Music, tea ritual bind East-West bonds

The delicate fragrance of incense and the ancient resonance of the guqin recast the Chinese embassy in Washington as an immersive cultural space on Friday evening.

The "Tea for Harmony: East Meets West in Music" event drew more than 200 guests to experience the "Four Arts of Life" — tasting tea, burning incense, arranging flowers and hanging paintings — before a concert that bridged Eastern and Western traditions.

The evening opened with interactive stations where guests sampled rare teas and observed gongfu cha, or the art of skillfully making tea. Masters demonstrated the multisensory ritual, emphasizing a sense of calm and connection with nature.

These immersive experiences gave the audience a chance to directly engage with traditional Chinese practices before the main performance.

In remarks tied to Grain Rain, one of the 24 solar terms in the Chinese calendar, Chinese Ambassador to the United States Xie Feng described tea as the "enduring spirit of Chinese civilization" and said the character cha embodies harmony between humanity and nature.

"In sipping tea and savoring its taste, one needs to seek refinement and cultivate a noble character," Xie said. "And in serving tea to others, one needs to show respect, sincerity and courtesy. So each small tea leaf is a gateway to profound Chinese philosophy."

He stressed the sector's modern momentum, saying China's tea industry chain surpassed 1 trillion yuan ($146 billion) last year.

Xie portrayed the "tea economy" as a vivid example of new quality productive forces, citing smart tea gardens and the country's first national digital platform for tea carbon footprints.

New-style tea brands such as HeyTea and Chagee are now "wildly popular" in the US, he added.

Historical ties

Turning to bilateral relations, Xie talked about historical bonds, from the 18th-century voyage of the Empress of China to the tea gifts presented during the visits of former US president Richard Nixon and his national security adviser Henry Kissinger in the 1970s.

"Tea and coffee are not incompatible; when brought together, they can blend into creative drinks that take the world by storm," Xie said.

"It takes time to truly appreciate the fragrance of tea. Likewise, states need patience and steady resolve when engaging with one another," he said.

While it is "unrealistic" for China and the US to remodel each other, they can find a path to shared prosperity, he said.

"As long as we follow the strategic guidance of our presidents, show mutual respect, stick to the bottom line of peaceful coexistence, and strive for the vision of win-win cooperation, we can gradually find a path leading to respective success and shared prosperity," Xie said.

The ensuing concert showcased that spirit of fusion. The Juntianyunhe Ensemble, joined by cellist Jacques-Pierre Malan and violinist Vadim Tchijik, performed a program that blended the nearly 3,000-year-old guqin with Western strings.

In pieces such as Wandering Mind, the improvisational interplay between the guqin and cello merged Eastern lyricism with Western musical structures, drawing enthusiastic cheers from the audience.

Greg Bland, founder of Things To Do DC and co-organizer of the event with the Embassy Series, highlighted the power of such gatherings.

"Regardless of where we get along politically or historically right now ... Chinese culture still brings us together," Bland told China Daily.

"Learning about it is like learning about a different person ... and it helps build personal friendships."

yifanxu@chinadailyusa.com