The Origin of Tea Culture in Guangzhou

Guangzhou is located in the subtropical zone, with long sunshine, high temperature and much sweating. People need to supplement a lot of water through diet. Drinking tea, like drinking water, is first and foremost the need of human survival. With the development of social economy, the connotation of tea culture is constantly enriched. Since the Ming Dynasty, Guangzhou "Tea Market" and Chaozhou "Kung Fu Tea", two buds of Lingnan tea culture, have started. By the Qing Dynasty, Guangdong tea culture had entered the first prosperous period, and both the tea market, teahouses, tea sets, ways of using tea and people's cultural mentality of tasting tea had reached an unprecedented height.

During the reign of Kangxi and Yongzheng in the Qing Dynasty, the works describing the local people in Guangdong often talked about "tea". Earlier, for example, Qu Dajun's "Guangdong Xinyu" clearly pointed out that "Xiqiao is known as the Tea Mountain, and since the Tang Dynasty transplanted ancient bamboo tea on it, everyone in this mountain has planted tea". Cao Song, a native of Zhoushu (now Anhui Buried Hill) in Tang Dynasty, once went south to Guangzhou. When he was in Xiqiao Mountain, he introduced Zhejiang ancient bamboo tea to Lingnan. Qu Dajun also listed the producing areas of Guangdong tea, such as San Shancun, Xiqiao Mountain, Dinghushan, Luofu Mountain, Fengshan in Chaoyang and Qiongzhou. Then there is Fan Duanang's Guangdong Experience, which echoes Qu Dajun's point of view.

In the tenth year of Yongzheng (1732), Zhang Qu (a native of Wuqiang, Hebei Province), who was a provincial judge in Guangdong, thought in his book that "tea in Guangdong is not as good as that in Fujian", but at the same time pointed out that tea was not produced in Guangdong. In addition to Guangzhou Henan tea, there are also treasures such as Dinghu tea in Zhaoqing, spicy tree tea in Shaoguan and Luofu tea in Huizhou. In fact, Guangdong has always produced tea, and the production of tea has developed rapidly. In modern Guangdong, tea was exported, and Guangdong people's "love for tea" became the internal driving force for the development of tea production, and the richness of tea provided reliable conditions for the development of tea culture in Guangdong.

The Origin of Guangdong Tea Culture

The emergence and development of Guangdong tea culture is determined by specific geographical and climatic conditions, and it is also the result of Guangdong's economic and cultural development. It is human instinct to drink water when thirsty, but with the development of society, people's demand for drinking water has also increased. From the need of survival to the pursuit of comfort and enjoyment, people drink raw water, boiled water and tea. The tea culture in Guangdong is similar to that in other areas.

However, due to the frequent commercial activities in the southeast coast of Guangdong, tea culture is more developed and distinctive, especially after the Ming and Qing Dynasties. "Drinking morning tea" in Guangzhou and "Kung Fu tea" in chaozhou people are important cultural phenomena in Guangdong's social and cultural life.

Guangdong morning tea custom

Drinking morning tea is the most distinctive and important content of Guangdong tea culture. All walks of life have the habit of drinking morning tea, from dignitaries to drivers "coolies"; There are tea drinking places all over the town, and there are as many teahouses in Guangdong as in the whole country.

"Morning tea" highlights the "early" characteristics of Lingnan culture. Lingnan, early spring; Lingnan people. Getting up early is precisely the specific geographical and climatic environment, which makes Cantonese people form the habit of getting up early, and correspondingly, they have the habit of "gathering early" and "drinking morning tea". Cantonese people "drink morning tea" surprisingly early, get up at 4 am, go to the teahouse, "have a cup of two pieces" (a pot of tea and two snacks), and slowly "sigh" (enjoy it).

The Origin of Guangdong Tea Culture

Drinking tea with snacks or fried powder and noodles is the characteristic of Guangdong morning tea, and it is also the outstanding point that Guangdong tea system is different from other tea systems. In China, most people drink tea without eating, while in Guangdong, tea is always accompanied by snacks. I don't know if it is because drinking tea alone is too monotonous, or because it is difficult to swallow without tea and snacks in a hot climate. I don't know when Cantonese people began to have this habit, and I don't know if it is influenced by western diet.

Since the Ming and Qing Dynasties, due to the development of commodity economy, drinking tea has become more common and the tea market has flourished. The commodity economy brings people competition first, and the key to competition is whether it can save time; Although Cantonese people can't rationally understand that "time is money", they actually have to speed up the pace of life. The traditional concept of time began to change, and the old concept of "work at sunrise and rest at sunset" was passively shaken. People cherish time everywhere, and "drinking morning tea" in diet conforms to the principle of "cherishing time".

"Drinking morning tea" is to use the leisure time of work to drink tea and clean the stomach; Eat snacks and fill your stomach; Chat, communicate information, contact feelings; Strolling to the teahouse in the early morning can not only absorb fresh air, but also exercise, which can kill two birds with one stone. Why not a clever Cantonese?