Chinese Tea Sets Come With A Secret Custom: Finger Tapping
Although the first fine china tea sets were used over 5,000 years ago, many ancient customs from that time are still popular today.
One of the customs is finger tapping, which amazes many who are new to the world of Chinese tea. It is a gesture that shows your respect to your host.
As the Chinese tea customs go, when tea is served, the guests should thank their host for the tea. However, many find it interesting that rather than say it, the Chinese simply tap the table with three of their fingers (the middle, index, and ring fingers). Each time you get your cup refilled, you repeat the gesture.
The gesture isn’t superstitious at all. In fact, the story of finger tapping dates back over 200 years to the Qing dynasty.
The Qing emperor loved to travel throughout China in disguise and secretly observed the life of his subjects. Wherever the emperor went, he would never miss his favorite place: the local tea house.
Then on one occasion, the emperor cam across a tea house in a very small village where the waiters could bend their bodies in almost inhuman ways to serve tea around the table. The emperor wanted to tries this pay of pouring tea.
Now having the emperor serve you tea was something completely unheard of. Even just being in the presence of the emperor usually meant you had to bow down. So what could his companions do? They couldn’t let everyone know he was the emperor by bowing down, but they had to thank him somehow.
Then, in a stroke of brilliance, one of the emperor’s companions tapped his fingers on the table, representing the bow that was usually demanded.
And that’s how this custom was started. This story spread all around the country, and before long everyone was doing the same thing. It was the latest addition to Chinese tea culture!
Next time you visit a Chinese tea house, try to observe the interesting finger tapping technique to quietly thank your host for their delicious Chinese tea and beautiful China tea sets!
Author D. Cheng has written about Chinese history and handicrafts such as china tea sets for years. Occasionally, he endorses skilled Chinese craftsmen. Look at some beautiful China tea sets.
