Choosing tea, making tea, and offering tea are cultural behaviors that demonstrate the sophistication and hospitality of the Vietnamese people. This cultural trait actually has a whole system of experiences and unwritten behavioral conventions from ancient times.
Vietnamese people drinking tea in the early 20th century (Source: Internet)
Although it has not been elevated to the level of Tea Ceremony culture like the Japanese or Tea Culture like the Chinese, the Vietnamese tea drinking style still has its own unique values. Cultural researcher - Professor Tran Ngoc Them once said: "Vietnamese people invite each other to drink tea not simply to quench their thirst, but to express a noble cultural style, a close friendship, a heart wishing for harmony, a mutual understanding of the interlocutors. Vietnamese people invite each other to drink tea to start a conversation, to discuss family, society, human affairs, to feel that in the cup of tea there is the flavor of the earth, sky, grass and trees and all things." Especially, around the matter of drinking tea, we can somewhat understand more deeply the character of Vietnamese people.
Vietnam is a country with a long-standing wet rice agricultural civilization. This is primarily determined by the characteristics of our country's natural environment. Wet rice cultivation has influenced the lifestyle and behavior of Vietnamese people. To grow wet rice, people must first depend on water (ie weather, climate). Therefore, is it true that Vietnamese culture or human identity is quite water-based? It is patient, flexible, and supple like water. Besides, they not only rely on nature, but also rely on human strength, on the community to work and live together. Village people, as a cultural model, are universal and occupy an extremely important position in Vietnamese cultural history.
Vietnamese people drinking tea in the early 20th century (Source: Internet)
When considering tea drinking as a cultural expression in Vietnamese life, we will see that it fully reflects the traditional identity of the Vietnamese people. They are people of the village, people of the community. The spirit of community is nurtured from within the family, the village. The community spirit makes Vietnamese people rich in love and sacrifice, sacrificing for their small community (family, clan), to sacrificing for the large community (village, country). The art of tea drinking reflects the cultural style of behavior of the Vietnamese people. The tea tree grows from the ground, grows in the sunlight and bathes in wind and rain, so when taking a sip of tea, it is like feeling the whole nature and sky blending together in the spreading sweetness. Vietnamese tea is close to nature, it teaches tea drinkers the spirit of community, closeness, knowing how to thank those who have worked hard in the tea fields.
The communal spirit and the sentimental lifestyle make Vietnamese people love fairness. The sense of fairness originates from the Vietnamese way of life of “village and neighborliness”, everyone helps and protects each other, so everyone has the same rights and responsibilities. Therefore, Vietnamese society does not have strict class divisions like in other countries, both in feudal times and at present. Taking pouring tea as an example, after rinsing the cups with boiling water to clean and keep them warm, people arrange the cups close together, forming a circle. The cups placed close together show the closeness of the village and neighborliness when inviting each other to have a cup of tea. The circle of the cups placed next to each other shows the desire for fulfillment and completeness. If you pour tea in a circle of cups, each cup pours a little, from beginning to end, then circle back to the beginning, this makes the tea have no difference in intensity between the first and last cups. Its meaning is to express equality between host and guest in enjoying the quintessence of nature.
Besides black tea, most common people also like to drink fresh tea, tea buds. This is a unique way of drinking tea of Vietnamese people. Drinking fresh tea also shows the communal nature of Vietnamese village culture, the Southeast Asian rice civilization. Tea represents the optimism and love of life of Vietnamese people, combined with the spirit of freedom and openness, with few constraints, making Vietnamese tea imbued with folk and national character.
Vietnamese people drinking tea in the early 20th century (Source: Internet)
Many people often ask why Vietnam does not have a tea culture comparable to Japanese Tea Ceremony, Chinese tea art, or British afternoon tea? Although it has not yet developed into a "way" in drinking tea, Vietnamese people still have a harmonious and simple tea culture. Therefore, it is not exactly a "way" like Japanese tea ceremony, not too sophisticated like Chinese tea art, and not too practical like Western afternoon tea. It can be said that Vietnamese tea is both elegant and leisurely, and rustic and simple, not wanting to be constrained by any rigid model, reflecting a synthetic mindset, a harmonious and clever blend in Vietnamese culture.
All of these things are not created by chance by the ancients, it is the very simple culture of our ancestors. It is rustic and simple, in harmony with nature, with people and with one's own inner world. Through the way Vietnamese people use tea, we can also see part of the sophistication of Vietnamese people, the enjoyment of life through things that seem simple but contain so many emotions.
Nguyen Le Phuong Anh - thainguyen.gov.vn
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