While the Han (206BC-220AD) and Qin Dynasties (224-589AD) worked to build a unified country with one central government, the Tang Dynasty (618-907AD) ushered in an era of refinement and sophistication to tea and tea drinking in China. The emphasis was on art, culture, and surrounding oneself with the fin- est, most luxurious furnishings, textiles, and decor. |
Tea drinking was now for pleasure and relaxation, and it was the Tang who first introduced tea as a pleasurable beverage drunk during formal tea gatherings.A strict code of tea etiquette was designed and to ensure that rare, expensive teas were properly pre pared a new professional class was created called a Tea Master. The Tea Master’s job was to execute the preparation and serving of tea with style and proper social etiquette. The emperor, government officials, and high social-ranking citizens employed a Tea Master.Tea was no longer thought of as a crude and bitter brew, but as |
a healthy drink, viewed in a more spiritual realm, believed to be the “elixir of immortality.” This transcendental view of tea was furthered by a scholar, recluse, and member of the literati named Lu Yu, often referred to as “China’s Father of Tea.”Lu Yu was China’s first real tea specialist and he’s known today as the “patron saint of tea.” During the 8th century AD, Lu Yu wroteCha Chang (Classic of Tea), codifying the rit- uals he thought of as necessary for properly preparing a pot of tea.Lu Yu learned how to correctly brew tea from Cha Chang (Classic of Tea) Lu Yu described It was under Lu Yu’s guidance that the very first tea utensils were tea tools used to prepare and drink it. A varied Under the Tang Dynasty a vast government-controlled network of In 641AD the Tibetans first learned about tea, when Tang Princess Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368).The Tibetans traded strong and healthy horses to the Tang who need- Horse-caravan routes were established to further trading with groups The first of the routes created is known as the “Tea Horse Route,” Yunnan province, to Tibet, and over the Compressed bricks of dark, course, low-quality “border tea” was designed for trading. These It was around this same period of time that tea was being introduced to Japan via During the coming Song Dynasty (960-1279) tea would continue to be a formal and refined activity, but the rules of |