Téets väg

• A brief history of the introduction and ritualization of tea, and how it became fashionable. This minor contribution also outlines a linguistic theory of how the two principal groups in the naming of this worldwide beverage can be explained by the two most important commercial routes—one WNW by land including the ancient Silk and Caravan roads—carrying North Chinese ‘chá’; the other WSW in more recent times by ship in the European Age of Sail (trading South-East Chinese ‘te’ or ‘ta’—at the Amoy and Quanzhou harbours, from Guangzhou and other ports of the South), and thus be derived from the modes of conveyance! The reason as well as the usage depend on linguistic geography, but above all the time slots of contact zones, specific transportation networks and waterways. The Swedish title of the article, meaning ‘The Way of Tea’, furthermore is an allusion to the Japanese tea ceremony, the cha-do, which is also touched upon in this context.

Subject headings

TEKNIK OCH TEKNOLOGIER  -- Samhällsbyggnadsteknik -- Transportteknik och logistik (hsv//swe)

ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY  -- Civil Engineering -- Transport Systems and Logistics (hsv//eng)

HUMANIORA  -- Språk och litteratur (hsv//swe)

HUMANITIES  -- Languages and Literature (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Tea

import

ceremony

Zen Buddhism

chanoyu

chado

Sen no Rikyu

Wa Kei Sei Jaku

Chinese dialects

chá

chai

te

ta

trade routes

linguistic geography

tradition

China

Japan

commercial harbours

maritime transport

road transport

manners and customs.

Asiens språk och kulturer

Asian Languages and Cultures

sinologi

Sinology

Japanology

japanologi

Publication and Content Type

pop (subject category)

art (subject category)