By Grace Paullin
Let us set the scene: you are on a business trip to China, in which you are invited to a tea house
with your potential business partners. You go to sit down, met with a soft laugh and a
rearrangement of seats. The interpreter tries to mention some seating order or something, but you
wave them off. Next comes the all-important tea. You have heard about how vital the beverage is
to the global East; you once more assume a drink is a drink and go bottoms up, all the while asking
yourself why those drinking cups are so small in the first place. There are a couple rounds of this—
each downed cup met with more and more irritation from your peers—nonetheless, the dam breaks
when you discover that the teapot is now empty. In your goodwill, you attempt to have it refilled
for your partners in-dime, leading you to let out a truly boisterous “Waitress, more tea, please! Our
pot is empty.” At this point, the suits around you murmur and decide it has been a long day and
that perhaps you will meet with them later. They do not call back.
What possibly could have happened? You followed the rules as you knew them to be,
and even tried to provide more drink! What gives? Alas, you fell to a lesson that many
businesspeople before you had to learn as China moved from a global outcast to a global power.
Western interactions with Chinese culture have a kind of veil of ignorance to them. The veil is
expected in consideration of a multitude of factors. American interactions with China have only
been civil since the 1970s, and misunderstandings run deeper still.
China’s Century of Humiliation warped the nation from its foundation, leaving the rest of
the world in the dark. Yet, under Maoist reform and Dengist liberalization, tea has persisted. In a
frankly worrying amount of detail, the study “Tea and tea drinking: China’s outstanding
contributions to the mankind” recounts the multi-thousand-year history of the little leaf that could
and the medicinal features of the beverage. I am cutting short the breadth of this paper, as thetopics covered
are vast—jumping from export volume to archeological records with ease. A link
to the study is located at the end of this article, and I recommend giving it a read once you finish
this month's edition of Monsoon, but all of this is to say that China and tea are together at the hip.
The ceremony then is crucial, as our businessperson from earlier learned the hard way. Returning
to the question posited at the beginning, what should they have done to follow decorum?
In tradition, there are core elements to the simple act of consuming tea ceremonially. One
is first supposed to admire the tea aesthetically and observe the color and fluidity of this cherished
cultural cornerstone. Only then do you bring the cup to your face, but not to drink quite yet; you
are to take in the scents of the tea. Appreciate the aroma of the steeped leaves, whether it be Pu’er
or Green. During this time, you should appreciate the calm and silence of the environment and
find love for the ancient habit you are partaking in. Finally, the time has come to relieve your thirst,
and you may take a sip. Heed the verbiage, as a sip is all that you are permitted. Upending the
entire contents of the cup is a sure sign of gluttony, a detested notion in the Daoist-originated
activity you are partaking in.
Once everyone at the table has taken their turn in the inaugural sip and time has passed,
then you may ask for a refill. Mind your manners still. All one ought to do is wait for the
establishment staff or an associate of the host to do their duty in refilling the cups of their guests.
It is then that the “Finger Kowtow” takes place. Use your right index and middle finger to tap the
table while keeping another finger curled to express gratitude for the refill. As for the pot, there
are many ways to request a new steep—none of them include verbal communication. Again, as a
guest, it should not be your task to complete, but the proper action is to flip the lid or leave tilting
on the lip to show the request for a refill.What of the seating arrangement? It is a game of social hierarchy. The host often takes the
seat closest to the entrance, which is considered less favorable, so it is a gesture of humbleness. If
you are the guest of honor, the seat opposite the host is yours (i.e. if the host is at six o'clock then
you should be at 12 o'clock). Finally, the table fills according to social rank from the right, based
on their place within seniority. Seating affects the serving and drinking order alongside other
customs outside of tea.
Now that we have finished our crash course into one of China’s most sacred rituals, our
businessperson should be more impressed with their next opportunity. Do be cautious, however,
as this survey is only the very basics of the art of tea drinking. None of these rules are indicative
of every region in China. For instance, the tap is centered in the South-Eastern culture, near Hong
Kong. If you have any Eastern aspirations, always ask for local etiquette before you land. Above
all, stay safe, enjoy your tea, and when in China, act as the Chinese do.
Link to Study:
“Tea and tea drinking: China’s outstanding contributions to the mankind”
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