Chinese Flower Arrangement: History, Techniques & Traditions

Tea Culture

中国茶文化简介

Introduction to Chinese Tea Culture

February 2025 Author

By Melody Zhang

茶，是中国日常生活、美学与精神文明的重要组成部分。茶不仅是一种饮品，更是一种承载哲学思想、伦理观念与审美追求的文化形态。

自古以来，中国人饮茶讲求顺应自然、尊重时序，重在体会茶性与人心的和谐。茶事活动追求清净、质朴与真善美，体现了儒家的中和之道、道家的自然观，以及禅意所蕴含的宁静与专注。

茶也是待客交友、修身养性的媒介。文人士大夫通过品茶寄情抒怀，使茶与诗、书、画、香、琴、花等艺术相互融合，形成独特的生活美学。

随着制茶技艺的发展，中国形成了绿茶、白茶、黄茶、乌龙茶、红茶与黑茶六大茶类，展现出因地制宜、顺应自然的智慧。不同茶类各具风味，共同构成中国茶文化丰富而多元的面貌。

中国的茶，不止于一杯茶的滋味，更是一种安顿身心、体悟人生的生活方式。茶，跨越时间与地域，走遍全球，滋养着我们。

每天，可以找一个时间，泡一杯茶，坐下来慢慢品味，静静休息。

Tea is an essential part of Chinese daily life, aesthetics, and spiritual civilization. More than a beverage, tea is a cultural expression that embodies philosophical thought, ethical values, and aesthetic pursuit.

Since ancient times, the Chinese approach to tea has emphasized harmony with nature and respect for seasonal rhythms, focusing on the balance between the character of tea and the human mind. Tea practices value purity, simplicity, and the ideals of truth, goodness, and beauty, reflecting the Confucian principle of moderation, the Daoist view of naturalness, and the sense of calm and concentration found in Chan (Zen) thought.

Tea also serves as a medium for hospitality, friendship, and self-cultivation. Through the appreciation of tea, scholars and literati expressed emotions and refined their character, allowing tea to merge naturally with poetry, calligraphy, painting, incense, music, and floral arts, forming a distinctive way of life and aesthetic tradition.

With the development of tea-making techniques, China formed six major categories of tea: green, white, yellow, oolong, black, and dark tea. These diverse tea types reflect wisdom rooted in local conditions and respect for nature. Each category offers its own unique character, together shaping the richness and diversity of Chinese tea culture.

Chinese tea goes beyond the flavor of a single cup; it represents a way of life that nurtures the body, calms the mind, and invites reflection on life itself. Crossing time and geography, tea has traveled across the world, continuing to nourish people everywhere.

Each day, you may find a quiet moment to brew a cup of tea, sit down, savor it slowly, and rest in stillness.

The Origins and Evolution of Chinese Floral Art

中华花艺的起源与演变

December 4, 2024 Author

By Melody Zhang

The Origins of Chinese Floral Art

The origins of Chinese floral art trace back over 1,500 years to the Wei, Jin, and Northern and Southern Dynasties, during which flowers were offered as part of Buddhist rituals. It is one of China's significant classical arts. At the time, floral arrangements were used for festive celebrations and religious offerings. Floral art could be seen in palace settings and on the desks of scholars. Its popularity grew from the royal courts to religious spaces and then to the general populace. People even established Flower Festival Day on the 15th day of the second lunar month to celebrate the "birthday of all flowers," making it the second most important festival of the time.

By the Tang and Song Dynasties, this art form, along with incense burning, tea brewing, and calligraphy, was regarded as one of the "Four Arts of Life." It became a fundamental and widespread skill of daily life. Unfortunately, by the late Qing Dynasty and early Republican era, due to wars and hardships, the art of floral arrangement gradually declined, becoming almost entirely unfamiliar to the general public.

Revival of Chinese Floral Art

In 1983, during a Japanese Ikebana workshop hosted by the Chinese Women's Orchid Association in Taiwan, participants were astonished when the instructor revealed that Japanese Ikebana had its roots in Chinese floral art. This revelation inspired a group of enthusiasts, led by Professor Huang Yongchuan, to research and revive the rich history of Chinese floral art. In 1984, they held the first Chinese Classical Floral Art Exhibition at Taiwan's National Museum of History, marking the first such exhibition since the Tang and Song Dynasties.

Driven by a sense of cultural responsibility, Professor Huang Yongchuan established the Chinese Floral Art Cultural and Educational Foundation in 1986. With a group of dedicated teachers, he developed a structured theoretical and technical system for teaching Chinese floral art, thus laying the foundation for its revival.

The Chinese Floral Art Education System

The cultivation of a floral artist, much like the blooming of a flower, requires time. The learning process is divided into levels:

Lectures
Beginner
Intermediate
Advanced
Research Levels 1, 2, and 3
Senior Research

The entire training process takes about seven years. To become a certified Chinese floral art instructor, students must pass an examination after completing the advanced course and then undertake teacher training courses in the research class.

Characteristics of Chinese Floral Arrangements

Chinese floral art is an art of spatial positioning. The arrangement's orientation and proportions are based on principles derived from the Hetu and Luoshu diagrams (ancient Chinese cosmological charts). Floral vessels are categorized into six types: vases, plates, jars, bowls, tubes, and baskets.

Based on the creator's intent and subject matter, Chinese floral arrangements can be divided into four types:

Scenic Flowers - Depicting landscapes
Conceptual Flowers - Conveying ideas
Imaginary Flowers - Expressing emotions or abstract thoughts
Sculptural Flowers - Focusing on form and structure

The framework of an arrangement is built around three main branches:

Shi Stem (the flower's mission)
Ke Stem (the flower's companion)
Zhu Stem (the flower's leader)

中华花艺起源

中华花艺缘起于一千五百多年前魏晋南北朝的佛教供花。是中国重要的古典艺术之一。当时的插花，被应用到节日庆典和宗教供养上。在宫廷摆设，文人案头，都可以见到插花艺术。从宫廷到宗教，到民间，插花风气大盛起来。人们甚至把农历二月十五定为花朝节（百花生日）大肆庆祝，这个节日当时就成为了国家第二个重要的节日。

到了唐宋时代，这种艺术修养与"焚香"、"点茶"、"挂画"，同称为生活四艺。成为了当时人们最基本，最普遍的生活素养。可惜清末明初，由于战乱，民生疾苦，插花艺术因而日趋没落。插花艺术对于国人而言，到了几乎是完全陌生的地步。

1983年，中国台湾中华妇女兰艺社，在一次日本花道老师的插花教学活动中，震惊于老师所说：日本花道缘起于中国插花。因而有感于中国插花之光荣历史，有积极发扬光大的必要。便结合黄永川教授及一群同好者，潜心研究。1984年在台湾国立历史博物馆举办了第一届"中国古典插花艺术展。是自唐宋以来首届纯中国传统插花艺术展。

受文化意识的驱使，黄永川教授肩负民族使命感，于1986年成立了财团法人中华花艺文教基金会。带领一群热爱中华花艺的老师，一起建构中华文化的轨道，创立了中华花艺系统教学的理论以及技术体系。

中华花艺教学体系一朵花开需要时间，一位花艺家的养成更需要时间。中华花艺的学习分为：讲座、初级、中级、高级、研一、研二、研三、高研。学习时长为七年。若想要教授中华花艺，成为中华花艺的老师，则需要在高级课程完成后考试，取得高级证书之后可以进修研究班师资课程。

中华花艺的插作中华花艺是方位艺术，插作的方位、比例是根据河图洛书来应用变化的。花器主要分为六大器型：瓶、盘、缸、碗、筒、篮。就创作者的心态与内容来区分的话，中华花艺分为四大类型：写景花、理念花、心象花和造型花。花型的骨架主要由三大主枝构成：主枝（花盟主），客枝（花客卿），使枝（花使命）。就插作的花型来区分，分为六大基本花型：直立型、倾斜型、平出型、倒挂型、平铺型、综合型。在色彩运用上，中华花艺的色彩观念衍生于中国的阴阳五行学说，以五大正色为正宗，阴阳配为大吉。

Petal Cha

The Floral & Tea Journal