An Analysis on the Differences in the Tea Culture between China and Britain

Abstract

When tea was discovered by Chinese, it was initially used as a herb. After it was culturally integrated, a specific tea culture began to develop. In China, under the influence of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism, Chinese tea culture was formed on the basis of cultivation. In the 17th century, tea began to enter European market. Although many countries had joined the Chinese in the consumption of tea, only the British established their own systematic tea culture. China and British formed their respective systems of tea culture within different cultural backgrounds. The contrasts in the connotations of tea culture between China and British given in this paper were both material and spiritual. First, this paper introduces the origin of tea and the spread of Chinese tea in Western countries. Then it emphasizes the definition and connotation of tea culture, and explains the formation of Chinese and British tea cultures through a fairly detailed description of the historical, economic and political impacts of the two countries upon the formation of a tea culture. Next, it analyzes and contrasts the significance of Chinese and British tea cultures from material and spiritual respects. Finally, the paper makes a summary statement about reasons that lead to the differences between Chinese tea culture and its British counterpart. This paper takes the difference between the tea cultures in Chinese and British as its study subject, and attempts to identify the essential material and spiritual differences between the two kinds of tea cultures.