In a cup of spring tea soup, smell thousands of rivers and mountains.
It coincides with the April day in the world, if there is such a place, you can drink a bowl of tea leisurely, be in a daze, chat, and spend an afternoon unconsciously, which is probably extremely comfortable.
China is the origin of tea, and the history of tea drinking by Chinese has a long history, according to legend, since Shennong's discovery of tea in the Bashu area, the tradition of drinking tea has gradually spread. "Princes and courtiers, all drinkers", in the Tang Dynasty, with the advent of Lu Yu's "Book of Tea", the tea drinking style of the upper class directly led to the rise of tea culture among the citizens. At that time, there was even a saying that "you can't eat for a long time, and you can't go without tea for a day".
In the Song Dynasty, with the prosperity of the economy and the extensive planting of tea trees, the wind of drinking tea became more prevalent, and Wu Zimu's "Dream Lianglu" recorded: "People can not be left every day, firewood, rice, oil, salt, wine, sauce, vinegar, tea. "Since the Song Dynasty at the latest, drinking tea has become one of the necessities of people's lives.
Some ethnic minorities in the north may have the tradition of drinking butter tea and milk tea, while in the south of Bashu, Jiangnan and Chaoshan and other places, because of the local residents' preference for tea, the city has a different kind of fireworks.
"I heard that there was a Shu woman in the south, and I sold it as tea porridge. ”
This is the record of the Western Jin Dynasty writer Fu Xian in the article "Si Lijiao", which is about the story of an old woman in Shu who made tea and sold it on the street. As the earliest record of tea being sold as a commodity in the mainland, it is not difficult to imagine why today's Chengdu residents are so keen to drink tea in teahouses.
As someone commented, Chengdu people are born with an idle temper, they don't care about anything, they are unpretentious, with a tranquil and casual character, so they have developed the habit of falling in love with teahouses.
Picture: Xiaohongshu @芳骐
In the local area, there has always been a saying that "the teahouse is a small Chengdu, and Chengdu is a big teahouse".
Chengdu people love tea, and all kinds of teahouses are all over the streets and alleys of Chengdu. If you have nothing to do, get up early and go to the teahouse to drink a cup of tea, ask for a bowl of red oil, read the newspaper and chat about gossip, or make an appointment with two or three old friends to get together a table of mahjong, and the day will be sent away.
Chengdu people drink tea, it doesn't matter what you drink, what matters is the atmosphere in it.
Wang Zengqi wrote in "Ordinary Tea Talk" about the realm of people "soaking" in teahouses in Chengdu, which is an immersive experience in today's words. The article is about a graduate student surnamed Lu during the Southwest Associated University, "He simply grew up in a teahouse, in the morning, afternoon, and evening, he asked for a cup of tea, sat alone and read a book, and even put the toiletries in a teahouse, and went to the teahouse to wash his face and brush his teeth together." ”
What may sound like a "weirdo" behavior today was not uncommon in Chengdu at the time.
Picture: Xiaohongshu @芳骐
During the Republic of China, the price of firewood was relatively expensive, and "the firewood family could not hold a fire all day long, and when it was necessary to boil water, it would be purchased by the society with two pennies." In order to save firewood, many families buy hot water for washing in the teahouse near their home, and even go to the teahouse to stew meat and boil medicine.
There are tea customers who have little sleep, and in the morning before the rooster crows, they put on their clothes and go out in the dark, and sometimes the teahouse may have just started to light a fire, and someone is waiting in the shop.
Wait for the water to boil, make a cup of tea, dip your fingers slightly into the tea from the gap in the cup to wipe your eyes, let yourself sober up a little and start drinking. In the past, drinking tea in Chengdu teahouse was called drinking "bowl cover tea", and when the tea was fragrant, it was slightly staggered and slowly sipped, which was not hot and could prevent the tea from being drunk into the mouth.
In the past, some people have accused Chengdu of "sitting in a teahouse" as a bad habit, and many people who defend teahouses give examples of the necessity of defending the existence of teahouses: If a man and his wife have an argument and go to the teahouse for a few hours, chat with friends, eat some melon seeds and read the newspaper, he may have gone home full of anger.
Take a look, it's no wonder that Chengdu men are said to be "rake ears", and the benefits of character let their wives go, and it seems that the casual atmosphere of the teahouse has also played a lot of roles for the good character of the locals. It was also common for men to drink tea at the shop, meet a small vegetable seller, buy some bean sprouts, and pick the vegetables while drinking tea.
Picture: Xiaohongshu @芳骐
The biggest difference between Chengdu people drinking tea and other places is its marketability. Generally, the old teahouses are relatively simple, build a large stove at the door, boil water with a copper kettle with a handle, put a few low wooden tables and a dozen bamboo chairs, and then you can start selling tea.
Chess, newspapers, barefoot on chairs and napping, fortune tellers, Shu Erlang, people from all over the world, everyone is equal in the teahouse in Chengdu, and the picture is a comfortable place, how to be comfortable.
The people of Sichuan and Chongqing seem to be born with an idle temper, which is simple and unpretentious, but does not lose tranquility and leisure. Here, time seems to stand still for those who drink tea, and they can be themselves regardless of the eyes of others.
In Chengdu, if you want to have a bowl of tea, enjoy your own moment slowly, and laze yourself, why not?
Unlike Chengdu, which is full of teahouses, Hangzhou's teahouses are more low-key, often located on the banks of the river and deep in the alleys, with an indescribable and unclear elegant temperament.
In Hangzhou, almost everywhere there is water, there is a place where you can drink tea.
Whether it is the elegantly decorated tea house on the edge of the West Lake, or the tea stall set up along the lake, or the simple tea set set up on a small table on a hand-cranked boat, the scenery that tea drinkers see is equally chic.
Picture: Xiaohongshu @ Jiang Liuliu
Boating on the West Lake, asking the boatman for a cup of tea, the boatman rocking the boat on the beautiful West Lake, the boat forward, the ripples of the oars in a circle backwards. The waves on the surface of the lake, the fragrance of tea in the cup, and the distant mountains in the mist are all blurred and clear in front of the eyes.
The tea in Hangzhou is not the fragrance of tea, but the elegant scenery of the south of the Yangtze River. The mountains and rivers are already refreshing, and after a sip of hot tea, people are going to become immortals, and they have already melted in the mountains and rivers.
reminds me of the scene where the hero and heroine meet on a blind date in the movie "If You Are Honest, Do Not Disturb", many of the filming locations are places in Hangzhou to drink tea. Not to mention, the blue waves and beautiful water, the eyes are full of green, the heart is full of love, and if you want a pot of tea, you can sit quietly all afternoon. Take out the words you want to say but don't say in your daily heart and talk about it calmly, and at that moment, you can let go of what you can't put down.
Picture: Xiaohongshu @ Jiang Liuliu
Drinking a cup of tea in Hangzhou does have a relieving power.
Take a water bus from the city center to the Gongchen Bridge at the southernmost end of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, and there are teahouses everywhere on both sides. After visiting the Canal Museum, go to Xiaohezhi Street to find a pot of tea, green water, green bricks, white walls, quiet Jiangnan lanes, climbing the eaves of the store's trees, the crowd is still bustling, but there is an indescribable tranquility in my heart.
This is a pyrotechnic atmosphere exclusive to Jiangnan, with a kind of delicacy in its bones, but it does not make you feel too alienated. This feels like a snack when drinking tea, different from the down-to-earth melon seeds and peanuts, Hangzhou tea must be accompanied by colorful snacks, never win by quantity, as soon as it appears, it is pleasing to the eye, very beautiful.
Picture: Xiaohongshu @ Jiang Liuliu
Zhou Zuoren wrote about the scene of drinking tea in the south of the Yangtze River in the article "Drinking Tea", "Drinking tea should be under the paper window of the tiled house, clear spring green tea, with elegant ceramic tea sets, drinking with two or three people, half a day of leisure, can be worth ten years of dust dreams." ”
Yes, as the saying goes, one of the greatest blessings in life is probably to be able to get drunk with friends in a teahouse in Hangzhou.
It is better to have no rice for three days than without tea for one day.
The ancients said that there are seven things to open the door: firewood, rice, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar and tea, but in the life of Chaoshan people, tea is the first place. Locals call tea "tea rice", and they love tea almost to the extent that they don't drink it all the time and everywhere. The co-pilot of the car, the speeding high-speed railway, and even the Qingming Festival went to the mountain to worship their ancestors, Chaoshan people had to bring utensils for making gongfu tea.
Picture: Xiaohongshu @ Chen Zhirong
There was a widely circulated video about the Chaoshan people loving tea as their life, the reporter went to the flooded village to visit the villagers, and asked an uncle: "How much is the maximum water?" The uncle replied with regret on his face: "I can't drink tea." ”
In Chaoshan, drinking tea has long been not only a way of life, but has almost become a measure of everything in the world.
It is said that Chaoshan Gongfu tea, the word Gongfu is skill. The skills of Chaoshan people to make tea have basically started since they were babies. When a two- or three-year-old child may not be able to walk steadily, the kung fu of making tea is very good, and the small hand is not as big as the bowl lid, but the tea is flowing smoothly, chic and neat.
Photo: Little Red Book @ Benman Mountain House
Chaozhou Gongfu tea is very particular, the complete Gongfu tea has 21 procedures in the brewing method, and the people who drink tea every day also have eight steps including preparing the utensils, warming the pot and washing the cup, taking the tea, moistening the tea, sprinkling the tea, ordering the tea, inviting the tea and smelling the fragrance and sipping. Behind such a complex procedure, it also reflects the meticulous and meticulous attitude of Chaoshan people towards life.
In my spare time, I made a pot of gongfu tea, and in one move and one style, all the troubles and sorrows were forgotten, and I was engrossed in the cup of tea in front of me, which is probably why Chaoshan people's business is so successful.
Picture: Xiaohongshu @ Chen Zhirong
A cup of tea, you can get into the elegant hall, and you can also be in the market safely, remembering the fireworks of the city.
The real tea drinker is not whether the tea set is high-end, but with tea in his heart, he can naturally drink out of the world.
Have leisure, drink tea.
Did you have tea today?
Edit | Memories of the past
-Special thanks to photographers-
Xiaohongshu @芳骐, Xiaohongshu @江六六,
Xiaohongshu @ Chen Zhirong, Xiaohongshu @ Benman Mountain House