MCLC: China Heritage Quarterly 29

[Denton, Kirk]

MCLC LIST
From: Geremie R. Barmé (geremie.barme at anu.edu.au)
Subject: China Heritage Quarterly 29
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‘China Heritage Quarterly’, 29, an issue on Tea 茶
http://www.chinaheritagequarterly.org

11 May 2012

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

Many apologies for the considerable hiatus between the December 2011 issue
of ‘China Heritage Quarterly’, which focussed on West Lake, and the March
2012 issue, which takes tea as its subject.

I hope that you will appreciate that the delay was caused by burgeoning
contents, and a (perhaps perverse) desire to introduce readers to as much
‘tea knowledge’ as possible in our virtual pages.

天下未亂蜀先亂
天下已治蜀未治。

When the empire is peaceful, Sichuan is the first to have a rebellion;
When order is established in the empire, Sichuan is still in chaos.

Tea and politics, teahouses and activism, gathering and gossiping, all of
these things mark the life of tea in China’s largest inland empire, that
of Sichuan 四川. Given the dramatic events of the first months of the Dragon
Year of 2012, an ancient saying about the restive nature of what was once
the Kingdom of Shu 蜀 would appear to be an appropriate place to launch our
issue-length meditation on tea.

As the Guest Editor of this issue Daniel Sanderson points out, this is the
first time ‘China Heritage Quarterly’ has focussed on a tangible consumer
item, and it is a product, a drink and a status symbol that encompasses
elements both democratic and autocratic. A few leaves brewed or steeped in
boiling water create one of the most ubiquitous elements of everyday life
in China. But the varieties and qualities of tea provide an equally
unparalleled vehicle for the more noxious aspects of social behaviour, a
civilizing process that relies on distinctions and discrimination.

This issue of ‘China Heritage Quarterly’ casts its net back in time to
bring together material from Chinese and non-Chinese sources related to
tea and its rich heritage. We also delve into the beclouded waters of the
contemporary world of the Chinese Internet in pursuit of our topic. In
doing so we have benefitted greatly from the advice and guidance of many
friends, colleagues and tea aficionados in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan,
Europe, North America and Australia.

Best wishes,

Geremie

Geremie R. Barmé
Editor, ‘China Heritage Quarterly’