Everyone knows that the custom of the Mid-Autumn Festival is to eat moon cakes, but in fact, drinking tea and admiring the moon is also the most poetic and picturesque scene of the Mid-Autumn Festival.

　　The custom of drinking tea during the Mid-Autumn Festival began as early as the Tang Dynasty. During the Tang and Song dynasties, tea leaves were made into tea cakes (tuan) and stored. When it was time to drink tea, the tea cakes were crushed into powder, boiled in boiling water or brewed into tea soup, which was called "tuan tea". Tuan tea is also called "moon tuan". On the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, Tuan tea represents reunion, and drinking Tuan tea while admiring the moon is a perfect match.

　　Not only Chinese people love tea, but since tea spread from the East to the West, foreigners have also fallen in love with drinking tea.

　　Tea locked in box

　　The Strodes (1738), William Hogarth, Tate Modern

　　This is a rococo art work created by William Hogarth in 1738, called "The Strode Family".

　　At the forefront of the painting, there is a seemingly out-of-place box. This is a tea box, used to hold Chinese tea which was still a luxury product at that time. For this reason, the box was designed with a lock to prevent servants from stealing it.

　　In the " A Glittering World of Masterpieces Treasures from the Rosalinda and Arthur Gilbert Collection ", there are two similar cultural relics - a teapot and a set of three tea cans.

　　Teapot

　　Around 1710, silver teapots became standard equipment, and in art paintings of the same period, they were often placed on a shelf or tea table.

　　Tea Can

　　The tea can is a practical utensil made of gold and silver. It has sophisticated craftsmanship, a square and neat shape, a tough and varied outline, delicate and vivid lines, and a curled and interlaced heraldic pattern that creates a magnificent decorative effect.

　　Since the 1820s, tea cans have come in sets of three, one for black tea, one for green tea, and one for mixed tea or sugar.

　　Because tea was expensive at that time, tea cans were usually locked or kept in locked wooden cabinets. Just like in "The Strode Family", in a certain sense, the tea can that occupies the forefront of the picture plays the role of "showing off wealth".

　　Sugar or no sugar

　　China is the hometown of tea. In the 1650s, tea was brought to England by Dutch traders and quickly became popular with the wealthy upper class in England.

　　By the 1850s, the price of tea had dropped significantly, and tea was no longer just for the rich, but also became the drink of choice for all classes in Britain.

　　"Tea Time", Albert Lynch

　　Tea not only became an integral part of British society, but also shaped the British way of life.

　　A Victorian tea party in Ipswich in 1900

　　From fashion to decorative arts, tea can be seen almost everywhere in British life. It can even be considered that tea has become an iconic symbol of Britain.

　　Henry Fielding

　　Henry Fielding, the 18th-century British novelist, famously said:"Love and gossip are the best sugar for tea."

　　Obviously, this quip refers to the conventional way of drinking tea with sugar.

　　Common afternoon tea scenes in art works

　　Regarding Westerners' preference for drinking tea with strong flavors, Zhou Zuoren once pointed out the British way of drinking tea:"Green tea is the most authentic way to drink tea. Black tea has no meaning anymore, not to mention the addition of sugar and milk?"

　　Zhou Zuoren

　　Compared with the buttered bread, milk cubes and black tea, Chinese people prefer the indifference of tea and emphasize its original flavor.

　　The evolution of tea sets

　　The earliest use of tea can be traced back to the Han Dynasty in China from 206 to 220 BC. The way of drinking tea at that time was "making tea". The tea sets of the Han Dynasty were mainly tripods or cauldrons for making tea, and tea bowls for drinking tea.

　　Bronze animal-ear cauldron, a tea-making vessel from the Han Dynasty, collected by the China Tea Museum

　　Late Ming Dynasty "Yueqing" purple clay teapot, collected by the China Tea Museum

　　Many sets of tea sets also began to appear in the Ming Dynasty.

　　Influenced by Chinese tea culture, European teacups did not have handles at first and were called tea bowls.

　　17th century sterling silver tea bowl

　　Europe's earliest sterling silver teapot was made in 1627, while sterling silver teacups and saucers date back to 1648. From the late 17th century to the early 18th century,"sugar baskets"(later called sugar bowls) were also added to the tea set.

　　silver sugar bowl

　　In the mid-18th century, in order to adapt to European tea-drinking habits, Robert Adams invented a teacup with a handle.

　　In the late 18th century, the price of imported tea from Europe dropped, allowing more families to enjoy it, and tea sets began to become more popular. Before this time, complete tea sets such as teapots, sugar bowls, cream or creamer pots were mostly used by nobles.

　　During the reign of George II, a complete tea set included a tea caddy, teapot, milk jug, sugar bowl, sugar tongs, tea dregs bowl, teaspoon tray, kettle and heater.

　　The entire tea set is mostly made of silverware and porcelain, and the tea cans are made of a variety of materials, such as rare wood, dentine, tortoiseshell, mother-of-pearl, crystal, etc.

　　A tea set can contain up to 43 pieces (12 cups, 12 saucers, 6 or 12 matching cups, teapot, hot water kettle, sugar bowl, tea dregs bowl, teaspoon, tea can, milk jug).

　　Families who cannot afford a complete set of large tea sets bring their own small tea sets to a gathering and assemble a large tea set for sharing.

　　Tea in Western Literature

　　Since the 18th century, British literary works and film and television works have included activities such as afternoon tea and tea parties. There are so many and detailed descriptions of tea party scenes in "Pride and Prejudice","Downton Abbey" and "The Emerald Hotel", and even the characters’ performance while drinking tea will be highlighted..

"Pride and Prejudice" afternoon tea

　　"Downton Abbey" afternoon tea

　　"Emerald Hotel" afternoon tea

　　Even the absurd novel "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" has a hilarious chapter called "Crazy Tea Party" that pokes fun at the etiquette and rules of tea drinking.

　　"Alice in Wonderland" afternoon tea scene stills

　　In "Pride and Prejudice" it is also mentioned that drinking tea can make people forget their worries.

　　1936 "La Traviata" movie

　　Dickens's "The Pickwick Papers", French novelist Alexandre Dumas's "La Traviata" and Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen's "A Doll's House" all have extensive descriptions of tea drinking scenes, combining tea culture from various countries.

　　In 2004, Irish poet Michael Longley published a collection of poems called "Snow Water", in which the tea-drinking habit described in it has an oriental connotation, in order to create an artistic realm.

　　From Hogarth's locked tea caddy, to the blend of English black tea and sugar, to Langley's boiled snow tea - from signs to show off wealth, to dining companions, to objects of appreciation, In the past three hundred years, the development of Chinese tea in the West has experienced profound changes.

　　Under different cultural backgrounds, tea continued to spread across the European continent, expanding its charm and taking on new meanings.

　　Come to the World Expo Museum and get a glimpse of the exchange and collision of Chinese and Western tea cultures from the exhibits.

　　" A Glittering World of Masterpieces Treasures from the Rosalinda and Arthur Gilbert Collection " is currently on display, showing the development and evolution of European decorative arts in the past 500 years from the 16th century to the 20th century. Welcome to visit!

A Glittering World of Masterpieces Treasures from the Rosalinda and Arthur Gilbert Collection

　　Curator: Sun Yi

　　Exhibition period: September 26th - December 24th

　　Location: Exhibition Hall 1 of World Expo Museum

　　Ticket price: free