Mr. Lin Yutang once said: "Chinese people like tea best. When you drink tea at home, you should also drink tea when you go to a teahouse. You should also drink tea when you are in a meeting. If you have tea before breakfast, you should also drink tea at midnight. If you have a pot of clear tea, you can be happy with the situation."

Tea is the largest drink in the world. China is the first country to discover and use tea, known as the hometown of tea. According to the written records, our ancestors discovered tea more than 3000 years ago. From some tea drinking customs, it seems that we can see the long history of tea in China.

  Why is there always someone knocking on the tea table

What you see on the tea table knocking on the table is a kowtow ceremony, which is a kind of thank-you gift on the tea table. When the host serves the tea or refills the cup, the guest taps the table with the middle finger and index finger to show thanks.

This widely spread kowtow ceremony originated from a story of Emperor Qianlong going to the south of the Yangtze River.

 On a private visit to Jiangnan by Emperor Qianlong and his ministers, they went to a teahouse. When they were drinking tea, Qianlong was so excited that he poured a piece of tea into the minister. The minister was at a loss.

Kneeling and kowtowing for fear of exposing the emperor's identity. If he does not kneel, he is afraid of violating the etiquette. So he reaches out his hand, bends his middle finger, and kowtows to the emperor. He uses the "kowtow ceremony" instead of kneeling to thank the emperor. At the sight of Qianlong, Longyan was very happy and praised with a smile.

Since then, the kowtow ceremony has been widely spread and gradually developed into a familiar etiquette.

The elder poured tea for the younger

The younger generation kowtows to the elder, five fingers together into an empty fist, fist heart down, finger joints hit the table three times.

Pour tea among peers

The right-hand clenches the fist, palms face down, reaches out the index finger and the middle finger, two fingers together, and lightly taps the table top three times, to show thanks.

The younger generation pours tea to the elder

Elders can tap on the table with one finger to show respect. If the elders meet the younger generation who appreciate it more, they can tap three times on the table with their index finger or middle finger to show appreciation.

 Why do weddings always have a tea ceremony?

Tea is often used to express our gratitude to our parents and parents. After offering tea, you can call each other's parents "father" and "mother", so "Xie en tea" is also known as "recognizing one's parents".

This seemingly simple tea ceremony is a ceremony for the ancients to regard tea as a "one-to-one" marriage token.

The seven xiulei manuscripts written by Lang Ying of the Ming Dynasty record that "planting tea seeds cannot be transplanted, and transplanting them will not lead to rebirth. Therefore, if a woman is employed, she is called to eat tea. If she also hires tea as a rite, it means following one."

In other words, tea seeds can't be transplanted after they are planted. Tea is used as a betrothal gift, implying a specific meaning. Therefore, in a dream of Red Mansions, Wang Xifeng once joked about Lin Daiyu's drinking of her tea: "since you have eaten my tea, why don't you give us a daughter-in-law?"

 Why do most people give tea gifts during festivals?

"A thousand miles to send goose feather, gift light, affection heavy." Since ancient times, there has been a theory of gift giving in China, and it is more concerned about the significance of the gift itself, so many gift-giving customs have evolved.

Tea has been known as elegant since ancient times. There are many sayings such as taking tea as a medium, taking tea as a gift, expressing affection with tea, and so on. In ancient times, it is often seen that the Emperor gave tea to officials, scholars gave tea gifts to each other and even gave tea gifts to other countries.

In history, Emperor Qianlong loved tea, and he also loved "rewarding" tea.

When the British Macartney mission visited China, Emperor Qianlong gave a large quantity of tea, including Wuyi tea, tea paste, tea brick, etc., which was not only generous but also very complete in variety.

In ancient times, it is often said that the "firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar and tea" culture, as a symbol of Oriental civilization, has long been rooted in tradition in China's 5000-year history.

Nowadays, tea gifts are considered when giving gifts. They are elegant and not vulgar. They are a good choice for expressing one's feelings during the Spring Festival. Therefore, sending tea gifts has gradually become a common thing.