A Hue Cup Of Tea

The Vietnamese are in love with this thing called tea. They drink it everywhere and at any time: at formal meetings, after meals, at weddings and funerals. They place it on altars as an offering to their ancestors. But tea drinking is not a recent trend in Viet Nam. It has an ancient history, though it remains as important to the Vietnamese today as it was in the past.

Tea: From History And Poetry to Daily Life

Viet Nam is one of the largest and oldest tea-producing countries in the world. A biochemical survey conducted by Russian Professor Daemygzagza in 1 979 indicates that the tea trees found along Viet Nam's northern border with China contain the oldest genetic structure known to exist. This is an indication that the inhabitants of what is today Viet Nam may have been the first to taste one of the world's most popular beverages.

The Vietnamese have been growing tea for over 2,000 years. However, the history of Vietnamese tea has not been as well recorded as that of the Chinese or Japanese. The fact that in ancient times the Japanese loved teapots and cups made by Vietnamese craftsmen points to the existence of an early tea culture in the country. Some of the history of this tea culture can be illuminated by examining references made to the beverage in poetry and popular songs.

As early as the 11th  century, tea was used as a symbol to convey the essence of Buddhism. The following is an excerpt from an instructional book written by the Buddhist monk Vien Chieu (999-1091):

Student: What is the essence of Buddhism?

Monk: A gift for a friend coming from thousands of miles away.

Simply a smile with a pot of tea

During the period of the Tran Dynasty from the 13th to early 15th  century, tea assumed a philosophical value for the Vietnamese. In a poem dedicated to King Tran Anh Tong, Chu Van An, a Vietnamese scholar who is sometimes worshipped alongside Confucius in temples, mentions tea as a source of spiritual purity. Many Vietnamese scholars of this period sought to escape from the petty concerns of life in the mandar-inate, and to achieve enlightenment and peace of mind through reading ancient Chinese texts and consuming tea. Among these were Thang Huu and Tran Nguyen fian. Thang Huu, a wise tea-tippling Buddhist monk who was made a mandarin by a Tran King, scorned wealth and power for a simpler and more spiritual existence Tran Nguyen Dan, after witnessing the cruel behavior of a senior mandarin named Ho Quy Ly, expressed his discontent in the following verse:

After the Royal Court session, I drank tea to cure my sadness. And used worn-out textbooks to teach children.

Tea was also a part of diplomatic protocol, used by figures in Vietnamese history to  impress  foreign dignitaries. At a farewell party for Nguu Lang (Niu Liang), a special envoy of the Ming Court in China, Tran Phu, a high-ranking Vietnamese mandarin improvised a verse to express the goodwill of the Vietnamese Court. It reads:

The Senior Mandarin of the southern country is not skilful in verse-making.

And has only simple tea to see off the visitors.

In spite of the simple farewell party, Nguu Lang was very impressed and predicted that Tran Phu would become a Iran King. Indeed, after defeating rebel armies, Tran Phu later did become king and restored the Tran Dyna