Product Description

This full-color illustrated book traces the history and development of tea from medicinal herb to the highest levels of artistic and aesthetic traditions in China. Chapters include the history of tea culture in dynastic China; tea in art and literature; culture of the teahouse; brewing and tasting, horticulture and nomenclature. An ideal volume for all readers. Great for museums, gift shops, cooking, travel, art, and general interest bookstores.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1264827 in Books
• Published on: 2005-07
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 273 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9781592650255
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From the Inside Flap
Tea is a drink enjoyed by billions of people worldwide. Throughout history, tea and China have been synonymous with fine dining, good health, aesthetic purity, and the ongoing cultural traditions which have been handed down for thousands of years.
In this full color book, Ling Wang offers a fascinating assessment of the historical and cultural significance of Chinese tea. Beginning from prehistory, where tea was seen as a medicinal miracle in legendary times, Wang shows how tea made the transformation from medicinal herb to favored drink of everyday Chinese in all walks of life.
In the process, Wang shows how tea has profoundly influenced writers, artists, scholars, and rulers throughout Chinese history, where tea has also influenced philosophies and religions such as Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism.
This book will appeal to beginners new to the world of tea as well as tea lovers alike. It is for anyone who has enjoyed a cup of tea, discovered its unique health benefits, and been captivated by its fascinating cultural and aesthetic appeal.

About the Author
Ling Wang is an authority on the history of Chinese tea.

Customer Reviews

Buy Blofeld instead
The writer's English is better than my Chinese. Unfortunately, the editor's English is not very good, and this author has been poorly served (I think)in both line editing (grammar and style) and whatever kind of editing would have made the prose flow and actually convey information. It reads like a term paper by a not terribly bright high school student, who has not tried to synthesize the information found in various articles on the Internet. Admittedly Tea and Chinese Culture is a big subject, and even discussing Chinese culture is perhaps as bogus as discussing 'European culture.' There have been a lot of cultures over a long period of time. They are not served by flat sentences like "Sichuan teahouses played an important role in spreading information. The local people went to teahouses not only to drink tea, but also to exchange information. The most important function of the teahouses was that people could chat with each other there (p 73)." And on. And on.

The layout, binding, and typeface are nice, but too many of the illustrations have feathered edges for my taste. When the author refers to an important painting or teapot (p 59), it would have been nice to see either of them. The illustrations that appear are not always related to the text.

Reading this book irritated me. It's not good enough to have even a veneer of scholarship and not entertaining enough for a coffeetable. The sadly OOP book, The Chinese Art of Tea by John Blofeld, is better even at three times the price.

a fine tea book
I like to read books while sipping tea. Nothing is better than a book on tea while sipping tea. Its hard to believe the other reviewer gave this book 1 star with the advice, buy another book intstead as if its an ultimatum. This is a great book, well done and very engaging while brewing a cup or two. My personal favorite books on tea beyond the primary sources in Chinese and Japanese are Wind in the Pines and Tea of the Sages, the Art of Sencha and this book is worthy to share a on the shelf with any English book on tea. Self-important scholars, aesthetes or "intellectuals" like the first reviewer do not seem to "taste" this authors flavor at all.