国际茶日：以茶为媒 以茶会友
The International Tea Day underscores tea's friend-making intermediary role
茶是世界三大饮品之一，是世界上仅次于水的消耗最多的饮料。茶具有一定的消炎、抗氧化和减肥作用，饮茶可有益于健康；喝茶还能让人静心、静神，有助于陶冶情操、去除杂念。正因如此，“茶学”包含了茶科学和茶文化学两个组成部分。
As one of the three major drinks in the world, tea is also the most consumed drink after water on earth. With certain anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and weight-losing effects, drinking tea is good for health. Drinking tea can also make people meditate and calm, which helps cultivate one's personality and stay away from distractions. For this reason, the study on tea includes two fields: tea science and tea culture.
有证据表明，早在5000年前，中国人就已开始饮茶。公元780年，唐朝人陆羽写成《茶经》，这是中国也是世界第一本茶书，影响全世界，陆羽因此被世人称为“茶圣”“茶神”。《茶经》的内容丰实，是一部茶叶百科全书，它涉及生物学、栽培学、分类学、生态学、药理学等等。《茶经》还记载了唐朝以前的神话、寓言、历史、诗赋、传记、地理等，是中国古文化的宝库。
There is evidence that tea was drunk in China as early as 5,000 years ago. In 780, Lu Yu of the Tang Dynasty wrote the Classic of Tea, which was the first tea book in China and the world. It influenced the world and Lu Yu was called the “Sage of tea” and “God of tea”. The Classic of Tea is an encyclopedia of tea, covering biology, cultivation, taxonomy, ecology, pharmacology and so on. It also records myths, fables, history, poems, biographies and geography before the Tang Dynasty, making it a treasure house of ancient Chinese culture.
茶道起源于中国，是品赏茶的美感仪式。最早最完善的茶道流程正是陆羽所创的煎茶茶道。通过沏茶、赏茶、闻茶、饮茶，增进友谊，美心修德，学习礼法。
Tea ceremony, which originated in China, is an aesthetic ceremony to enjoy tea. The earliest and most comprehensive tea ceremony process was the tea-brewing ceremony created by Lu Yu. By making tea,appreciating tea, smelling tea and drinking tea, people can enhance friendship, cultivate morality and acquire etiquette.
每年的5月21日，是联合国确定的“国际茶日”，意在赞美“茶”对经济、社会和文化的价值。今年国际茶日的中国区主场活动地点选在了广东潮州。潮汕地区位于沿海，潮州工夫茶艺也是一种有别于中原茶道的茶叶冲泡技艺，始自宋代，至清代中期已蔚然成风，甚至流传到东南亚各地，且至今代代相传，被视为中国古代茶道的活化石。
May 21 is the International Tea Day designated by the United Nations, which is intended to pay tribute to the economic, social and cultural value of tea. Chaozhou City in south China's Guangdong Province was chosen as the main venue of this year's celebration in China. Developed in the coastal area of Chaoshan, Chaozhou Gongfu tea art is a tea brewing skill set different from that in central China. It started from Song Dynasty and became popular during the middle of Qing Dynasty, and even could be found in Southeast Asia. Chaozhou Gongfu tea art has been passed down from generation to generation, and is regarded as a living fossil of ancient Chinese tea ceremony.
潮州工夫茶以乌龙茶为主要茶品，选用本地凤凰山生长的“凤凰单丛茶”，且有独特的“二十一道冲泡技法”。整个“二十一式”不过10分钟，但每一步都有学问。比如泡茶的时候，要用高冲的方式，让沸水直入壶底，可以减少涩味；倒茶的时候，则要低斟出汤，防止飞溅和气泡，含香藏韵。工夫茶汤独具“天然花香、特殊丛韵”，被誉为“茶中香水”。
Chaozhou Gongfu tea takes oolong tea as its main choice, and uses the local Phoenix single bush grown in Phoenix Mountains. The tea art has a unique set of 21 brewing techniques. The whole set of tea art lasts only 10 minutes, but every step is sophisticated. For example, when making tea, let boiling water go straight to the bottom of the pot in a high-flush way, which can reduce the tea's astringency. When pouring tea, pour out the soup low to prevent splashes and bubbles, so that the tea’s fragrance can be retained. Gongfu tea is unique in its natural floral fragrance and special bush flavor, gaining a reputation of “perfume in tea”.
在千年的跨文化交流中，中华茶文化已成为一种世界共通的语言，承载了中国人崇尚的与世界相处之道。“以茶为媒、以茶会友”，茶和茶文化由中国走向世界。
In the cross-cultural communication spanning thousands of years, Chinese tea culture has become a common language in the world, carrying the philosophy of getting along with the world advocated by Chinese people. As a matchmaker to make friends, tea and tea culture have gone from China to the world.
