Abstract:
Tea ceremony, a unique art associated with tea drinking, derives from the skill and atmosphere of tea-brewing and evolves over the years into story-telling and vivid performance that conveys meaningful message through the aesthetic process. The exquisite beauty, the uplifting spirit, and the social value of such creation brings about heartwarming, thoughtful, and purposeful effects upon the audience. The show,
Tea Appreciation &
Autism, disseminates a compassionate understanding of the ailment and calls people to lovingly care for the disabled. From multiple perspectives using the story of an autistic child and his mother, the ceremony creator anthropomorphically illustrates the progress of the child from being mentally isolated to becoming captivated by tea drinking and gradually reemerging into the otherwise “foreign” world under the mother’s unfailing love and tender care. The show expertly explains the special needs of children with autism and implores viewers to meet the challenge. Taking the show as an example, this article introduces the new venue of achieving the humanistic quest through tea ceremony. By tracing the show creator’s noble intention, unique theme selection, eloquent stage design, artistic presentation, and pleasing displays it was hoped that autism would no longer be stigmatized by the public and the patients be appropriately cared for by the society at large.