Something about Tea

this is the last rose of summer

When I was a kid, I lived with my grandparents. My grandpa was a quiet but elegant, strict but caring elder. He loved drinking tea, and always kept a pot of green tea within reach.

Whenever I hear a tea pot brewing on a hot stove, I remember my childhood. what I remember most is sitting with this old man quietly, having tea together, and sharing legendary stories about China's mythical past. Across time and space, I feel like I can still smell the aroma of tea and that moist air around.

Close with my grandfather, I also like tea gradually.

I believe tea represents a dedicated interaction between Chinese traditions and cultures. Drinking tea is not just quenching a thirst but a spiritual performance.

Tea has its doctrine. The tea ceremony originated in China, a man called lu Yu advocated tea and first wrote for it in the Tang Dynasty. After that, studies for the tea ceremony had been richening increasingly. Many Chinese scholars have their own unique views on the tea ceremony. For example, Mr. Dong Po (Su Shi, one of my favorite poets) in the Song Dynasty, once said “琴棋书画诗酒花，柴米油盐酱醋茶”，which he meant that tea became one of the most basic things in life.  He also said that”诗清都为茶饮多”, which means that the awareness of the tea ceremony tends to create more profound works and novel ideas. However, in my opinion, the tea ceremony enjoys a greater development in Japan in later times. The most famous exponent of the tea ceremony was Sen Rikyu, who codified a style known as wabi, which favored rustic, rough-shaped tea Bowls and spare, simple surroundings.

To brew a pot of tea, you need to grasp much more knowledge. Before you brew, the water quality, the temperature, the tea set, the type of tea and its leaves' shape, these all matter. When you are making tea, you should maximize your focus and behave elegantly. After you have a pot of tea, the maintenance of the tea set is really important.

My grandpa passed away many years ago, guess my feelings of tea is more like a nostalgia for the days of yore.

As a wise man once said that what gave a man happiness was “tranquility and occupation.” Whereas I had once had many occupations, I now had few.