Calligraphy Class
I got started in tea through Chinese calligraphy, and now I’m finally getting back into some brushwork after a few (too many!) years off. One of the great things about tea drinking is how well it fits in with other activities – reading, painting, watching TV, playing chess, even blogging or web surfing! I find it really helps focus my mind, as well as stimulates my creative impulses. Last Saturday I dusted off my brushes and tried to shake off some of the rust, and of course the Teaboy wanted to help out a bit!
I set my bamboo tea tray up at the end of my tea table so that we’d have room for writing. Since it was a very informal session, I brewed some Dong Fang Mei Ren (Oriental Beauty) in a gaiwan, and poured it off into a ceramic pot as a serving pitcher.
The Teaboy is starting 1st grade now, and is getting pretty good at copying characters, as you can see from the photos. I’ll post some of my own brushwork when it’s a bit more presentable! (could be a real long time, so don’t hold your breath!).
By the way, that’s ‘Mao Mao’ (translates roughly into English as ‘Cat cat’ – which is his name!) also enjoys his tatami time as well. He’s a great ‘people cat’ and enjoys hanging out with us and guests when we let him.
This is my absolute favorite book of Chinese poetry. The English translations are beautifully rendered, and 
he also provides a word-by-word translation that includes the Chinese characters so that you can get a much better feel for the real meaning of the poems (because he includes the Chinese, I can use these poems for calligraphy practice). In addition, he includes anecdotes and background on the poets and the environment in which they produced these poems, which further enhances the reading experience. I shared this book with Aliang last week, and he insisted I leave it with him for awhile! Hope I get it back some day!
Anyway, my point today is to remember – while tea drinking in and of itself is a noble pursuit well worth your time and effort, it’s also a great companion when you’re feeling lazy on a rainy Saturday, so do yourself a favor and go drink more tea!