Chinese Products – Tea

Tea, the most popular beverage for the Chinese, is one of China's specialties and traditional exports. According to historical data, china began to grow tea about two thousand years ago during the period of the Warring States (403-221 B.C.). Tea falls into five major categories, i.e., black tea, jasmine tea, Wulong tea (a tea that is half fermented), green tea and brick tea, which is otherwise known as tightly pressed tea.

It is universally acknowledged that china is the original tea-growing area, as well as the first country to grow, produce and drink tea.

In the Song (960-1279) and Yuan (1271-1368) dynasties a popular custom was tea appraising. Over the long history of drinking tea, a special and simple Chinese tea culture came into being. Drinking tea was not only for quenching thirst or for enjoyment, but also for the promotion of friendship and mutual understanding. Folk customs of drinking tea reflected the ancient Chinese people's great interest in tea culture.

People often used tea as a betrothal gift; for it could not be "transplanted." After accepting tea as a betrothal gift, a girl could not capriciously change her decision to marry her fiancé.

Entertainment of guests to tea is the most fundamental social behavior in the Chinese people's contacts with each other. When a guest comes, the Chinese will offer him or her a cup of tea to express friendship.

China is the home country of tea. Before the Tang Dynasty, Chinese tea was exported by land and sea, first to Japan and Korea, then to India and Central Asia and, in the Ming and Qing dynasties, to the Arabian Peninsula. In the early period of the 17th century, Chinese tea was exported to Europe, where the upper class adopted the fashion of drinking tea. Chinese tea, like Chinese silk and china, made an outstanding contribution to the world's material and spiritual civilization.

Chinese Products – Ceramics commonly known as China

Ceramics is actually the general art of heating common clay to create an ornamental object. All pottery and porcelain are considered ceramics.

As early as 8,000 years ago Chinese tribes were making artifacts with clay. Porcelain was first made during the Han Dynasty (206 BC to 22 AD). The oldest existing porcelain that has been found is thought to date back to the 7th century.

Chinese porcelain making has a rich and varied history. There was a beautiful cracked porcelain style of the Song and Yuan dynasties. It was during the Yuan Dynasty that "blue and white" porcelain made its first appearance. During the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), the discovery of a new glazing technique allowed the artists to use lots of different colors on the object after it had been baked. This method was called "the five colored porcelain".

Most porcelain objects like vases and bowls are usually mounded by hand rather than by wheel. They are then left to dry in the air, glazed and finally fired. The glaze is prepared by mixing baidunzi with impute lime. The glaze ingredients fuse together to give a smooth finish to the porcelain.

The Capitals of pottery and porcelain have been Yixing in Jiangsu Province and Jingdezhen in Jiangxi Province respectively. During the Song Dynasty, large quantities of porcelain were exported via the Silk Road.

Why do people call their ceramic wares "china"? And why the name of our ancient country in English is also called "China", instead of "Central Nation" or "Middle Kingdom"?

Several centuries ago, when European people saw the first batch of the fine pottery shipped from a mysterious nation in the Orient, they marveled at it. They decided to give the works the name of their place of production--"Changnan", which they began to pronounce as "China". Possibly out of the conventional practice of referring to a country by that for which it is best known, "China" came into use to refer to the whole nation.

Changnan gradually fell into oblivion, but Jingde town being in the very same place, is still the capital of ceramics. Jingde town porcelain production reached its all time high in the early Qing Dynasty. Traditional Jingde town china art can be categorized into four schools, with the most famous one being the "blues and whites" porcelain.

Some of the information and pictures have been extracted from the following sites:
http://www.c-c-c.org, http://www.holidaycn.com/, http://www.ramsjb.com/, http://www.china.org.cn

“The CACBC did an absolutely fabulous job! They gave each and every one of the 100+ people on the tour a wonderful experience that we will never forget. I danced with Chinese people, and said, "hello" to kids in uniforms, and bought books from a local bookstore. It was such a fun experience. I am in awe at their ability to organize such a wonderful trip.”

Laura Usiskin,  Student Participant