Traditional Tea Processing Techniques and Associated Social Practices in China

涂淑梅

2022 年，“中国传统制茶技艺及其相关习俗”已列入联合国教科文组织《人类非物质文化遗产代表作名录》。至此，中国共有43 个项目列入联合国教科文组织非物质文化遗产名录、名册，居世界第一。成熟发达的传统制茶技艺及其广泛深入的社会实践，体现着中华民族的创造力和文化多样性，传达着茶和天下、包容并蓄的理念。

The tea that has delighted and1)fascinatedthe world for millennia has finally received top-level global2)recognitionas a shared cultural treasure of mankind.

“Traditional tea processing techniques and associated social practices in China” were added to UNESCO’sRepresentative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.increasing the number of world intangible cultural heritages in China to 43.China maintains its No.1 position in the field.

The List of World Intangible Cultural Heritagehas recognized the knowledge,skills,and practices concerning the management of tea plantations,picking of tea leaves,and the processing,drinking and sharing of tea in China.

As a document from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism to UNESCO explained,tea is ubiquitous in Chinese people’s daily life.3)Steepedor boiled tea is served in homes,workplaces,tea houses,restaurants and so on.Tea is also an important part of social events and4)ceremoniessuch as weddings and praying to the ancestors.

“The Practice of greeting guests and building relationships within families and among neighbors through tearelated activities is common to multiple ethnic groups,providing a sense of shared identity and continuity for the communities,” according to the official website of UNESCO.

Based on natural conditions and local customs,Chinese tea producers have developed six categories of tea—green,yellow,dark,white,oolong and black teas.Together with reprocessed teas,such as flower-scented teas,there are more than 2,000 tea products.5)Coreskills includeshaqing(enzyme inactivation),menhuang(yellowing),wodui(piling),weidiao(withering),zuoqing(leaves shaking and cooling),fajiao(oxidation or fermentation) andyinzhi(scenting).

Because various natural growing conditions are more suitable for certain types of tea,the different categories of tea are distributed into diverse regions around China.

China is a country with a time-honored civilization and a land of ceremony and6)decorum.Whenever guests visit,it is necessary to make and serve tea to them.

Before serving tea,you may ask them for their preferences as to what kind of tea they fancy and serve them the tea in the most appropriate teacups.In the course of serving tea,the host should take careful note of how much water is remaining in the cups and in the kettle.Usually,if the tea is made in a teacup,boiling water should be added after half of the cup has been7)consumed;and thus the cup is kept filled so that the tea retains the same8)bouquetand remains pleasantly warm throughout the entire course of tea-drinking.Snacks,sweets and other dishes may be served at tea time to complement the fragrance of the tea and to allay one’s hunger.

China’s tea culture has nurtured social practices,traditional skills and handicrafts and reflects Chinese people’s values of modesty,harmony and respect.

词组加油站

cultural treasure 文化瑰宝

(be) based on 基于……；以……为依据

distribute into 将……分成；分发到……

1) fascinatev.深深吸引；迷住

2) recognitionn.认识；承认；认可

3) steepv.泡；浸

4) ceremonyn.典礼；礼节；仪式；礼仪

5) coreadj.核心的

6) decorumn.端庄得体

7) consumev.消耗；耗费

8) bouquetn.香味

数千年来，茶一直深受世界各地人们喜爱，如今，茶作为一种人类文化的瑰宝终于获得国际认可。

“中国传统制茶技艺及其相关习俗”被联合国教科文组织列入《人类非物质文化遗产代表作名录》，中国的世界非物质文化遗产数量增至43 项，居世界第一。

《世界非物质文化遗产名录》对中国的茶园管理、茶叶采摘、茶的手工制作，以及茶的饮用与分享的知识、技艺和实践给予肯定。

文旅部向联合国教科文组织提交的一份文件称，茶在中国人的日常生活中无处不在。人们采用泡、煮等方式，在家庭、工作场所、茶馆、餐厅等场所饮茶。茶也是社交领域及婚礼、祭祀等仪式的重要组成部分。

据联合国教科文组织官方网站称：“通过与茶相关的活动，招待客人并在家庭内部和邻里之间建立关系的做法，在许多民族中很常见，为人们提供了一种共同的认同感和连续性。”

制茶师根据自然条件和当地风俗习惯，运用杀青、闷黄、渥堆、萎凋、做青、发酵、窨制等核心技艺，发展出绿茶、黄茶、黑茶、白茶、乌龙茶、红茶六大茶类及花茶等再加工茶，2000 多种茶品。

由于不同的自然生长条件更适合某些类型的茶，不同类别的茶分布在中国的不同地区。

中国是文明古国，礼仪之邦，很重礼节。但凡来了客人，沏茶、敬茶的礼节是必不可少的。

当有客人来访，可征求客人意见，选用最合来客口味的茶叶和最适合的茶具待客。主人在陪伴客人饮茶时，要注意客人杯、壶中的茶水。通常，如果用茶杯泡茶，如已喝去一半，就要添加开水，随喝随添，使茶水浓度基本保持前后一致，水温也适宜。饮茶时也可适当佐以茶食、糖果、菜肴等，达到调节口味和充饥之功效。

中国的茶文化孕育了社会习俗、传统技能和手工艺，体现了中国人谦逊、和谐、尊重他人的价值观。