Song in a cup宋人點(diǎn)茶，茶上“作畫(huà)”

Yang Feiyue

點(diǎn)茶，是茶史上最美的風(fēng)景——美在茶味的甘淡，美在宋人點(diǎn)茶、斗茶，美在宋人在茶上“作畫(huà)”。

Han Zheming has managed to perfect the skill， creating tea art in cups， or dian cha in Chinese， which used to be a ritual（儀式） during the Song Dynasty.

Over the past six years， he has used tea and spoons to create nearly 200 patterns based on ancient paintings. “It's like adding bells and whistles to tea and giving people a stronger sense of occasion， so drinking tea is more fun，” Han says. It's also his intention to bring the old ritual back to modern life and have more people appreciate its charm.

Chinese tea culture started to enjoy popularity during the Tang Dynasty and flour-ished （繁榮） throughout the Song Dynasty， when tea became a necessity for almost every-one， from nobles and scholars to common people， just like other necessary items， such as rice， oil and salt.

In the Song Dynasty， the popular way of having tea was through dian cha. The process begins with hot water being poured over fine powdered tea， creating a paste. Then more hot water is slowly added as the tea is constantly whisked （攪動(dòng)） by hand with a bamboo stick.This action of pouring hot water is called dian， hence the name dian cha， which was listed as an intangible cultural heritage of Runzhou District， Zhenjiang City， Jiangsu Province.

Han has been fascinated by the culture and art of the Song Dynasty. “My mother loves traditional culture and I have been leaning toward it under her influence，” Han says. After graduating in 2006， he took great delight in drinking tea gradually. This led him to learn about traditional tea culture and buy ceramic tea sets， especially those made in the style of the Song Dynasty.

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In which dynasty did tea become a necessity for almost everyone？620DBD63-4058-4A28-B9F0-9BB6CD299A38