On November 4, 2015, Chairman of Hangzhou Buddhist Association and Abbot of Lingyin Temple Ven. Guangquan invited to display his Caligraphy at the painting and calligraphy exhibition held at Jingshan Wanshou Temple. At the tea party in the evening, Buddhist masters of Jingshan Temple and Tofuku-ji Temple of Japan performed the traditional Jingshan tea ceremony and the Yotsugashira Chakai respectively. The Yotsugashira Chakai (si tou cha li, Chinese pinyin) refers to a formal tea ceremony featuring the Japanese tea culture, in which tea is offered by four venerable Buddhist masters of the temple in commemoration of the patriarch. In the tranquil and relaxed atmosphere, the attendees of the tea event had the pleasure to witness and experience the two distinctive ancient tea ceremonies.
The Yotsugashira Chakai of Tofuku-ji Temple’s history can be traced back to the traditional tea ceremony originated from Jingshan Temple, which spread to Japan in the Tang Dynasty and was lost for generations in China during the Song Dynasty. Ven. Guangquan was invited to introduce to the attendees the origin and connection between these two tea ceremonies. On a visit to Japan years ago, Ven. Guangquan gladly stumbled upon the similarity between the Yotsugashira Chakai of Tofuku-ji Temple and the tea ceremony of Jingshan Temple. He then invited the Buddhist masters of Tofuku-ji Temple to perform this distinctive tea ceremony at Lingyin Temple. Later, Abbot Jiexing of Jingshan Temple paid a visit to Tofuku-ji Temple in person and researched closely into the Yotsugashira Chakai. After his investigation, the traditional Jingshan tea ceremony with a history of over a thousand years is again practiced in Jingshan Temple and enriches the connotation of the Jingshan tea culture.
Jingshan Chan tea has a long history and profound cultural values. Due to close exchanges with Tofuku-ji Temple in recent years, the Jingshan tea ceremony and tea culture regain much popularity, which breathes new life into the tea culture of Hangzhou and even China.
Painting and calligraphy exhibition
Ven. Guangquan introduced to the attendees the origin
and return of the Jingshan tea ceremony.
Buddhist masters of Tofuku-ji Temple of Japan
performed the Yotsugashira Chakai.
Buddhist masters of Jingshan Temple performed
the traditional Jingshan tea ceremony.
