Public Lecture Followed by Book Launch

How tea changed China and how China changed tea

China owes her very existence to tea. During the late Táng and the Sòng dynasty periods, China traded tea with Tibet, the Tangut kingdom and the Uighur khaganate in order to secure horses for her cavalry. Chinese horsemen never became as skilled as their western and northern neighbours, and China never come to possess as many battleworthy mounts as she required. Yet, if it were not for the tea and horse trade, China would have been left defenceless and Chinese civilisation may have been snuffed out entirely. Whilst at one time the tea trade financed China’s defences, in later history tea furnished the incentive to China’s enemies to peddle narcotics to her people and wage war against her. This public lecture focused on the formative relationships between China and tea will launch van Driem’s recent book A Tale of Tea (2019, Brill; 942pp). Refreshments will be provided.

Prof. Dr. George van Driem (Universität Bern)

Where
Seminar Room 650
Social Sciences Building (A02)
University of Sydney
Camperdown NSW 2006

More information
Carl Bodnaruk