On The Tea Cultural Exchanges Between China And Japan In Ming And Qing Dynasty

Both China and Japan have a long history of tea culture. The increasingly frequent tea cultural exchanges between the two countries dated back to Tang Dynasty. Each period of the following centuries saw a larger development. In this paper, with the adoption of literature review and comparative methods, the author attempts to make a comparative study of the background, content and impact of the tea cultural exchanges between China and Japan in Ming and Qing Dynasties with a start of Sino-Japanese relations and trade. The paper focuses on Sino-Japanese tea cultural exchanges and characteristics in Ming and Qing Dynasties.The relationship between Ming Dynasty of China and Japan is mainly concerned about such basic issues as tributary trade, Japanese pirates and aid-Korea-and-anti-Japanese pirates, among which the establishment, development and termination of the tribute trade constitute the core of Sino-Japanese relations. The relationship between Qing Dynasty of China and Japan started from the twenty-fourth year since the reign of Emperor Kangxi (1685) when Qing government opened its seafaring prohibition, set up customs offices in Ningbo and other three cities and restored the Sino-Japanese trade and commerce. Since the early years of Qing Dynasty, Qing government and the Tokugawa Shogunate in Japan respectively sealed off the country and carried out the policy of seafaring prohibition and there were no diplomatic relations and official exchanges between the two countries but the non-governmental trade.Sino-Japanese tea cultural exchange was very frequent in Ming and Qing Dynasties, whether it was an official or non-governmental trade. Both cultural and economic exchanges were very active and important in that period. On the one hand, the participants of China's tea culture were widely distributed in tea cultivation, processing, marketing, and drinking groups with a broad mass basis. On the other hand, China's tea books, tea sets, stationery, etc. were spread to Japan. According to Yin Yuan Du Ri, the Japanese keep nearly the same tea-drinking methods and ideas as those literati of the Ming and Qing era did. Sino-Japanese tea cultural exchanges in Ming and Qing Dynasties highlight the respective features of the two nations'tea culture, promote their deep understanding of each other's tea culture, and enhance bilateral exchanges and cooperation of tea culture on the basis of inheriting their respective good traditions.China is the origin of tea, the world's first tea-drinking country, as well as the birthplace of tea culture. The Japanese tea culture is familiar to China's in many ways. The Japanese tea culture not only receives and reproduces Chinese tea culture, but also outputs itself in the course of its exchange and collision with Chinese tea culture.The Sino-Japanese tea cultural exchanges came earlier than any other country in the world, which is the evidence of the long-term friendly exchanges between Chinese and Japanese peoples.Under the background of Sino-Japanese trade exchanges, tea cultural exchanges flourish, enrich and develop the connotation of tea culture, effectively promoting the most unique integrated character of the oriental culture. The Sino-Japanese tea cultural exchanges have promoted the further development of Sino-Japanese relations and deepened the friendship between the two peoples.