Sunday, September 12, 2010

Drinking Tea To Harmonize With The Seasons: Colour (Type of Tea) As An Indication of Qi Part 1 of 2

There is much ancient wisdom about the essence of tea that can be found by meditation and reflection on Chinese classics and ancient Chinese theories. Theories that predate written history and old classics don't necessarily have to talk about tea explicitly to be applied to tea's deep nature. Some of the oldest Chinese texts reveal some of the deepest meanings of tea without even mentioning it.

One such text is Huangdi Neijing (The Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon) which offers insight into Daoist thought and traditional medicine. There are many secrets of tea hidden within this book. One important lesson that can be inferred is how the colour of tea can be used to harmonize yourself with seasonal change.

The theory of Five Transformations (Five Movements, Five Phases, Five Elements, Wu Xing) is thought to have originated before recorded Chinese history. The theory pairs the five traditional Chinese seasons- Spring, Summer, Late Summer (or two weeks before and after Equinoxes and Solstices), Autumn, and Winter with five colours green, red, yellow, white, black (colour is only one of many different pairings). The pairings are as follows:

Spring-green
Summer-red
Late Summer (or two weeks before and after Equinoxes and Solstices)- yellow
Autumn- white
Winter- black

Huangdi Neijing states that we should consume food of a certain colour during its paired season to optimize our health and harmonize our bodies and mind to the seasons. One feels that these colour-season pairings also apply loosely to tea.

Peace

4 comments:

Nicolas said...

Hello Matt, I'm sorry for my spoken English. I use the google translator. I regularly read your blog tea. Yesterday I read your recent article on Qi. I try to humbly reflect that Qi can be. And what is the relation between Qi and tea. It is not easy.

I have not found your email on your profile. You can find my email on the profile of my french blog: http://letheetlechemin.blogspot.com/

If you are interested, if you have time, we could have a discussion.

Humbly, Nicolas

Matt said...

Nicolas,

Have peeked in on your blog a few times and enjoy it.

It is a waste of time trying to define qi. Qi is what it is, too subjective to define. Too many people try to push new age beliefs and theories to try to define qi. Time better spent is to look at traditional meaning and types of Qi in traditional Chinese theories found in the Classics and reflect deeply on this. Meditation is also a must- do so deeply and regularly. Pay close attention to your own body and mind. These are the keys to getting to know chaqi.

You are right, the relationship between qi and tea is a complex one. Good luck in your personal journey to try to discover chaqi.

Peace

Nicolas said...

Spending time at his cup of tea to define Qi is indeed a waste of time. Have fun enjoy, to drink and to discover tea is a constructive and beneficial. There comes a time when the taster will have the curiosity to read old books, classics.

There comes a time when the taster have informations, and it must be taken into account or not.

Thank you for your reply, thank you to have updating your blogroll.

Peace

Nicolas

(copy of comment on "Le Thé et le Chemin" Blog).

Matt said...

Nicolas,

It must be difficult for you to communicate in English. Thanks for your interest and effort to reach out.

Peace