Tea's origin story is a mix of folklore, myths and facts. According to the Chinese literature sources, the tea was accidentally discovered in Shaanxi province (in 2737 BCE) by the emperor and father of Chinese medicine, Shen Nong (神农帝). The early use of tea was recorded in the ancient Bashu (巴蜀) area (modern Sichuan Province). As early as the Western Han Dynasty (西汉), drinking tea in Bashu had become more common. Tea was often offered as a tribute to the emperors and imperial families. Although the tea culture existed long before the Tang Dynasty (唐朝), the tea was consumed in different ways. It wasn't until the appearance of the Tea Classic of Lu Yu (陆羽 《茶经》) in the Tang Dynasty that the way of drinking tea was changed. The tea culture further flourished in the Song Dynasty (宋朝). The existing Chinese tea culture (中国茶文化) represents the cultural characteristics formed during the tea drinking activities, including tea ceremony, tea virtue, tea spirit, tea book, tea set, tea painting, tea science, tea story, tea arts, and so on. Chinese tea culture combines the thoughts of Chinese Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism. Basically, China is the home of tea culture.
The current book volume, Chinese Tea Culture, is a Chinese reading practice book. It would introduce you to the very important concepts of the Chinese tea culture, such as the tea ceremony, drinking Customs, equipment, etc. The six most famous tea types (中国六大茶类), such as the Red Tea, Green Tea, White Tea, etc. are also discussed in detail. As such, all these concepts are very essential part of life in China. The new volume in the "Introduction to Chinese Culture Series", includes both the Chinese text (simplified characters) and pinyin. With about 1000 unique Chinese characters, the volume would be suitable for the beginners, lower intermediate and advanced level Chinese language learners (HSK 1-6). Overall, the reading series offers you a variety of elementary level books (Level 1/2/3) to learn Chinese culture as well as practice Chinese reading fast.
The book has 16 chapters in the following order:
Chapter 1: History of Chinese Tea (第一章：中国茶史)
Chapter 2: Lu Yu (第二章：陆羽)
Chapter 3: Chinese Tea Culture (第三章：中国茶文化)
Chapter 4: Chinese Tea Drinking Customs (第四章：中国茶饮习俗)
Chapter 5: How to Taste Chinese Tea (第五章：如何品中国茶)
Chapter 6: Tapping Table to Say "Thank you" (第六章：轻敲桌子说"谢谢")
Chapter 7: Chinese Tea Ceremony (第七章：中国茶道)
Chapter 8: Tea Ceremony Equipment (第八章：茶道设备)
Chapter 9: Six Major Tea Types in China (第九章：中国六大茶类)
Chapter 10: Black Tea (第十章：红茶)
Chapter 11: Green Tea (第十一章：绿茶)
Chapter 12: Oolong Tea (第十二章：乌龙茶)
Chapter 13: Yellow Tea (第十三章：黄茶)
Chapter 14: Black Tea (第十四章：黑茶)
Chapter 15: White Tea (第十五章：白茶)
Chapter 16: Pu'er Tea (第十六章：普洱茶)
