英国下午茶与广东早茶的文化比较

英

国

下

午

茶

与

广

东

早

茶

的

文

化

比

较

< br>

Company number

：【

0089WT-8898YT-W8CCB- BUUT-202108

】

题目

：

英国下午茶与广东早茶的文化比较

On Cultural Comparison Between British Afternoon Tea

and Cantonese Morning Tea

摘

要

茶文化博大精深，而茶又是人们生 活中不可或缺的一部分。中国和英国都是饮茶

大国，各自独特的茶文化代表着东西方不同 的饮茶风格，是各自传统文化的重要组成

部分。本论文以英国下午茶和广东早茶文化为研 究对象，详细描述了两地丰富的茶文

化特色，从而对两地茶文化的异同进行比较。首先本 论文简单追溯了中英两国的茶文

化概况。接着分章节叙述了英国下午茶与广东早茶的起源 及其历史发展：其中包括英

国维多利亚时期的下午茶盛况，清朝广州的茶楼，以及英国下 午茶和广东早茶的风格

和特点；同时包括两地的茶文化的现状，等等。最后对两者之间的 不同点与相似处进

行了比较和总结。从中，我们不仅能了解丰富的茶文化知识，还能由此 更深地探索两

地的文化异同。本文将要探索的是，除去那些表面的差异，两者在文化层面 的相似之

处：茶在社交功能方面所发挥的作用。

关键词

：

茶文化；下午茶；早茶；文化比较

Abstract

Tea culture has a long history. Tea is an indispensable part of people

’

s daily lives, whether

in Britain or in China. Their unique tea culture represents a different style of tea in the East

and West, and belongs to an important part of their traditional culture. This paper takes the

British afternoon tea and the Cantonese morning tea as research objects, describes the rich

characteristics of both culture, aims at making an comparison between them. Firstly, this

paper briefly dates back to the culture overview of the British afternoon tea and the Cantonese

morning tea. Then it describes the origin and development of British afternoon tea and

Cantonese morning tea culture in details, which includes the prosperity of the afternoon tea in

Victorian Era, the tea house of Guangzhou in Qing dynasty and the features and present

situation of the British afternoon tea and the Cantonese morning tea. In the meantime, it also

includes their drinking styles, tea categories, tea cakes and so on. Finally it makes a

conclusion of the differences and similarities between the two cultures. We can not only get to

know the rich knowledge about tea culture of the two countries, but also make in- depth

exploration of the differences and similarities of cultures. Apart from the superficial

differences, this paper will go to explore the similarity of these two cultures :the role of tea in

the social intercourse.

Key Words:

tea culture; afternoon tea; morning tea; cultural comparison

Contents

摘

要

.................................. ............................

........... ....................................

i

Abstract..................... .................................................. ..............................ii

1

3

3

4

5

6

6

7

8

10

10

Different custom of drinking tea...................................... ........................................... 10

Different cultural origin of tea .................................................. ...................................10

11

11

12

15

...16

< br>Acknowledgements............................... .................................................. .17

On Cultural Comparison Between British Afternoon Tea

and Cantonese Morning Tea

1.

Introduction

Tea is a cup of life. It is true for both Chinese people and British people. For Chinese, tea

is an inseparable thing of daily life. Also, tea is highly praised and deeply loved by British

people. As the British writer Samuel Johnson has said:

“

Tea's proper use is to amuse the idle,

and relax the studious, and dilute the full meals of those who cannot use exercise, and will not

use abstinence

”

.

China is the hometown of tea .And there is a legend of the origin of tea: Shennong, a

agricultural god, is also the inventor of Chinese medicine. He discovers the five cereals as

well as various herbals, which can cure human diseases. It is said that Shennong tastes various

herbals so as to master the characteristics of herbal medicines and is poisoned seventy-two

times a day but is detoxified by accidentally eating tea leaves. This is the earliest description

and written record about our forefather's understanding of tea. In the Western Han Dynasty

（

206 9 .

）

in the southwestern of China, especially in Sichuan and Yunnan, people start

drinking tea as beverage. At that time, tea is also dedicated to the Emperors as tributes. Tang

and Song Dynasties are the most important periods

of tea culture development. People begin

to produce tea on a large scale in Tang Dynasty and tea becomes popular quickly. The art of

Chinese tea starts to take shape. It is in the middle period of Tang Dynasty (618-907 .) that tea

drinking becomes a national tradition and leads to the development of a delicate tea drinking

ritual. The tea houses spread all over the country. Drinking tea is not only prevalent in every

part of this country but also develops in various styles in different areas. For example,

Guangzhou is famous for its morning tea culture. Nowadays, morning tea culture is the

unique part of Cantonese culture.

Though the tea-drinking history of British is much shorter than that of China, Britain is

also a tea consuming country. It rapidly becomes the second largest tea consumer in the world

now, with each person consuming on average kg per year. When asked

drinking do you want

early 17

th

century, British begin to have records about tea. About 1650, British occasionally

drink tea, then gradually tea becomes an integral part of daily drinks in the UK. Tea is first

introduced to Britain by Portuguese Princess Catherine of Braganza, queen consort of Charles

II of England, in the 1660s and 1670s. It is said in her dowries there are 221 pounds of black

tea and all kinds of

exquisite Chinese tea sets, while at that time, black tea is as precious as

silver. Regarded as the “Tea Queen”, Catherine br

ings the black tea to the Royal Palace and

makes the tea art popular among the ladies of royal family. Gradually, tea spreads out in the

nobility, becoming their magic medicine and the fashionable beverage in social intercourse.

At that time, tea trade between China and Britain developes rapidly. In 1840s, the tradition of

afternoon tea is coincidently invented by Anna Russell, the seventh Duchess of Bedford.

Since then, the afternoon time is not boring and endless. Afternoon tea becomes a new form

of social intercourse, and to a certain extent, it changes

the British’s life style. Later,

afternoon

tea gets into common people’s life.

Tea becomes British’s totem

-drink.

2. British Afternoon Tea

Under the influence of the culture of British afternoon tea, British writers often express

their appreciation for afternoon tea. Henry James says in his famous novel

The Portrait of a

Lady

that

“

There are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony

known as afternoon tea”

(Smith 1989: 15

). After more than one hundred years’ development,

afternoon tea becomes

one of British people’s habits, and shapes the unique British afternoon

tea culture.

The

Origin and development of British afternoon tea

Tea is first introduced to Britain as a mysterious eastern drink, and only the noblemen can

afford the exorbitant price of tea. It is the Portuguese Princess , queen consort of Charles II of

England that makes the tea drinking habit become prevalent among the Royal Palace and the

nobility. Thus, she is

respectfully addressed by her people as “Tea Queen”.

It is said that the queen consort Catherine drinks an amber beverage in her harem. Even in

some court banquets, when people propose a toast to her, she always raises her special cup

and drinks her own amber beverage. People are confused why this beverage can not make

their queen drunk but make her a more blooming visage. Someone reports it to Charles II,

thinking he will look into what actually this amber beverage is, while he just responds with a

smile. On the contrary, the French queen is full of curiosity. Her intuition tells her that

Catherine’s beauty h

as something to do with this mysterious drink. Tempted by greed and

jealousy, she orders one of her retinues to steal this strange thing, whereas it is soon exposed

and the retinue is hanged for this. After this event, the black tea brought from Portugal by

Princess Catherine spreads across the whole royal family.

It is impossible to pinpoint exactly when tea is first served as an afternoon event that takes

place between midday luncheon and evening dinner. Routines varied greatly between cities,

countries and classes, depending on the individual's activities. But there is no doubt that some

time in the late 1830s and early 1840s, drinking tea in the afternoon is developed into a new

social event. The accepted tea legend always attributes the invention of afternoon tea to Anna

Russel. In 1840s, the tradition of afternoon tea is coincidently invented by Anna Russell, the

seventh Duchess of Bedford. At that time, people of upper class usually have supper at around

8 o’clock in the evening. But Anna beg

ins to feel hungry at round 4 in the afternoon. This

leaves her a good long time of 4 hours. Therefore, she tells the servant to bring a tray of tea,

bread, butter and cake to her room during the late afternoon. It becomes a habit of hers. Soon,

she invites her friends to join her. Afternoon tea is favored by most women, because they

have a reason to get together and kill the leisure time in a more meaningful way. Then the

women of the aristocracy do the same in their home as Anna does. Later drinking afternoon

tea becomes a fashionable social event, providing a place for people to meet new friends and

get new information.

Features of British afternoon tea

The Victoria Era is the most powerful time of the British Empire, when

culture and art are vigorously developed. At that time, people pursue the

exquisite lifestyle, and the afternoon tea is not an exception.

The conventional time of having afternoon tea in Victoria Era is at four O’clock. Men

wear

swallow-tailed coats and women change into long gowns, gloves and hats

——

they are the

most classical dressing in Victorian tea party. In the annual afternoon tea party held in

Buckingham Palace today, the costumes of people keep the style of Victorian Era. Men are

still in swallow-tailed coats and top- hats, holding umbrellas in their hands; women are in

beautiful dress and hats.

Next is making tea. The teas are often Chinese black teas in high quality. Besides, Earl

Grey and Darjeeling are also British’

s favorites. Tea sets are usually china or silverware. In

addition, the embroidered lace tablecloths and tray pads are the essential accessories in

Victorian afternoon tea party. They are the important house decorations that symbolize the

luxurious life of Victorian nobility.

Then it comes to the snacks. Traditional Victorian afternoon tea snacks are held in a three-

story tiered porcelain stand. There are dainty sandwiches on the first-story stand, traditional

British snack and scone on the second- story stand, cakes and pastries on the third-story stand.

The snacks must be eaten in certain order, from the first level to the third one.

Moreover, another principal element is the fine place. The Victorian afternoon tea party is

often held in an elaborate designed saloon or the beautiful courtyard. In such wonderful

environment, the music band cannot be absent. The ladies wear tea gowns and step the tea

dance in the delightful music. It is a time for British people to show their genteelness and lady

grace.

Present situation of afternoon tea in Britain

British used to spend a lot of time on drinking tea, and

“

afternoon tea

”

becomes the

symbol of elegant lifestyle of the British. However, it is not easy to find good places to drink

afternoon tea on the streets of London nowadays or find traces of British afternoon tea on the

menu. It is understood that, the places where afternoon tea is served are basically five-star

hotels. There are only a few tea rooms in modern cities. Only we go to some small Scottish

towns, can we find that there are many tea rooms which supply cheap and traditional

afternoon town

’

s people still drink every afternoon tea and have the habit of chatting with

friends.

The idea of afternoon tea in British mind is being gradually diluted. Today, afternoon tea

is simplified because of the high speed of the lifestyle. People use tea bags instead of infusing

tea leaves. Parties are no longer as various and sophisticated as that of long time ago. There

are usually some pieces of biscuit or cakes.

Modern afternoon tea breaks through the limitations of the tea. Champagne is also

included in the scope of afternoon tea, which adds gorgeous tone for elegant lifestyle. With

more and more beverage varieties, the British young people prefer the style of Europe and the

United States. They prefer to drink coffee. It is believed that the era of coffee break will take

the place of the tea break in the future in Britain.

3. Cantonese Morning Tea

The tradition of drinking morning tea is the most distinct characteristic of Cantonese tea

culture, and also a very important part of daily life for many locals. Living in Guangzhou,

people can always hear

“Let's go to yum morning tea”.

Morning tea becomes a daily activity

and a way of relaxing. It is not about eating and drinking but rather involves enjoying the

surroundings, soaking up their ambience and getting that special feeling that only morning tea

can bring. Cantonese morning tea can be traced back to more than 150 years ago. There is a

type of simple teashop, offering tea and snacks for those seeking refreshment .

The Origin and development of Cantonese morning tea

Cantonese

morning

tea

culture

has

a

history

of

more

than

one

hundred

years,

which

originated

in

the

middle

period

of

Qing

Dynasty.

In

the

reign

of

Xianfeng

Emperor

and

Tongzhi

Emperor,

there

is

a

kind

of

restaurant

named

“One

Li

Tea

Room”

.

It

is

simply

equipped

offering

tea

and

snacks.

Outside

there

is

a

wooden

board,

saying:

Tea

Talk.

It

provides guests with a place to have a rest and chat. And then it is followed by the

where the idle people could kill their time. Later, the tea room is expanded, and it changes its

name into “Tea House”. At that time, people who manage tea house in Foshan, Guangdong all

buy land to build tea house with several stories. The big tea houses spring up everywhere in

Guangdong. Thereafter, Cantonese begin to form the habit of going to the tea house. There is

another kind of tea room called “Two Li Tea Room”

where snacks are served. The differences

between “Tea House” and “Two

Li

Tea Room” l

ie in the price and equipment. The seat

is

charged three Fen and six Li in

“

Tea House

”, while

in

“Two Li Tea Room”, as said in its name,

seat is only charged two Li.

The latter is only one eighteenth of the former. Of course, the

facilities of the tea house are better. Some of the old-fashioned tea houses have different price

categories, the price of upstairs is higher than that of downstairs, for there are air conditioners

or electric fans upstairs and the places are more spacious.

Since

reform

and

opening-up,

tea

houses

are

developed

in

full

bloom

in

Guangzhou.

They are expanded into modern grand hotels, which spend much more money on decoration

and

have

many

private

rooms

of

different-styles,

such

as

western

style,

Japanese

style

and

Southeast Asian style, etc. On one hand, they include different grades of saloons for people of