihong—Management Deeply Is Culture
Li Chenggui—Another World and Economists—Reflections on the World Social Forum
Wang Xindong—Experiencing the Differences of Different Currency Prices in South Korea
[Economic Essays]
Bingyuan—Making Friends Through Literature (II)
Xin Yang—A Record of Three Changes in the System
Hu Peizhao—Quietness Is a Blessing
Wang Dingding—From Our Spiritual Condition
Liang Xiaomin—Economics in Fables (Continued)
Zheng Zhigang—The Monkey's Fable
Dong Guozheng—Rescuing "Fragments of Civilization"—Three Topics on Chinese Characters
Yang Zhen—The Happiness of an Accountant
[Journey in Life]
Jiang Yong—Economists' Research on "Animal"
Li Yanfei—Divorce Also Depends on the Market?—A Comparative Analysis of Divorce Rates in China and the U.S.
Li Fenghua—Why Do State-Owned Enterprises Also Run Social Services?
Wei Rui—The Complexity of "Price Difference Refund"
[Economic Review]
Lu Zhou—The Social Cost of a Rootless Society
Han Zhaohua—Is Protecting Property Rights Protecting the Rich?
Li Zhongjian—Several "Laws" About Corruption
Guo Zilin—Really Are There Systems That Hurt People Without Hurting Themselves?
[Field Surveys]
Zhu Ling—Research Notes on Health Security for Farmers and Herders in Tibet
Jiang Zhongyi—A Survey of Household Participation in the Cooperative Medical Scheme in Changyang County, Hubei Province
[Economists]
Nie Huihu—Yang Xiaokai in the Heart of a Mainland Student
Xu Chenggang—Self-Learning and Reflection