Reading Identity Construction Through The Popularization Of Kongfu Tea Culture In Shanghai In The First Decade Of21^st Century

The overflow of images and disorder of culture pose a threat to maintain the remainsof traditional folk culture and elite culture. The sense of fragmentation and flows ofsigns brought by globalization make people lost. What’s more, the drawbacks ofAmericanization and globalization gradually unveiled, and people started to realizethat western style is not a panacea. Local places appealed and started to revive localculture and sometimes, recreate local culture.Tea is a best sign of China and fine Chinese culture, while Kongfu tea is the bestrepresentative of tea culture. In the recent ten years, tea culture and tea industrywitnessed rapid development, with more and more tea houses, tea business, and bookscoming out. It’s said that “tea is usually popular in flourishing age”(sheng shi tancha). In history, especially in mid Tang Dynasty, it reached a climax of tea culture,which is so profound, fabulous, and brilliant, showcasing civilization of the grandTang Dynasty in Feudalist age. At present, Chinese nation is rising up and standingonce again in the front rank of all nations in the world. More and more people turnedto China, not only for its economy, but also hoped to learn something from China’srich cultural traditions. Times called for Chinese culture, its refreshing scent, andpeaceful tranquility, harmonious and tolerant spirit.Shanghai was once the largest tea collecting and distributing center of China.Although it doesn’t produce tea, Shanghai, with its unique economic and culturalstatus, makes unique contributions in developing modern tea culture in China.Especially, Shanghai International Tea Culture Festival, which is held every year since1994, served as a window for the revival and development of tea culture. With widerange, openness, creativity, diversity and attraction, this festival combines nationalwith international, elite culture with common civilians. The present study aims to study why and how Kongfu tea is becoming popular inShanghai in present stage. The researcher chooses qualitative method, the groundedtheory approach and in-depth interview, moreover, combines insider’s view withoutsider’s view. According to the data collected, all the respondents basically drinkKongfu tea and refuse other drinks. Objects are used to divide between groups, createand define similarities and differences, as commodities are used to divide socialrelations because symbolic value matters more than utility and exchange value. Theenjoyment from commodities is only partly relevant to material consumption, butmostly, from symbolic role of commodities. The research finds that Kongfu tea helpsto construct personal identity and strengthen national identity.