宋代点茶兴衰与大众饮茶之崛起-《中国农史》

文章信息/Info

Title:: The Rise and Fall of Song Dynasty Whisked Tea and the Emergence of the Public Tea Drinking

Author(s):: CHENG Minsheng; （School of History and Culture, Henan University, Kaifeng 475001）

摘要:: 饮茶方式的阶段性特征，是茶史演变的标志。通常“唐煮、宋点、明泡”的概括中，宋代特点并非大众饮茶方式。点茶的目的是鉴赏汤花香味，不是补充人体水分，也即是形式上的精神需求，不是生活中的身体需求。宋代农民、市民以及百万大军普遍喝茶，是茶叶消费的主力军，并没有时间、技术和财力点茶。大众化的饮茶方式，只能是简便易行的泡茶；广大北方、四川嗜饮的配料茶即与点茶无关。城市里出现流动卖茶水与瓶装茶水，都是也只能是直接倒杯中饮用，简单实用。宋代饮茶方式最初是点茶、泡茶两股道，有交叉更有并行，点茶在宋徽宗朝达到巅峰后逐渐消歇，泡茶虽不显眼但始终是主体，最终将点茶淹没。

Abstract:: The characteristics of tea drinking in different periods were markers of the evolution of tea history. In the general summary of "Tang boiling, Song whisking, Ming steeping," the Song Dynasty’s method was not the mainstream way of drinking tea. The purpose of whisking tea was to appreciate the aroma and flavor of the tea foam, not to replenish bodily fluids, which means it was a formal spiritual pursuit rather than a physical necessity in daily life. Farmers, city dwellers, and the vast armies of the Song Dynasty commonly drank tea and were the main consumers of tea leaves. They did not have the time, skill, or financial means to engage in whisking tea. The popular method of tea drinking had to be simple and convenient steeping; the ingredient teas favored in the vast northern regions and Sichuan had nothing to do with whisking tea. The emergence of mobile tea sellers and bottled tea in cities were all about directly pouring tea into cups for drinking, which was straightforward and practical. Initially, the Song Dynasty had two parallel methods of tea drinking: whisking and steeping, with some overlap but mostly coexistence. Whisking tea reached its peak during the reign of Emperor Huizong of Song and then gradually declined. Although steeping tea was not as prominent, it remained the dominant method and eventually overshadowed whisking tea.