In 1906 in turn-of-the-century Boston, a small, esoteric book about tea was written with the intention of being read aloud in the famous salon of Isabella Gardner, Boston's most notorious socialite. It was authored by Okakura Kakuzo, a Japanese philosopher, art expert, and curator. Little known at the time, Kakuzo would emerge as one of the great thinkers of the early 20th century, a genius who was insightful, witty—and greatly responsible for bridging Western and Eastern cultures. Okakura had been taught at a young age to speak English and was more than capable of expressing to Westerners the nuances of tea and the Japanese Tea Ceremony. Any tea addict will be precious about their tea collection, as I am (note the image – to be clear about the above, I just finished a job and my colleagues bought me a load of tea as a “good riddance!” gift).

In India, it’s known as Ayurvedic medicine. Simply put, it works! Ginger or mint, for instance, will ease stomach upsets, whilst dandelion or nettle will cleanse your whole system. You can combine these for fabulous concoctions – nettle and mint together remain remarkable in their ability to soothe digestion and provide a lift.The outcome of final few chapters was also...fine. Look, endings are hard. It was serviceable, but didn't wow me. Ultimately I enjoyed the first one much more, with its promise of what was to come versus the actual execution of the conclusion. But I think I may be in the minority and, for many others, it will work well! I wouldn't be opposed to reading more by the author in a new world! Okakura was a high-profile urbanite who had an international sense of self. In the Meiji period he was the first dean of the Tokyo Fine Arts School (later merged with the Tokyo Music School to form the current Tokyo University of the Arts). He wrote all of his main works in English. Okakura researched Japan's traditional art and traveled to Europe, the United States, China and India. He emphasised the importance to the modern world of Asian culture, attempting to bring its influence to realms of art and literature that, in his day, were largely dominated by Western culture. Nothing is more hallowing than the union of kindred spirits in art. At the moment of meeting, the art lover transcends himself. At once he is and is not. He catches a glimpse of Infinity, but words cannot voice his delight, for the eye has not tongue. Freed from the fetters of matter, his spirit moves in the rhythm of things. It is thus that art becomes akin to religion and ennobles mankind. It is this which makes a masterpiece something sacred. Not everyone took delight in its arrival. Opinions are always there waiting to try and derail a new craze. The likes of one Henry Saville considered tea to be a disgrace – the swine! In Essay on Tea from 1756, others such as Jonas Hanway stated men lost their stature and women their beauty by drinking tea.

Allo stesso tempo, però, quello che fanno, seppur 'piccolo' e 'secondario' ha comunque un suo perché nel disegno più grande della questione e della guerra che si affaccia, a mostrare quello che Ning stessa spesso dice e si ricorda: siamo tutti fili che fanno parte dell'arazzo del mondo. Overall, this was a decent read- a bit disappointing but also not bad 🫶🫶 I would still recommend this duology if you're looking for:In all circumstances serenity of mind should be maintained, and conversation should be so conducted as never to mar the harmony of the surroundings … Thus the tea-master strove to be something more than the artist, – art itself. It was the Zen of aestheticism. Perfection is everywhere if we only choose to recognise it. As he explained in chapter II, Teaism is Taoism in disguise. This explains why those in the East took (and still take) it all so seriously – tea is another arm of Buddhism, their way of life, which assists them with finding moments of relaxation. Great as has been the influence of the tea-masters in the field of art, it is as nothing compared to that which they have exerted on the conduct of life. Not only in the usages of polite society, but also in the arrangement of all our domestic details, do we feel the presence of the tea-masters … They have given emphasis to our natural love of simplicity, and shown us the beauty of humility. In fact, through their teachings tea has entered the life of the people. These days, we have the steeped tea era. Add boiling (or near boiling) water to tea. Then let it do its thing. Of course, Okakura being Japanese, he notes above Chinese tea history, but indicates Japan “followed closely” in the footsteps of China during the above periods and also enjoyed the three stages of tea evolution. There’s a historical record, in 729, of the Emperor Shomu offering tea to 100 monks who had gathered at his palace.

Translation is always a treason, and as a Ming author observes, can at its best be only the reverse side of a brocade- all the threads are there, but not the subtlety of colour or design.” Simply put, I think it was the perfect time for Teaism to take off across the globe, but the tea-ceremony, and many other intricacies of the East’s infatuation with tea, were still baulked at by uncertain Westerners.In his "sleek complacency", however, the Westerner tended to see in the tea ceremony only "another instance of the thousand and one oddities which constitute the quaintness and childishness of the East to him". Writing in the aftermath of the Russo-Japanese War, Kakuzō commented that the Westerner regarded Japan as "barbarous while she indulged in the gentle arts of peace", and began to call her civilized only when "she began to commit wholesale slaughter on the Manchurian battlefields". [3] Arguably Britain’s finest writer of the 20th century, and certainly the most influential, was George Orwell. In an essay for the Evening Standard on 12 January 1946 called A Nice Cup of Tea, he explains his process of making the ideal “cuppa” (as the horrible term goes here in the UK). A fastidious man, Orwell was incredibly specific with his instructions, which really highlights how seriously we Brits take our tea (even if many of us have defected to coffee like seditious fools): The leaves were ground to fine powder in a small stone mill, and the preparation was whipped in hot water by a delicate whisk made of split bamboo. The book of tea was published in 1906 by Okakura Kakuzō. This ebook was produced for the Standard Ebooks project by Tassos Natsakis, and is based on a transcription produced in 1997 by Matthew, Gabrielle Harbowy, and David Widger for Project Gutenberg and on digital scans available at the Internet Archive" --Colophon. Cultural moments deeply embedded in one of life’s greatest pleasures – escapism – enhanced with cheap, healthy, and mood enhancing cups of hot stuff.

Hier geht es nicht nur um den Konflikt zwischen dem General, der die Macht an sich gerissen hat, und Prinzessin Zhen, die zusammen mit Ning auf der Flucht und auf der Suche nach Hilfe ist, sondern auch um alte Mächte, die ihre Finger im Spiel haben. Das war auf jeden Fall eine andere Art der Spannung, aber ich mochte auch die Intrigen und Geheimnisse im Vorgänger, hier gibt es eher Action und klare Gegner, die es zu besiegen gilt, wodurch die Handlung auch etwas vorhersehbar ist. It is much to be regretted that so much of the apparent enthusiasm for art at the present day has no foundation in real feeling. In this democratic age of ours men clamour for what is popularly considered the best, regardless of their feelings. They want the costly, not the refined; the fashionable, not the beautiful.

Rikiu loved to quote an old poem which says: "To those who long only for flowers, fain would I show the full-blown spring which abides in the toiling buds of snow-covered hills." I should mention that this title has NO RECIPES in it. It is more about Eastern (Japanese) culture, a history of tea, explanations of elegance and simplicity within tea ceremony, merging yin and yang, and getting the West and East to un Continuing on with his interest in natural aesthetics, our emotive writer remains in a passionate frame of mind. Tea is a work of art and needs a master hand to bring out its noblest qualities. We have good and bad tea, as we have good and bad paintings – generally the latter. There is no single recipe for making the perfect tea, as there are no rules for producing a Titian or a Sesson. Each preparation of the leaves has its individuality, its special affinity with water and heat, its hereditary memories to recall, its own method of telling a story.