You may have seen a barista (咖啡师) pour milk foam (奶泡) into a coffee, then you can see a beautiful pattern (图案). But have you seen the art in a cup of tea?
Dian cha is a tea art from the Song Dynasty. The art begins with pouring water over fine powdered (粉状的) tea, creating a paste (糊) and then adding more hot water, whisking (搅动) it by hand with a bamboo whisk. It is believed that the art later spread to other parts of East Asia, including Japan. In 2019, it was listed as an intangible cultural heritage (非物质文化遗产) of Runzhou district Zhenjiang city, Jiangsu province.
The Shanghai designer Han Zhemin has been interested in dian cha since childhood. “My mother loves traditional culture and I have been influenced,” said Han. After he graduated from the China Academy of Art in Zhejiang province in 2006, Han tried his best to reviving (复兴) the art form.
He said during the process of dian cha, the froth (泡沫) tried his best to paper while the tea paste is like ink. But “drawing” on the tea foam is not easy. “Traditional paintings is about the soft brush against the hard paper, but the tea is about the hard teaspoon and the soft froth.” Han said.
Creating patterns on the tea foam is careful but quick work. Usually, the whole process has to be completed within 10 minutes. The ideal state is when the tea’s temperature is around 40℃ and ready for the palate (味觉). “Usually, it takes a year of practice for one to be able to do it,” Han added.
To spread dian cha culture, Han put the process of tea whisking and drawing on social media platforms, including Xiaohongshu, Bilibili and Douyin, attracting more than 20, 000 followers. When taking about tea art Han said we should increase the beauty rather than change the essence (本质) of tea. “I want more people to understand the processes and reasons of tea making,” he explained.
1. When was dian cha listed as an intangible cultural heritage?2. Why has Han Zhemin shown interest in dian cha?
3. What is difficult for Han Zhemin during the process of dian cha?
4. Why did Han Zhemin share the process of dian cha on social media platforms?
5. How can you spread tea art?
China will encourage overseas Chinese students to start their own businesses at home, a State Council executive meeting chaired by Premier Li Keqiang decided on April 5th, 2018.
The meeting made decisions to make it easier for overseas Chinese students to meet different kinds of requirements that are necessary when to start businesses. Besides, the steps to get hukou in big cities, such as Beijing and Shanghai, will be greatly simplified. It also paid much attention to the schooling of returnees, children by deciding to make more supporting policies (政策).
Nowadays, a large number of Chinese students each year choose to return home after completing studies overseas. They hope to live in a familiar environment and make motherland stronger. So supporting policies are expected to be provided. “The encouraging policies require different departments (部门) to work together and good results are expected,” he said.
From 1978 to 2017, 83.73 percent of overseas Chinese students, totaling 3.132 million, returned to China after completing their studies, according to the Ministry of Education. In 2017 alone, 480,900 returned, an 11.19 percent increase over 2016.
China now has 351 entrepreneurship parks (创业园区) around the country. Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai are the most common choices. They are home to more than 23,000 companies and have attracted more than 86,000 overseas returnees.
A public service system open to all overseas Chinese students will be set up to provide all-around support for their start up businesses.
1. What will China encourage overseas Chinese students to do?2. According to the passage, how many decisions were made at the meeting?
3. Why do overseas Chinese students want to come home?
4. Did the number of overseas Chinese students returning home rise in 2017?
5. Where are most entrepreneurship parks set up in China?
