《无我茶会》中英文版编者序言

文：许玉莲

《无我茶会》是当代茶道研究工作方向的新一章，此书直接跳过一些仍然产生困扰的课题如：何谓茶道何谓茶艺？泡茶者的身份应命名为事茶或司茶？已经掌握一定茶道学识、拥有实践及专门从事茶道活动的工作者该被称为茶人好呢还是被称为大师好呢—-，此书作者蔡荣章先生率直的通过拥有完整系统的一个茶会作品，引领读者一步一步走入其茶会作品的茶道艺术内涵，将泡茶者（亦即此书作者）因茶会作品的创作升华成为茶道艺术家。

茶道艺术家、茶会作品二词之用，是蔡荣章先生的先见与期许，它让大众更加清晰知道，茶、茶道、茶道艺术的本质在哪里，让茶道艺术家理解自己应具备怎样的素养及该努力的方向，以及如何创作茶会作品。

我们认为茶道艺术应有的元素有：一.学术做基础，二.有情感和理念支撑它的内涵，三.有具体的形式将之呈献，四.被社会大众接受，并且喜欢、追随着重复做。这样它才会成为一件艺术作品。

以下讨论一.无我茶会的学术基础：读者可从《无我茶会-》第二章至第十章了解它有相当精密的一套科学方法，将茶会之前、之后或进行时的“什么、何时、何地、何人、为何、如何”的实际操作技艺一览无遗，甚至，到了一种即使无人教您您看文照做也做得到的细腻程度，它的内容包括“何时开始擦拭自己用过的杯子？不知道喝的是什么茶，可以问吗，可以赞美他吗？茶没泡好，可以做些补救措施吗？泡茶座位上有一只小昆虫在爬来怎办？可以走到景仰的人那儿要杯茶喝吗？”等仔仔细细的问题。人们得到答案后只需照做就能克服，茶会作品就会自动产生，参与茶会的人服从的是这件茶会作品的学术底蕴而不是因为它是谁发明的。

二.无我茶会的内涵：在《无我茶会》第一章茶会架构里说得非常清楚，作者通过这种形象化的程序来举办茶会，是为了表述人们内心敏锐的感情与强烈的理念谓之七大精神：无尊卑之分、无报偿之心、无好恶之心、求精进之心、遵守公共约定、培养默契体现群体律动之美、以及无流派与地域之分。

三.无我茶会呈现茶道内涵的具体形式：是在抛弃了多余的语言、色彩、器物、声音、茶类、茶法、地域、民族等的藩篱，而只锁定一个原则“泡茶、奉茶、喝茶”来完成。意思即当人们要反映心里真实之精神比如“无尊卑之分”：入座要抽签决定座位，不可选择位置或选人来奉茶或选择要喝什么样的茶。这份意念难以用说话表达，无我茶会就用一套精致的系统实施，并人人亲自用自己的身体做出来，将之体现出来让大家看得到这份茶道精神。《无我茶会》第一章茶会架构，开宗明义叙述了茶会进行时简单又强烈的形式要求：1.围成圈圈，人人泡茶，人人奉茶，人人喝茶2.抽签决定座位3.依同一方向奉茶（向左或向右）4.自备茶具、茶叶与泡茶用水5.事先约定泡茶杯数、泡茶次数、奉茶方法，并排定会程6.席间不语。

四.无我茶会的被社会大众接受，并且喜欢、追随着重复做：读者可从第十一章茶会推广的方法及意义、第十二章茶会的简史、第十三章对外解说稿的内容了解无我茶会于1989年创设至今，自主性举办无我茶会的地区包括中国、香港、台湾、日本、韩国、美国、马来西亚、法国、义大利、新加坡、英国、汶莱、阿根廷等地，无我茶会被运用的次数不计其数，已经成为很多茶友学习泡茶享受茶道的途径。直至2015年，每两年一次的国际性规格无我茶会经已举办了15届，国际无我茶会持续举办的方法是让参与的各地区负责人自动成为每一届领队会议一员，自愿承办下一届。无我茶会在行政上贯彻“无”的精神：没有设立“管理总部”、不必申请或审核，无了诸多繁文缛节，减轻大部分人事负担，造就大家建立同样信念去做，这种“有之前的无”的茶道思想影响着近代二十年各地泡茶者对茶道的诠释。

《无我茶会》是以蔡荣章先生最初创办无我茶会的操作手册及《无我茶会180条》一书为蓝本，再加入蔡荣章先生经过二十五年实践无我茶会的实实在在功力，以干净清晰笔触书写无我茶会核心价值的十八篇最新力作（文章题目如下：无我茶会为何非要单边奉茶不可、无我茶会是大家一起参与的茶会、逍遥于茶会的广场、无好恶之心的真谛、无我茶会表现的茶道艺术、无我茶会错误最多的地方、无我茶会的“自由”与“法制”、无我茶会要义图、无我茶会又为茶道加了藩篱吗、无我茶会有用吗、无我茶会传播、无我茶会不只是一种茶会形式、无我茶会的四美、无我茶会的出生背景、从独饮到无我茶会、四学分的无我茶会课程安排、无我茶会对个人与群体的影响、制茶泡茶喝茶都在无何有之乡）集合而成。其观念的炉火纯青，看“无我茶会为何非要单边奉茶不可”一文：太过社交性也降低了对茶的专注，我们还提醒大家不必太关心喝到的是哪位茶友所冲泡的茶呢。其对茶道艺术的肯定，看“无我茶会表现的茶道艺术”一文：享用茶道艺术当是以茶会全场为对象，只怕大家太关注整场的演出效果而忽略了茶，事实上是极易导致这样结果的，所以我们提出纯茶道的理念，要大家把重心放在茶上，放在茶道艺术的核心上，只要这么做了，就是茶道艺术，而不是品茗环境艺术、不是泡茶艺术、不是道德艺术。大家会说：我不是在泡茶吗？没错，但这个前提必须充分把握住茶道的核心：茶，茶汤。

最后小结，茶会作品作为一种艺术表现，它必须能使不同地域、不同语言、不同社会背景、不同文化的人们互相理解，产生共同感受，互相接受，并且溶入当地风俗人情，成为其追随者的生活态度，才是一个经得起考验的茶会作品。大前提是，这个茶会作品必须提供一套强而有力的系统，让系统自己说话，最好谁也不要拥有它，它会自己活出新生命。《无我茶会》一书以学术做奠基，以艺术为中心，发出叫人臣服的光芒，我们可预见，此书将成为茶道艺术研究的一部巨著。

编者于2022.05.05

Foreword : On‘Sans Self Tea Gathering: An Artistic Manifestation of the Way of Tea in the form of Tea Gathering’by RongTsang Tsai

Hooi Yoke Lien

‘Sans Self Tea Gathering: An Artistic Manifestation of the Way of Tea in the form of Tea Gathering’is, literally, a new chapter in the research of the Way of Tea. It bypasses perplexing questions such as ‘What is the Way of Tea? And what is Tea Art?’, ‘Should a tea brewing personnel be described as a server or a master of tea?’, or ‘As for tea professionals with a rich knowledge of the Way of Tea, who put it into practice through various activities, should they be referred to as tea experts or tea gurus?’ Instead, the author cuts through these conundrums and presents a complete and comprehensive system — his very own work of tea gathering — that leads readers right into the inner substance. This artistic manifestation in the form of tea gathering raises the status of a tea brewing personnel (in this case, the author himself) to that of an artist of the Way of Tea.

An artist of the Way of Tea, or tea artist in short, is a term impregnated with the author’s insight and aspiration.  It seeks to clarify what is the essence of tea, the Way of Tea and the art of it; and in turn, to better equip tea artists with the qualities and efforts required of them. 

We maintain that a work of art manifesting the Way of Tea should have the following four conditions: a) It is built on an academic basis; b) Its inner substance is supported by feeling and belief; c) It can be presented in a certain format; and d) It appeals to the masses, who in turn adopt the practice.   In this case, Sans Self Tea Gathering fits the bill perfectly.

A) Sans Self Tea Gathering is built on an academic basis: The best illustration is the content of this book . Chapters 2 through 10 explain to readers a well thought-out system in a scientific manner.  It discusses in great length the 5W’s and 1H (i.e. the ‘what’, ‘when’, ‘where’, ‘who’, ‘why’ and ‘how’) before, during and after the tea gathering. Practical in approach, it is packed with details realised by such meticulous thinking to an extent that the procedure can be duplicated without the guidance of an instructor or trainer.  There are plenty of issues addressed and points covered, for example, ‘When should one wipe clean the used teacups?’， ‘Could we ask to find out what is the tea being served? Is it acceptable to commend someone for a good brew?’, ‘Could we do something as remedy for poorly brewed infusion?’， ‘What should we do if a small bug crawls out of somewhere?’，or ‘How to address the need of public toilet and hygiene in an outdoor venue?’, just to name a few. The book, which provides all the answers the readers need to know about Sans Self Tea Gathering, is clearly academic in approach.

B) Sans Self Tea Gathering’s inner substance is supported by feeling and belief:  Chapter 1 illustrates the basic format of the tea gathering.  The author explains that this particular format is an externalisation of what people feel for and believe in. It embraces seven principles, namely, an absence of hierarchy; not expecting reciprocity; setting aside personal preference; making an effort to achieve progressive improvement; following a pre-determined procedure; promoting mutual understanding and appreciation of the beauty of collective rhythm; and imposing no restriction as to the schools of thought or regional practices.

C) Sans Self Tea Gathering can be presented in a certain format:  Dismantling the barriers of languages, colours, tea ware, sound, choice of tea, brewing methods, regional practices and ethnic origins, Sans Self Tea Gathering is accomplished upon a single belief — namely ,‘brewing, serving and taking tea’.  This means that whatever people do at the tea gathering would reflect what they actually feel. Take the principle of‘an absence of hierarchy’ as an example. To realise this, seats are determined by random drawing of lots; one cannot choose the place to sit,  the person to serve tea to, or the kind of tea to take.  Where words do not suffice to explain the concept, it is more than compensated for by the carefully devised format of Sans Self Tea Gathering. By participating, everyone can experience the essence of the Way of Tea with its externalised representation. Chapter 1 clearly describes the simple yet impactful features of Sans Self Tea Gathering: a) participants are seated in a circle – everyone brews, serves and takes tea; b) seats are determined by drawing lots; c) tea is served in one direction (to one’s left or right); d) participants bring along their tea ware, tealeaves and water for brewing; e) the number of cups and brewing, and the way of serving are agreed upon beforehand, and the event flow is pre-determined; and, f) no talking is required throughout the tea gathering.

D) Sans Self Tea Gathering  appeals to the masses, who in turn adopt the practice: Chapter 11 (‘Promoting Sans Self Tea Gathering and its Meaning’), Chapter 12 (‘A Brief History of Sans Self Tea Gathering’) and {0>第十四章  无我茶会解说稿<}0{>Chapter 13 (‘The Presenter’s Script for Sans Self Tea Gathering’)  cover the history of its development since its inception in 1990 and the 15 international Sans Self Tea Gatherings organised to date. The person-in-charge of each country/territory’s event automatically become part of the pool of organising members. They take turn to organise Sans Self Tea Gatherings of various natures on a voluntary basis. These countries/territories include Taiwan, Hong Kong, China, Japan, Korea, the United States of America, France, Italy, Malaysia, Singapore, the United Kingdom and Brunei, among others.  As far as administration is concerned, it realises the spirit of ‘nothingness’ — as such, there is no centralised management body or headquarters; no application or validation required; and no unnecessary formalities. Everyone involved in organising Sans Self Tea Gathering is guided by the same belief. This emphasis on resetting to ‘a state of nothingness before rebuilding something’ has been a major influence on tea brewing personnel’s interpretation of the Way of Tea worldwide for almost two decades.

The book was written based on the author’s original guide on Sans Self Tea Gathering. Also included in this new edition are 17 articles representing the core values of Sans Self Tea Gathering (The titles of the articles are: ‘Why is tea served in one direction at the Sans Self Tea Gathering?’, ‘Sans Self Tea Gathering requires full participation of all’, ‘Feeling free and easy at the Tea Gathering’, ‘The true meaning of setting aside personal preference’, ‘The artistic manifestation of the Way of Tea as expressed by Sans Self Tea Gathering’, ‘The question on Sans Self Tea Gathering with the most wrong answers’, ‘Balancing “Freedom” and “Confinement” at the Sans Self Tea Gathering’, ‘Sans Self Tea Gathering at a glance’, ‘Does Sans Self Tea Gathering add yet another barrier to the Way of Tea?’, ‘Is Sans Self Tea Gathering a “freewheeling” or a “disciplined” occasion?’, ‘Does Sans Self Tea Gathering serve a purpose?’, ‘Changing of its name in English to Sans Self Tea Gathering (Spring, 2012)’, ‘A dialogue between the teacher and his students’, ‘Sans Self Tea Gathering is more than a form of tea gathering’, ‘Some people say that Sans Self Tea Gathering is beautiful’, ‘The birth of Sans Self Tea Gathering’, ‘ From tea for one to Sans Self Tea Gathering’ and ‘Making, brewing and taking tea in a Land of Nothingness’) . These were penned by the author in a clear, succinct and unequivocal manner based on 25 years of experience working on Sans Self Tea Gathering.  The concept has been perfected over time.  In his article‘Why is tea served in one direction at the Sans Self Tea Gathering?’, the author points out that engrossing in social interaction would distract our attention from tea, and reminds us not to be too mindful of which fellow participants have brewed the tea we are taking. Meanwhile, the author makes it clear in the article ‘The artistic manifestation of the Way of Tea as expressed by Sans Self Tea Gathering’that while the tea gathering is a total experience, one should not place too much emphasis on the event at the expense of the tea infusion. As such, the concept of the ‘Quintessential Way of Tea’ has been proposed. This helps bringing our focus back to the tea infusion, which is at the core of this artistic manifestation of the Way of Tea. The tea gathering will not be mistaken as an art of tea drinking environment, tea brewing or even moral enlightenment. You may say, ‘Well, ain’t I making tea just the same?’  True, but the pre-requisite is a realisation that tea, the infusion, is at the heart of the Way of Tea.  

To be a form of artistic expression that survives the test of time, tea gatherings would have to generate collective understanding, achieve mutual acceptance, and bring about common feeling among people of different countries, speaking different languages, from different social backgrounds and embracing different cultures. These tea gatherings need to be fully incorporated into the lifestyle of the local communities.  Proprietorship is not recommended in order for Sans Self Tea Gathering to continue its evolution.   Artistically-oriented with a solid academic basis,‘Sans Self Tea Gathering: An Artistic Manifestation of the Way of Tea in the form of Tea Gathering’is poised to become a research tour de force on the Way of Tea.

Hooi Yoke Lien

2022.05.05

【新书出版】

书名：《 无我茶会 》中英版

■作者：蔡荣章

■出版社：木言社

■出版日期：2022/9

■ISBN: ISBN 978-967-18068-1-4

■语文：简体中英

■页数：400pg4C

■开本：65寸 X 8.75寸

■装帧：平装

■上光别：Matt Lamination

新书上市/《无我茶会》2022年中英版/作者蔡荣章
▄无我茶会创人蔡荣章自1977年开始做茶文化工作至今45年
▄无我茶会自1990年创立至今32年
▄共出版过4种语文（中、日、韩、英）的7个版本
▄操作细节共199条，提出7大精神
▄10多个国家地区举行过，包括台湾、韩国、日本、星加坡、马来西亚、汶莱、英国、意大利、法国、美国、中国等
▄举办超过 10000多场次
▄曾参与人次达500000多
无我茶会，是一种茶会形式的名称，蔡荣章先生将其思维与行动的款式写成《无我茶会》这本书，是当代深具影响力的茶道思想。

马上链接网购：
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2/紫藤：https://www.purplecane.my/SalePage/Index/258855

3/大将：https://bookstore.mentor.com.my/product/wuwochahui/

4/台湾经销处：陆羽茶艺中心，台北市衡阳路64号3楼
联络电话：（02）2331 6636

5/台湾经销处：出色出版社，新北市新店区宝兴路45巷6弄5号6楼
联络电话：(02)8914 6405

6/马来西亚联络处：许玉莲茶道院  hooiyokelien@gmail.com

7/ 台湾联络处：现代茶道思想研究所 rongtsang@hotmail.com

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