{"id":4129,"date":"2012-05-24T14:33:36","date_gmt":"2012-05-24T06:33:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/contemporaryteathinker.com\/?p=4129"},"modified":"2012-06-07T08:09:41","modified_gmt":"2012-06-07T00:09:41","slug":"the-land-of-nothingness-in-the-world-of-tea-rong-tsang-tsai","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/contemporaryteathinker.com\/?p=4129","title":{"rendered":"The Land of Nothingness in the World of Tea -Rong-tsang Tsai"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u8336\u9053\u91cc\u7684\u65e0\u4f55\u6709\u4e4b\u4e61 The Land of Nothingness in the World of Tea<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u8521\u8363\u7ae0Rong-tsang Tsai<\/strong><\/p>\n

(2003.12\u300a\u8336\u827a\u300b\u6708\u520a\u793e\u8bbaThe Editorial of \u201cTea Culture Monthly\u201d)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Over the long course of history, the Way of Tea has incorporated ideas and teachings of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism, among others. Once incorporated, it is hard to distinguish where these ideas have particular influence upon. At the most, we can talk about some kind of reference or do a simple comparison, under a certain situation. At this juncture, I would like to illustrate how the idea of \u2018Land of Nothingness\u20191., brought up by the sage Chuang Tzu when he soared to beyond the cloud for a glimpse of the Universe, exists in the microcosm of a teapot and a tea cup.<\/p>\n

I came across the phrase \u2018Land of Nothingness\u2019 while I was copying the text of \u2018Chuang Tzu\u2019. I pondered upon this: where would this fit in the domain of the Way of Tea?<\/p>\n

The \u2018water shack\u20192. came to my mind, as it is where water for tea brewing is prepared. Having undergone special treatment to minimize minerals, impurities and odour, the water is \u2018free\u2019 from \u2018interference\u2019 to \u2018express\u2019 its unique characteristics. Such an environment for tea brewing may be described as the \u2018Land of Nothingness\u2019.<\/p>\n

How about displaying the phrase \u2018Land of Nothingness\u2019 at the cupboard where teapots are displayed? Indeed, good teapots can be likened to the land of nothingness when the Way of Tea is concerned. By \u2018good\u2019 teapots, I mean pots that have no off-putting odour, and are free from both toxic and non-toxic impurities. For clay and ceramic teapots, they must have a high degree of sintering 3. for fast heat dissipation 4. and low water absorption 5.. This way, tea brewing is given the space to \u2018freely express\u2019 itself without \u2018interference\u2019. Isn\u2019t this another \u2018Land of Nothingness\u2019 for a good brew?<\/p>\n

As I passed by the Practice Area for Tea Brewing, I saw several fellow tea drinkers concentrating in their preparation for the tea brewing masters Accreditation Examination 6. and the practical examination of the Tea Art Seminar. Without disturbing them, I pasted the writing: \u2018Land of Nothingness\u2019 on the wall. One of them took a glance of the paper, pondered upon it, and then continued to sample 7. the tea he has brewed. True, practicing brewing is all about appreciating a good cup of tea, and to experience the Way of Tea. Whether it is to get ready for the Tea brewing masters accreditation, or to sit for the practical examination of Tea Art Seminar, the process sharpens one\u2019s ability in navigating the amazing world of tea, and in enjoying the tranquility and enrichment embodied by the Way of Tea. Any interference from an intention to outdo others or excel in the business world will turn tea brewing practice into painstaking chore. I wish this reminder of \u2018Land of Nothingness\u2019 will dispel any unnecessary \u2018interference\u2019 in the practice area.<\/p>\n

The great eagle traverses the boundless sky which is its \u2018Land of Nothingness\u2019. The ocean provides it with food, the mountain its habitat, and the rain and storm cleanse and maintain the ecological balance of its environment. To stay free and easy in the \u2018Land of Nothingness\u2019, the giant bird must not indulge in the ocean, become lost in the dense mountainous forest and be threatened by the gale and downpour.<\/p>\n

\u4ee5\u4e0b\u4e3a\u6587\u5185\u4e4b\u7f16\u7801Coding in the text:
\n1.\u2018Land of Nothingness\u2019\u300c\u65e0\u4f55\u6709\u4e4b\u4e61\u300d
\n2.\u2018water shack\u2019\u300c\u6c34\u5c4b\u300d
\n3. degree of sintering \u70e7\u7ed3\u7a0b\u5ea6
\n4. heat dissipation \u6563\u70ed
\n5. water absorption \u5438\u6c34\u7387
\n6. Tea brewing masters Accreditation Examination \u6ce1\u8336\u5e08\u68c0\u5b9a\u8003\u8bd5
\n7. sample\u8bd5\u996e<\/em><\/p>\n

Introduction\uff1a
\nThe aesthetics, character and the state of mind created are not to be undermined in the understanding and enjoyment of tea; and yet, they are the hardest to express. Writings on the thoughts pertaining to tea, regardless of languages used, remain scarce. We have attempted to express them in Chinese, with accompanying English translation(Translator:Katherine Yip.2010.01), to elaborate our thoughts as they are. What we want is to share the knowledge of tea alongside tea drinking. This is, in our opinion, an important contemporary task in promoting the tea culture (Coding in the text is for cross-referencing of the academic terms of tea).<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

  (2250)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u8336\u9053\u91cc\u7684\u65e0\u4f55\u6709\u4e4b\u4e61 The Land of Nothingness in the World of Tea \u8521\u8363\u7ae0Rong-tsang Tsai (2003.12\u300a\u8336\u827a\u300b\u6708\u520a\u793e\u8bbaThe Editorial of \u201cTea Culture Monthly\u201d) Over the long course of history, the Way of Tea has incorporated ideas and teachings of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism, among others. Once incorporated, it is hard to distinguish where these ideas have particular influence upon. At […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1530,116,4],"tags":[1528,1529,397,18],"class_list":["post-4129","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-14-the-land-of-nothingness-in-the-world-of-tea-rong-tsang-tsai","category-n-1-the-ideology-of-tea-chinese-english","category-n-chinese-foreign-languages","tag-land-of-nothingness","tag-sans-self-tea-gathering","tag-tea-brewing","tag-the-way-of-tea"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/contemporaryteathinker.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4129","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/contemporaryteathinker.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/contemporaryteathinker.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/contemporaryteathinker.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/contemporaryteathinker.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4129"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/contemporaryteathinker.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4129\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4370,"href":"http:\/\/contemporaryteathinker.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4129\/revisions\/4370"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/contemporaryteathinker.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4129"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/contemporaryteathinker.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4129"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/contemporaryteathinker.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4129"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}