The Way of Tea » tea ceremony

Tea Gathering at San Francisco’s Urasenke Society

Blake Harvey — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 18:51:43 +0000

Christie Bartlett, Founding Director of Ursaenke Society, San Francisco talks about the history of Urasenke, why tea gatherings matter today, and the ripple effect of “peace through a bowl of tea.”

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Tea and Chinese Cultural Aesthetics

Blake Harvey — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 05:38:04 +0000

Pei-kai Cheng, founding director and professor of the Chinese Civilisation Centre at the City University of Hong Kong and author of the recent two-volume publication, The Complete Annotated Collection of Chinese Tea Books, explores the cultural significance of tea drinking during the Tang period (618–907 CE). Cheng discusses the change and continuity of “The Way of Tea” (chado) from the Tang-Song period to the Ming-Qing period, revealing the cultural diversity of the tea-drinking ceremony as influenced by various social entities and institutions and by agronomical and technological advances. This talk also examines how aesthetic appreciation and choice of wares for tea ceremony influenced the development of Chinese porcelain-making technology.

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Video of a Tea Ceremony at Nezu Garden

Blake Harvey — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 05:22:17 +0000

An excellent video from “Let’s Visit Tokyo” provides a detailed look at what really happens during a private tea ceremony in a small tea hut in Nezu Garden in Tokyo. The video shows the whole “light-tea” portion of a tea ceremony. Be sure to check this one out!

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What’s really happening during a tea ceremony

Blake Harvey — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 03:06:43 +0000

HIROSHIMA – by Courtney Coppernoll – There’s an unfortunate misconception going around that tea ceremony is a very serious, very rigid sort of practice. However, there’s a great deal more to the art than the formal presentation most people are familiar with.

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Cub Scouts participate in Japanese tea ceremony

Blake Harvey — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 14:42:25 +0000

WARWICK, NY – When Warwick resident Alicia Tate, a Den Mother with Cub Scout Pack 177, met Michael McKenna, an expert on Japanese culture, it occurred to her that her scouts might benefit from his experience.

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Intricate Japanese tea ceremony meditative, calming

Blake Harvey — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 04:52:36 +0000

PITTSBURGH – Tea has slowed Sally Schurko down.Mrs. Schurko used to work 80-hour weeks in her job in corporate finance. Now, she spends hours performing a leisurely — almost meditative — traditional Japanese tea ceremony.”I was like a spinning top. This has calmed me down,” she said.

Mrs. Schurko and Yoko Motoyama spread that calm to a dozen eighth-graders recently when the Brookline Regional Catholic School students spent an hour at South Park Library learning the history and etiquette of a basic Japanese tea ceremony. The students branched out from their usual Spanish language class to learn some Japanese language and customs.

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