Chinese Tea Ceremony at Montessori Kindergarten

China is probably the most famous country for its rituals and tea culture. It is believed that the history of tea ceremony is thousands of years old, and back then the Chinese monks were preparing and drinking tea to pay tribute to nature. Today,  tea ceremony is an inseparable part of Chinese culture and is held in many everyday and official or ceremonial occasions. Confucius Institute at the University of Banja Luka gladly accepted the invitation of Montessori Kindergarten to hold Chinese Tea Ceremony at its premises on 20 February 2020. The tea ceremony was organized for the parents of children who have been attending the course in Chinese language and culture at Montessori Kindergarten for a year now in order for them to have a better understanding of Chinese culture and tradition. While performing traditional Chinese tea ceremony, professor at the Confucius Institute Yang Gao introduced the parents with the culture of preparing and drinking tea and the role and significance it has in China. She talked about the origin of this beverage, the origin of tea ceremony and the beauty and spirituality of preparing tea, as well as the tools and types of teas used in the preparation. The guests had the opprtunity to hear the legend behind the custom of showing gratitude for the served tea by finger gestures, and while drinking tea they could learn more about the different effects tea has on our health. By presenting different elements of Chinese culture, such as the tea ceremony, the Confucius Institute strives to introduce the citizens with the customs, culture and cultural values of the people of China. Legend: Once upon a time, during the Qing Dynasty, Emperor Qianlong was travelling through southern China incognito with some of his high ranking ministers. They stopped to rest at a tea house after passing through Songjiang. When the waiter came to serve the tea, he stopped a few feet away from the table. Lifting the copper tea pot high into the air, he poured water into a tea bowl without spilling a single drop. Emperor Qianlong was so amazed that he took the pot and imitated the waiter. In ancient times, one had to kneel down and kowtow to acknowledge a favor from the emperor. His ministers were very surprised when he served them tea, but they couldn’t risk revealing his true identity. Instead of kowtowing to Qianlong, the ministers tapped on the table top with their fingers. He asked them afterwards, “Why did you all tap on the table?” They answered in unison: “You were serving us tea, and we tapped on the table to show our appreciation as we could not kowtow to you.” This is the origin of using table tapping to express gratitude for tea served. Table tapping is still used today as part of the tea etiquette.