Having a cup of pre-Qingming tea: Friendship and common aspiration

BEIJING, April 4, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- A news report by China.org.cn on pre-Qingming tea:

Qingming (Pure Brightness), the 5th solar term, falls on April 5 this year. Tea leaves picked before Qingming are called ming qian cha, or pre-Qingming tea. After a long winter's rest, the new shoots at this time are fine and tender with pleasant aroma. They produce the highest-quality green tea of the year.

Tea is often referred to as the national drink of China. Tea as well as chayi, or tea ceremony, embodies a pursuit of refinement, simplicity, serenity and respect, which happen to be what the Chinese people extol when they interact with each other.

Such embodiment of tea, in international affairs, can be represented by one Chinese character "he," which signifies peace, harmony and cooperation. Chinese tea has been an important commodity for export since ancient times. It went international together with silk and porcelains via the ancient Silk Road. The world-renowned British black tea and Japanese matcha were both associated with Chinese tea. Thus, tea also acts as an envoy for international communications.

In recent years, "tea chats" between Chinese and foreign leaders have become a unique way of diplomacy.

On November 8, 2017, Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan welcomed their American counterparts, Donald Trump and his wife Melania Trump, with afternoon tea at Baoyun Lou, or the Hall of Embodied Treasures, in the Forbidden City. In April 2018, President Xi and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi appreciated tea together in Wuhan; and then in May, President Xi and North Korea Leader Kim Jong-un met in Dalian, also with tea by their side. Amid the pleasing scent of tea, the leaders discussed development issues and friendship between their nations.

In his keynote speech at the College of Europe in Belgium in 2014, Chinese President Xi Jinping said, "The Chinese people are fond of tea and Belgians love beer. To me, the moderate tea drinker and passionate beer lover represent two ways of understanding life and knowing the world, and I find them equally rewarding. When good friends get together, they may want to drink to their heart's content to show their friendship. They may also choose to sit down quietly and drink tea while chatting about their lives." Last week, he visited three European countries including Italy and France. Italians love coffee, and France is known for its great wine; but when we value the idea of "harmony without uniformity," and appreciate and treasure others' culture and value, the world will be more harmonious.

The spring is now in full bloom. You'll enjoy the life's simple pleasures when having a cup of drink together with your friends, no matter it's tea, coffee, or beer.

China Mosaic
http://www.china.org.cn/video/node_7230027.htm

Having a cup of pre-Qingming tea: Friendship and common aspiration
http://www.china.org.cn/video/2019-04/04/content_74646011.htm 

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SOURCE China.org.cn