Tasting Tea
Wen Cheng-ming (1470-1559), Ming dynasty
Hanging scroll, ink and colors on paper, 88.3 x 25.2 cm

Wen Cheng-ming came from a family of scholars in Soochow and spent much of his time traveling the hills in pursuit of nature. Many of his works deal with his experiences from life. He was also a connoisseur of tea and once wrote, "I have never touched wine, but I have always been intoxicated by tea." Typical for scholars, tea was not only a part of Wen's life but also a subject of his poetry, painting, and calligraphy.

This work dated to 1531 shows a scene with his friends drinking "before-the-rains" tea. In an elegant thatched hut, two figures sit facing each other tasting tea and engaged in light conversation. On the table is a teapot and tea bowls. Outside, a figure comes across a bridge. An attendant in the tea hut fans flames to boil spring water for tea in this intimate gathering.

The hut shown here is the one where Wen Cheng-ming often gathered for tea with his friends. Three years later in 1534, he did another painting on a tea gathering and included ten poems on tea utensils. The scene and hut in the two works is the same. It was in that year that Wen became ill and could not travel to Tiger Hill to taste tea, so friends brought him several varieties. He could thus appreciate "before-the-rains" tea, inspiring him to do the painting and compose the poetry.

Wen Cheng-ming's tea hut with its pure forest setting represented the ideal for appreciating tea among literati of the Ming dynasty. This activity, among the other leisurely activities of the scholar, was pursued in small gatherings like this one.