With the heart of a craftsman, refine beauty for the world;
With craftsmanship gathered in abundance, the Way is debated in Chengdu.
On August 23, right at the End of Heat solar term, the 4th China Craftsmen Conference convened in the High-Tech Zone of Chengdu, Sichuan Province. The conference was guided by the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles, the Chengdu Municipal People’s Government, and the Palace Museum, and hosted by the China Folk Literature and Art Association.<\/p>\n
This year’s conference set its sights on craftsmen around the globe, and with the resolve of “craftsmanship for a hundred generations” called for the value of craftsmanship worldwide, paying tribute to the great power of ingenuity that can carry mountains across the seas. As a creative event of the highest caliber in the fields of traditional-industry revitalization and craftsman culture at home and abroad, renowned cultural experts and scholars from across the country, together with top master craftsmen, gathered in Chengdu to delve into the aesthetics of craftsmanship, explore its value, trace cultural footprints, and give voice to the spirit of the times.<\/p>\n
Today, China’s cultural soft power continues to rise around the world, and “Chinese tea culture” \u2014 which has the strongest voice in cultural export \u2014 is surely indispensable. A highlight of this conference was the number of high-caliber parallel forums held concurrently. Among them, the first “China Tea Aesthetics and Tea Technology Summit Forum” drew much attention. Initiated by Liu Feng, a World Expo “Global Promotion Ambassador of Chinese Tea Culture” and postdoctoral researcher in tea science, it brought together founders of leading brands across China’s six major tea categories and well-known experts and scholars from the tea culture community \u2014 a galaxy of luminaries and assembled elites \u2014 to discuss the future of Chinese tea culture, the tea industry, and tea technology.
A Powerful Lineup
Embarking on a Journey of “Tea Aesthetics and Tea Technology”
At the forum, participants included Zhao Pu, founder of the China Craftsmen Conference and former renowned CCTV host; Liu Feng, cultural scholar and research fellow, World Expo “Global Promotion Ambassador of Chinese Tea Culture”, special council member of the China Craftsmen Conference, and initiator of the “Chinese Tea Aesthetics and Tea Technology” Artisan Star Forum; Wang Limin, president of the Sichuan Teahouse Association; Lu Ran, historical consultant for the hit drama “A Dream of Splendor”; and He Qun, general manager of Emei Xueya Tea Group, along with other experts and scholars, enterprise representatives, and media journalists. The forum was organized by the Guojin Institute for Tea Culture Inheritance and Development, with support from Mingxiang Zhenqi Tea, Fuding White Tea L\u00fcxueya, Guojin Gold, the Sichuan International Cultural Exchange Center, and Golden Tea Affairs.<\/p>\n
Zhao Pu, founder of the China Craftsmen Conference, delivered the opening address. Zhao Pu said that the Tea Aesthetics and Tea Technology Artisan Star Forum was the most beautiful tea forum venue the China Craftsmen Conference had ever held \u2014 it prizes beauty, seeks beauty, and creates beauty. For people, drinking tea in a particular place is like holding a meeting together in a particular place: the feeling is entirely different. And this forum made him feel at ease.<\/p>\n
Tea originated in China and flourished across the world. From Shennong tasting a hundred herbs to the mid-Tang dynasty, when princes, dukes, and court officials all drank it, Chinese tea has journeyed through a thousand years. As the initiator of this forum, Liu Feng gave a keynote speech titled “Chinese Tea Aesthetics: Establishing the Craftsman’s Heart for Heaven and Earth”. He said that more than a thousand years ago Zhang Zai spoke of establishing the heart-mind for Heaven and Earth, securing destiny for the people, carrying forward the lost learning of past sages, and opening peace for ten thousand generations. Today, the union of tea aesthetics and tea technology has brought new hope to China’s tea industry. He hoped that the craftsman spirit of the tea world could be presented in the new era through contemporary expressions of traditional Chinese culture, and that every tea person would uphold the fundamentals while innovating \u2014 holding fast to the fine traditional Chinese culture passed down for a thousand years, and to the foundation on which Chinese people stand and live.<\/p>\n
Wang Limin, president of the Sichuan Teahouse Association, said in his address that Sichuan is the hometown of tea and the birthplace of tea culture. Sichuan has nearly one hundred thousand teahouses \u2014 it is the teahouse capital of the world. The holding of this Artisan Star Forum in Chengdu gave great encouragement and impetus to promoting tea culture, strengthening Sichuan tea brands, revitalizing Sichuan’s tea economy, and achieving the healthy development of Sichuan tea.<\/p>\n
At the conference, an inscription of “China Craftsmen Conference” personally brushed by Cai Zhenchu, professor and doctoral supervisor at Hunan Normal University, was presented to Zhao Pu, founder of the conference; Lin Zhi, council member of the China International Tea Culture Research Association and vice chairman of the Ten-Thousand-Mile Tea Road Collaborative Body, and Liu Yufei, initiator of Guduo Public Welfare, among others, recorded videos to send their blessings from afar.
Luminaries Discoursing on the Way
Exploring the Mysteries of “Tea Aesthetics and Tea Technology”
With promoting the fusion of “tea aesthetics and tea technology” at its core, and carrying forward the craftsman spirit and helping craftsmen grow as its main thread, the forum advanced the transformation of achievements in tea culture, the tea industry, and tea technology, applying “tea aesthetics and tea technology” to empower Chinese tea enterprise brands to go global.<\/p>\n
How to highlight “tea technology”? Peng Weiming \u2014 a returned-overseas PhD, chief representative for China of the Society for Scientific Exploration (SSE), scientific advisor to the International Exchange Department of the China Association of Chinese Medicine, and founder and chief scientist of Beijing Weidao Technology Co., Ltd. \u2014 offered a brand-new interpretation under the title “Technology Makes Tea More Beautiful”. He believes that drinking tea is very beneficial to the human body, making the body comfortable and the mind joyful; beyond the tangible nutrients, the intangible energy of tea qi is also crucial. Drawing on research reports from scientists at Harvard University and from the School of Life Sciences at Fudan University, Peng Weiming concluded that tea can unblock the meridians.
In addition, Peng Weiming summarized the three elements that influence tea qi: the material basis of tea qi \u2014 good tea-leaf raw material; an important factor of tea qi \u2014 the small-molecule nutrients in tea; and the key to abundant and proper tea qi \u2014 molecular structure. Accordingly, he adjusted the molecular structure of the nutrients in tea leaves, using Mingxiang Zhenqi tea technology optimization, so that the aroma and taste of the tea liquor became better and more comfortable.<\/p>\n
In the brand output of tea aesthetics, Fujian L\u00fcxueya Co., Ltd. stands in a class of its own. Brand marketing director Li Rong gave a keynote speech on site titled “What Is the Craftsman’s Heart? The Brand Path of L\u00fcxueya”. “The earth” is the foundation on which the L\u00fcxueya brand survives; the brand has always practiced protecting a clean parcel of soil generation after generation, thereby enjoying the quality products born of it and providing security for the continuation and development of life. “Nourish the earth, care for life, keep pure this small plot of land, and pass tea on to our descendants” is L\u00fcxueya’s mission, and an embodiment of the brand’s craftsman spirit.
L\u00fcxueya continues to promote traditional tea culture and is equally devoted to promoting brand culture \u2014 tea culture among young people in particular. Every year, L\u00fcxueya runs children’s tea-art training and children’s tea-art summer camps at its tea estates and bases; these public-welfare activities are all aimed at better carrying forward and developing Chinese tea culture.<\/p>\n
It is worth mentioning that the forum invited Lu Ran \u2014 cultural scholar, author of the bestselling book “A Feast of the Song Dynasty”, and historical consultant for the hit drama “A Dream of Splendor” \u2014 who shifted the perspective to “How Young People Fall in Love with Tea Culture”. He said that the conversations of today’s young people come from the heart and are very interesting; their preferences are definite and can be discerned. As long as we put in enough care, young people will naturally come to love it. Young people do not like things that are “not good”, nor do they completely reject any particular category of things.<\/p>\n
Jin Ping, founder of Nangu Life and vice chairman of the Sichuan Photographers Association, spoke on “Crops of Time \u2014 The Inheritance and Renewal of Eastern Craftsmanship Seen from the Aesthetics of Nangu Life”; Peng Hui, vice president of the Beijing Modern Organic Industry Technology Innovation Strategic Alliance, on “Supporting Rural Revitalization through Ancient Tea Tree Adoption”; He Qun, general manager of Emei Xueya Tea Group and marketing director of Emeishan Tourism Co., Ltd., on “A Universe in One Leaf \u2014 The Unique Charm of Tea Culture in Emei Xueya’s Brand Innovation”; and Zhang Zhonghui, co-founder of Golden Tea Affairs (Beijing) Culture Development Co., Ltd., on “Golden Tea Affairs \u2014 The Applied Practice of Chinese Tea Aesthetics”. From different cultural angles, and blending flower arrangement, the way of incense, and traditional Chinese music \u2014 splendid forms of national-level intangible cultural heritage \u2014 they made tea truly become the “internet” of China’s fine traditional culture. Witnessed by all the guests, the launch ceremony of the “Walking Tea People” public-welfare project was opened.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Cultural Empowerment
Discussing the Spirit of “Tea Aesthetics and Tea Technology” Together
In the roundtable session, Liu Feng, initiator of the “Chinese Tea Aesthetics and Tea Technology” Artisan Star Forum, held a dialogue with Yuan Naifu, president of the Shandong Naifu Institute of Traditional Flower Arrangement; Wu Yixun, artist, crossover designer, and founder of Jingdezhen Xuntang; Liu Jiafeng, Chinese master of arts and crafts and inheritor of national-level intangible cultural heritage (bamboo weaving); Meng Dezhi, Chinese master of arts and crafts, inheritor of national-level intangible cultural heritage (Shu embroidery), and Chinese master of embroidery arts and crafts; and Wang Yuefeng, keeper of national-level intangible cultural heritage (Chengdu lacquer art).<\/p>\n
When talking about tea, people often say that tobacco and alcohol go hand in hand. In fact, tea and flowers are inseparable too. Yuan Naifu has studied and researched traditional flower arrangement for more than thirty years. He believes that one important art form of Chinese flower arrangement is the traditional Chinese art of “tea flowers”: literati flower arrangement arose in the Song dynasty and flourished in the Ming. When the ancients drank tea, they strove to reach the realm of unity between heaven and humanity through sight and smell.
Fate arises and fate fades; everything has its causes. Wu Yixun said in the dialogue that we often put great effort into the techniques of traditional handicrafts, but beyond the technical level we should also study traditional cultural theory and understand the artistry of both the craft and the work. Traditional materials can be replaced by new materials \u2014 do not get hung up on the material itself; the expression of aesthetics and technology matters just as much.<\/p>\n
Wei Xin, the most popular tea-art master in the Guangdong\u2013Hong Kong\u2013Macao region, demonstrated the tea art on site.
Wang Yuefeng believes that we should not always think of traveling back to the Song dynasty to experience Song aesthetics; we should think instead about what we are doing now if the ancients were to come to the present, and what we would have to show them. Liu Jiafeng spoke of the relationship between bamboo weaving and tea, and how bamboo filaments are crafted into tea ware. Meng Dezhi said that Shu embroidery and tea share two things: first, the enjoyment of beauty; second, transforming the Shu embroidery craft into products applied in the setting of tea-art scenes, incorporating patterns and other elements that combine with the tea art.<\/p>\n
After the Craftsmanship Banquet of the China Craftsmen Conference, an exclusive themed tea gathering was specially arranged for the guests \u2014 “Time for Tea: Only in the Realm of Selflessness Lies the Craftsman’s Heart” \u2014 bringing the event to a perfect close through a contemporary expression of traditional Chinese culture.
It is reported that since its founding in 2017, the China Craftsmen Conference has been held three times, in Hangzhou (West Lake), Xi’an, and Hangzhou (Yuhang). The 4th China Craftsmen Conference and the first “Chinese Tea Aesthetics and Tea Technology” Artisan Star Forum of the China Craftsmen Conference were among the highlights of this conference, conveying the craftsman spirit to the public through immersive experiences and empowering China’s tea industry with that spirit.
Produced by: China Co-operation Times · Tea Weekly All-Media<\/p>\n
—
\nAuthor: Lam Sam (LamSam), the Old Tea Head
\nZENTEA MANOR
\nAlliance Supply Chain Services Limited
\nUnit 902-3, 9\/F, Mini Cube, 10 Sam Chuk Street, San Po Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong
\nwww.zentea-shop.com Email:info@zentea-shop.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
With the heart of a craftsman, refine beauty for the world;With craftsmanship gathered in abundance, the Way is debated in Chengdu.On August 23, right at the End of Heat solar term, the 4th China Craftsmen Conference convened in the High-Tech Zone of Chengdu, Sichuan Province. The conference was guided by the China Federation of Literary […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13507,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[95],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13545","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-yun-tea-mountains-en"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zentea-shop.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13545","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/zentea-shop.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/zentea-shop.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zentea-shop.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zentea-shop.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13545"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/zentea-shop.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13545\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13546,"href":"https:\/\/zentea-shop.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13545\/revisions\/13546"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zentea-shop.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13507"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zentea-shop.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13545"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zentea-shop.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13545"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zentea-shop.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13545"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}