Tea in China : a religious and cultural history / James A. Benn.
2015
GT2907.C6 B46 2015 (Mapit)
Available at General Collection
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Details
Title
Tea in China : a religious and cultural history / James A. Benn.
ISBN
9780824839642 (paperback)
0824839641 (paperback)
9780824839635 (hardcover)
0824839633 (hardcover)
0824839641 (paperback)
9780824839635 (hardcover)
0824839633 (hardcover)
Published
Honolulu : University of Hawaiʻi Press, [2015]
Language
English
Description
xiii, 288 pages 23 cm
Call Number
GT2907.C6 B46 2015
Dewey Decimal Classification
394.1/50951
Summary
"Tea in China explores the contours of religious and cultural transformation in traditional China from the point of view of an everyday commodity and popular beverage. The work traces the development of tea drinking from its mythical origins to the nineteenth century and examines the changes in aesthetics, ritual, science, health, and knowledge that tea brought with it. The shift in drinking habits that occurred in late medieval China cannot be understood without an appreciation of the fact that Buddhist monks were responsible for not only changing people's attitudes toward the intoxicating substance, but also the proliferation of tea drinking. Monks had enjoyed a long association with tea in South China, but it was not until Lu Yu's compilation of the Chajing (The Classic of Tea) and the spread of tea drinking by itinerant Chan monastics that tea culture became popular throughout the empire and beyond. Tea was important for maintaining long periods of meditation; it also provided inspiration for poets and profoundly affected the ways in which ideas were exchanged. Prior to the eighth century, the aristocratic drinking party had excluded monks from participating in elite culture. Over cups of tea, however, monks and literati could meet on equal footing and share in the same aesthetic values. Monks and scholars thus found common ground in the popular stimulant - one with few side effects that was easily obtainable and provided inspiration and energy for composing poetry and meditating ..."--Publisher's description.
Bibliography, etc. Note
Includes bibliographical references and index.
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Table of Contents
Tea as a religious and cultural commodity in traditional China
The early history of tea: myth and reality
Buddhism and tea during the Tang Dynasty
Tea poetry in Tang China
The patron saint of tea: religious aspects of the life and work of Lu Yu
Tea: invigorating the body, mind, and society in the Song Dynasty
Tea comes to Japan: Eisai's Kissa yojoki
Religion and culture in the tea economy of late imperial China
Conclusions.
The early history of tea: myth and reality
Buddhism and tea during the Tang Dynasty
Tea poetry in Tang China
The patron saint of tea: religious aspects of the life and work of Lu Yu
Tea: invigorating the body, mind, and society in the Song Dynasty
Tea comes to Japan: Eisai's Kissa yojoki
Religion and culture in the tea economy of late imperial China
Conclusions.