The Way of Tea draws upon the wisdom of ancient writings to explain how modern tea lovers can bring peace and serenity to their time with a steaming mug of their favorite beverage--and how to carry that serenity with them throughout the day. Looking at all aspects of tea and the tea ceremony from a spiritual perspective, The Way of Tea shows readers how in the modern world the way of tea does not need to be some somber religious ceremony, but can instead be a path for anyone to experience and share inner peace, relax the ego, and be free and open--an excellent recipe for a life well lived. Chapters include: The Tao of Tea The Veins of the Leaf Calm Joy Completion The Tea Space Living Reflections on the Way of Tea

Tea is the world’s most popular beverage. Yet there are disturbing truths to be faced about our morning cuppa. Priest and social activist Becca Stevens tells the remarkable story of how a local café run by women recovering from abuse, prostitution and addiction is helping to bring freedom and fair wages to the tea industry.

Almost a millennium before the perfection of chado (the Way of Tea) by Sen Rikyu (1522-1591), the Chinese scholar-official Lu Yu (d. 785) wrote exhaustively about tea and its virtues. Grand Tea Master Sen Soshitsu begins his examination of tea's origins and development from the eighth century through the Heian and medieval eras. This volume illustrates that modes of thinking and practices now associated with the Japanese Way of Tea can be traced to China--where from the classical period tea was imbued with a spiritual quality.

Reproduction of the original: The Ways of Life by Margaret Oliphant

This provoking new study of the Japanese tea ceremony (chanoyu) examines the ideological foundation of its place in history and the broader context of Japanese cultural values where it has emerged as a so called ‘quintessential’ component of the culture. It was in fact, Sen Soshitsu Xl, grandmaster of Urasenke, today the most globally prominent tea school, who argued in 1872 that tea should be viewed as the expression of the moral universe of the nation. A practising teamaster himself, the author argues, however, that tea was many other things: it was privilege, politics, power and the lever for passion and commitment in the theatre of war. Through a methodological framework rooted in current approaches, he demonstrates how the iconic images as supposedly timeless examples of Japanese tradition have been the subject of manipulation as ideological tools and speaks to presentations of cultural identity in Japanese society today.

Since the 1980s, China has developed a broader and deeper connection with the world. One of the most intriguing aspects of Chinese culture is its rich cuisine and fascinating cooking.China is a nation with a long history of food culture, and food has become an essential part of Chinese culture.This book tells in sprightly and straightforward language about the structure of traditional Chinese food, food customs for festivals and celebrations in China, Chinese dining etiquette, traditional food and cooking methods, healthy and medicinal diets, as well as historical exchanges of foods between China and other nations. It can present to the readers a complete and truthful picture of the summarized history and culture of Chinese food.Published by SCPG Publishing Corporation and distributed by World Scientific for all markets except China

"Since the 1980s, China has developed a broader and deeper connection with the world. One of the most intriguing aspects of Chinese culture is its rich cuisine and fascinating cooking. China is a nation with a long history of food culture, and food has become an essential part of Chinese culture. This book tells in sprightly and straightforward language about the structure of traditional Chinese food, food customs for festivals and celebrations in China, Chinese dining etiquette, traditional food and cooking methods, healthy and medicinal diets, as well as historical exchanges of foods between China and other nations. It can present to the readers a complete and truthful picture of the summarized history and culture of Chinese food."--

The newest Little Giant� Encyclopedia is tea-licious--a tasty brew of tea information and history: an ABC of tea, from Assam and Black to Tikkam and Yunnan; tea ceremonies around the world; tips on tea’s health benefits; advice on preparing the perfect ∪ and entertaining sidebars, quotes, and quizzes. Over half the book is devoted to a "How to Read Me!”--an instruction manual on tea leaf reading, with guidance on symbols, meanings, and omens, as well as on which type of cup to use, how to swirl the leaves properly, and hints for the novice. It will turn you into an enlightened tea master with a renewed appreciation for the drink that has warmed hands and hearts for generations.

The Japanese sense of beauty as actualized in innumerable works of art, both linguistic and non-linguistic, has often been spoken of as something strange to, and remote from, the Western taste. It is, in fact, so radically different from what in the West is ordinarily associated with aesthetic experience that it even tends to give an impression of being mysterious, enigmatic or esoteric. This state of affairs comes from the fact that there is a peculiar kind of metaphysics, based on a realization of the simultaneous semantic articulation of consciousness and the external reality, dominating the whole functional domain of the Japanese sense of beauty, without an understanding of which the so-called 'mystery' of Japanese aesthetics would remain incomprehensible. The present work primarily purports to clarify the keynotes of the artistic experiences that are typical of Japanese culture, in terms of a special philosophical structure underlying them. It consists of two main parts: (1) Preliminary Essays, in which the major philosophical ideas relating to beauty will be given a theoretical elucidation, and (2) a selection of Classical Texts representative of Japanese aesthetics in widely divergent fields of linguistic and extra-linguistic art such as the theories of waka-poetry, Noh play, the art of tea, and haiku. The second part is related to the first by way of a concrete illustration, providing as it does philological materials on which are based the philosophical considerations of the first part.

A dramatic story of Ireland in revolt after WWI, and two women whose futures are inextricably linked... 1920s Ireland is a troubled place. The War has ended, but the IRA are beginning to agitate. Sending fear into the heart of the Anglo-Irish gentry. Against this backdrop, best friends Julia and Sarah are just starting out in life. Julia is newly married with a small baby and is blissfully happy. But Sarah longs for something grander. She finds work as a servant, but is humiliated and cast out. Bitter and ambitious, Sarah will stop at nothing to get the life she wants. Even if that means betraying her best friend. Spanning the years between the World Wars, this is a novel about the women who unite against the violence that is threatening their peace.