I often receive gifts when I go to China, and the gifts are almost always tea. I have received so much tea that I do not need to buy tea even today. I started to learn more about tea and, in so doing, came across the dark and fascinating historical aspects of this unique beverage. It is a beverage that has defined important periods of world history in many ways.
The word “tea” comes from teh, the Hokkien (闽南话) word for tea. Tea was initially exported through the southern province of Fujian. The British had a great appetite for luxury goods such as silk, porcelain, and in particular, tea. As they could not pay for all the Chinese goods they wanted in silver, they insisted on paying for them in opium which they grew in large quantities in India.
The rejection of opium as payment and the destruction of opium by the imperial authorities in Chinese ports lead to the Opium Wars. China suffered a series of humiliating defeats and was forced to sign “unequal treaties, ” resulting in the ceding of Hong Kong to the British.
Tea also played a significant role in another war: the American War of Independence. In 1773, American colonists dumped shiploads of tea, imported by the British, into the water of Boston harbour (“Boston Tea Party”) to protest the British tax on tea (“No taxation without representation”). The event added further tension between the American colonists and the British, eventually leading to the War of Independence.
Tea has a colourful history. It also reflects the injustice of political and military power over trade and greed as a driving force in this world.
It’s fascinating: one can have various levels of interest in tea. You can study it from a historical point of view, as a product of greed, or as an element of culture. More personally, tea reflected the relationship I had with the Chinese.
Enjoying tea together provides a pleasant platform for people to interact; it brings people together. So, I don’t just know tea as something I’ve learned and studied; I know it through lived experiences with people I’ve met and who have taught me an essential part of our shared culture.
Vince
Dr Vincent Chong is a retired Professor of Radiology at Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore.
