China Tea Sets And Tea Customs: Finger Tapping

Posted by David Cheng on November 29th, 2009 filed in Tea

Tea and China tea sets have been around in China for over 5,000 years. And ancient Chinese tea customs are still often followed.

There is one custom in particular that many of you may not be familiar with. It's finger tapping, and it's a gesture of thanks for a great cup of tea.

Here's how it works. Whenever you are served a cup of tea, it's considered respectful to tap three fingers on the table in front of you. This means "thank you" in a nonverbal way. By doing this every time you are served tea, the people around you know you are a respectful person.

You may think this comes from some strange, mystical superstition. But really, this custom comes from a very real incident during the Qing dynasty.

The Qing emperor loved to travel throughout China in disguise and secretly observed the life of his subjects. Wherever the emperor went, he would never miss his favorite place: the local tea house.

One day, the emperor and his two companions stopped by a tea house, where he became amazed by the way the waiters leaned across the table and poured tea without spilling a single drop. So he decided to try it out and pour Chinese tea for his companions.

Now having the emperor serve you tea was something completely unheard of. Even just being in the presence of the emperor usually meant you had to bow down. So what could his companions do? They couldn't let everyone know he was the emperor by bowing down, but they had to thank him somehow.

One of the companions had an idea, and he tapped three of his fingers on the table as a symbol of bow to his emperor.

So that's how this custom was started. It wasn't long before everyone in the country was doing it, and even today people across the country and the world follow this tradition.

Whenever you're enjoying a great cup of tea, particularly if it's from a fine china tea set, be sure to thank your host in the most traditional way: tap your fingers!

Author D. Cheng has written about Chinese history and handicrafts such as porcelain china tea sets for ages. Once in a while, he endorses skilled Chinese craftsmen. See samples of quality China tea sets.

Technorati Tags: asia, beverage, China, China Tea Sets, Chinese History, chinese tea customs, culture, customs, emperors, food, history, society, Tea, traditions