Aesthetic Environment for Tea Drinking in Song Dynasty

In tea drinking, a pleasant atmosphere invariably accentuates participants' enjoyment. For poets, writers, artists, and intellectuals, it may well help ignite their inspirations in creating masterpieces as well. In the long history of tea drinking in China, the Song Dynasty was the period when aesthetics of the surroundings where scholars gathered sipping tea was becoming much emphasized. As depicted in the literature and paintings, artistically designed settings gradually evolved which could be categorized into three types, namely, natural scenery, pictorial pavilion, and elaborate constructions. Respectively, manicured landscape, featured themes and fixtures, and artistic and functional architecture were applied to express the designer's aesthetics on the serenity of nature and wilderness, intermingle of dream and reality, and provision of comfort and entertainment. The concept and practice of merging tea drinking with the drinkers' sentiment to reach a harmony between man and nature has a profound implication and long-lasting influences in Chinese culture.