"Hello everyone! Welcome to our Tea Art Showcase. At nine o'clock, the host stood on the stage and smiled and whispered to the people from all walks of life below: "As we all know, Chinese civilization has a history of thousands of years. ”

"And in the history of tea drinking, there are thousands of years. Thousands of years of civilization have long been a different tea culture. China has no intention of being the originator of the world's tea culture. However, for a variety of reasons, little is known about China's tea culture. ”

"It is in this context that our Chinese Embassy hosted this exhibition after a long period of preparation and full communication with all parties, hoping that this way will give everyone a window to understand Chinese tea culture. Now, let us welcome Ambassador Liang Bochen to the stage with warm applause! ”

The applause under the "...... lala" rang out, and Liang Sanping, Li Jiacheng and the tea masters did not have any surprise at this scene. Quite simply, credit must be given to the country.

Go back and talk about the rewards for meritorious deeds, but on the outside, all the merits must be attributed to the state and the collective. Liang Sanping: They have no objection to this. Because indeed, without the help of a group of people, including Lao He and them, Liang Sanping would not have been able to complete this matter.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to this show. It is also a great honor to have this opportunity to introduce our traditional Chinese culture to you. I am excited to welcome you all! ”

"Boom, la......" The audience burst into applause, and the next person below the ambassador said knew what to say without having to think about it. It's nothing more than some official words and clichés, but everyone is used to it.

The group of people hummed and maintained their manners with a smile, and also gave warm applause after the ambassador's chattering official words. After a group of officials finished speaking, it was Liang Sanping's turn to take the stage.

"During the Tang Dynasty, Chinese tea spread to the Arab region of West Asia. Western travelers to China as early as the Middle Ages. It has been noted that the custom of drinking tea, which has become widespread in China. ”

Liang Sanping walked up to the stage, and today he was wearing a navy blue tunic suit. This dress was specially made by him in Xiangjiang. For this reason, Jiang Li was puzzled, but now it seems that Liang Sanping did this for a reason.

Very simply, Liang Sanping's tunic is no longer the slightly loose tunic in China. and a suit-style corset, making his whole person look extremely tall and energetic. More energetic and bold.

The English sinologist Yuer believes that in a book published in Venice in 1559 called "Voyages and Travels", the author Giovanni . Valdista. Ramsius was the earliest record of Chinese tea in various European texts. ”

"In 1565, the Italian missionary Louis . In a letter sent home from Japan, Almeida mentions that 'the Japanese are very fond of a medicinal herb, tea. This is the second time that information about tea has reached Europe. ”

"In 1569, the Portuguese missionary Crus who had traveled to China wrote in the Chronicles of China, and the Spanish missionary Rada talked about the experience of drinking tea in China and the custom of serving tea to guests in Chinese Ming Dynasty."

But seeing Liang Sanping looking at everyone present, he said softly: "In 1596, the Dutch began to trade in Java, and around 1606, the first batch of tea was shipped to the Netherlands. This is believed to be the first time tea was imported into Europe as a commodity. ”

"There is also a letter in the archives of the Dutch East India Company. It was Wickham, an employee of the company, who wrote to his colleague Eaton in Macau in Japan on June 27, 1615, asking for 'a bag of the most mellow tea'. This is the earliest record of tea in the Netherlands. ”

"Throughout the 17th and early 18th centuries, the Netherlands was the largest tea trafficker and tea distributor among European countries, almost monopolizing the tea trade for 80 years. Amsterdam hosts tea auctions to make tea an independent commodity. ”

As a result, Amsterdam has become the center of tea supply in Europe. The tea trade in Amsterdam has always been very active, with 36,766 pounds of tea sold at auction in 1714. ”

"In 1700, Europeans imported 90,000 pounds of tea from China, and in 1800 it increased to 45 million pounds, an increase of nearly 500 times in 100 years. Tea import duty has become an important part of the UK's fiscal revenue. In the last years of the East India Company's monopoly. The tax revenue brought by tea to the British treasury averaged 3.3 million pounds a year, which is about one-tenth of the total revenue of the national treasury! ”

"Tea has brought huge profits to Western traders. So much so that the historian Pritchard said, 'Tea is God, and everything else can be sacrificed in front of it!' ’”

The people present listened to Liang Sanping's introduction, some of them were shocked, while others were admired for Liang Sanping's detailed historical materials. Of course, there are also people who look at Liang Sanping with interest but don't know what they are thinking.

"In 1700, there were more than 500 coffee shops selling tea in London. In the first half of the 18th century, there were about 2,500 coffee houses in London selling tea and serving tea. It was at this time that the 'afternoon tea' culture in Britain developed. ”

Liang Sanping looked at everyone. He said softly: "Tea is the contribution of the Chinese nation to the world. Although the tea drinking culture of the East and the West is not the same, that does not stop us from enjoying it together. ”

"It's a pity, for some reasons both historical and realistic. As the originator of tea culture, China, has always been in the fog. Even for those who are used to afternoon tea. Or they are influenced by Chinese tea culture to Japan and South Korea, and they don't know much about the tea ceremony, tea art, and cultural connotation of Chinese civilization, or even don't understand it at all. ”

saw Liang Sanping standing on the stage, with his head held high and his own bearing. Compared with Europeans and Americans, Liang Sanping's height is not dominant. But that fierce momentum and the majestic tunic that brought out his majestic tunic added a lot to him.

"So, here we are." Liang Sanping smiled slightly and said softly: "Everyone has learned about the Japanese tea ceremony and the Korean tea ceremony. For afternoon tea, we are very familiar, so let us introduce to you the originator of tea culture - Chinese tea art! ”

"Boom, la......" Liang Sanping's speech immediately attracted thunderous applause from below. This is different from the polite applause of the official just now, which is an admiration for Liang Sanping's detailed historical information. It is also an affirmation of his statement.

Although the official spoke for nearly half an hour, Liang Sanping's speech lasted less than ten minutes. But the effect between the two can be described as a world of difference. Even the ambassador had to admire Liang Sanping and give him a thumbs up in his heart.

"This lad is good! His name is Liang Sanping, right?! Ask him if he is interested in working in our foreign affairs department. The ambassador whispered to the secretary beside him: "English is so fluent, and the language organization skills are so strong. It is rare to see young people who have such a deep understanding of traditional culture and a deep understanding of historical origins......"

"I don't think he will come, you still have to work hard...... but the secretary said with a wry smile: "I inquired about him, in fact, the Ministry of Foreign Trade thought about digging him up before." For this, there was also a fight with the agricultural department. It turned out that nothing was caught! ”

"Agriculture?! Isn't it a pity to do agriculture with such a good talent?! Seeing the ambassador's frown, he said, "At least he should be in the propaganda department, look at his speech." Even if you don't stay in our foreign affairs department, the propaganda department is not bad! ”

"It's not easy to do, on the one hand, he is really doing a good job in agriculture. For example, this tea art exhibition was won by him. Including the design, layout and even sponsorship of the entire exhibition, he brought ......"

But the secretary smiled bitterly and said, "And then, he himself likes to do agriculture." Qiongdao is exporting agriculture, and now it is exporting Chinese patent medicine. A large part of it is due to him, who has earned a lot of foreign exchange for the agricultural sector. Therefore, the foreign trade side did not dare to force agriculture too much, for fear that they would make trouble......"

"Fight~!" At this moment, the lights at the reception scene slowly went out. Immediately, a guqin sounded. But I saw a booth, and I didn't know when it was gathered by the lights. A man dressed in Hanfu is gently playing with the guqin on his lap.

The gentle and low sound of the piano, sometimes like a breeze caressing a tree, sometimes like a rain sweeping the fence, echoes throughout the hall. Recently, it sounds like a drizzle hitting plantains, and it is silent from afar, and it is still in my ears. Slowly revel in the low-key sound of the piano. Suddenly, worry filled my heart, and suddenly a sense of sadness came ......

I don't know when, the lights have been restored. The hall is surrounded by silk and bamboo wind music, which makes a group of foreigners fascinated. It's a way they almost never hear music played, using instruments that most of them haven't seen before.

"This kind of performance seems to carry the sound of nature. It felt as if the sound was coming from the sky. It makes people feel ...... How to say it, it's very comfortable. It seems that every time the strings sound, there is a rhythm and a charm......"

Carter, who came to the exhibition, later described the performance to his friends as follows: "At that time, I had an urge to go to China and thoroughly understand Chinese culture and the core behind this culture. ”

"There is no doubt that this exhibition was the driving force behind my trip to China." Carter, who later became the largest tea seller in the United States, said to his friend: "I am not disappointed, Chinese culture is extremely attractive culture. ”

I don't know when the music stopped, but when everyone reminisced about the sound of heaven. However, on the booth, in a quaint whole wood-carved coffee table, there was an old man with white hair carrying a pot of water to pour tea. (To be continued......)