Chinese Tea Charm

Author: Yu Yue
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-07-21
Features: The words "Tea Rhyme" encompass the common ground of tea customs, tea art, and tea ceremony, forming a bridge between them. This is not only feasible but also well-founded. As the Ming Dynasty scholar Lu Shiyong stated in General Treatise on Poetry (Shijing Zonglun), "With rhyme, there is life; without rhyme, there is death; with rhyme, there is elegance; without rhyme, there is vulgarity; with rhyme, there is resonance; without rhyme, there is dullness; with rhyme, there is distance; without rhyme, there is confinement. The essence lies in highlighting and shading, the posture in twists and turns, the emotions in subtlety, the charm in grace, the tone in inhalation and exhalation, and the bearing in freedom—this is how rhyme is born." These words by Lu Shiyong perfectly serve as an epigraph for Chinese Tea Rhyme.
I recall that the renowned art master Feng Zihua once wrote two lines of poetry: "I delight in seeing the grand in the small, and must seek the lingering echo beyond the strings." From a cup of tea, one can glimpse the world; from a cup of tea, one can perceive life. Let us listen to the lingering echoes from tea customs, tea art, and tea ceremony, and experience the boundless meaning they hold!