斗茶鬥茶
Term · History
tea contest
Literal meaning
contest + tea
Definition#
Tea contest. Historically, a Song-dynasty pastime of competing over whisked powdered tea, with Jianzhou in northern Fujian a famous centre; today the word is used for local tea competitions, including in Wuyishan, and overlaps with 茶王赛.
Translation and usage#
| Language | Use | Alternatives & cautions |
|---|---|---|
| English | tea contest competitive tea judging, historic and modern pinyin with a gloss |
Also acceptable
Avoid tea fight (without gloss) sounds violent; it is a contest |
| Deutsch | Teewettstreit Tee-Wettkampf pinyin with a gloss |
Also acceptable
|
| Русский | чайное состязание состязание в чае pinyin with a gloss |
Also acceptable
|
| 简体字 | 斗茶 | |
| 繁體字 | 鬥茶 | Regional usage
|
| 日本語 | 闘茶 |
Common confusions#
- Song-dynasty doucha (powdered tea) is conflated with modern oolong contests.
- In the Tang it was called 茗战 (茗戰). Song-dynasty contests whisked powdered tea and judged the foam (汤花); the side whose water mark (水痕) showed first lost. Jian'an (建安) was famous for it.
- In Wuyishan, 斗茶赛 is recorded with 喊山 among the folk customs of the national-heritage item 武夷岩茶（大红袍）制作技艺 (2006, first batch).
- Cai Xiang's 茶录 (c. 1049–1053) calls the contest 斗试: whisked tea was judged by froth and by the water mark on the bowl wall; the side whose mark appeared first lost. Huizong's 大观茶论 calls the top bud grade 斗品.
- Song contests favoured dark Jian'an bowls (hare's fur) that showed the white froth.