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Beijing:Dances with teas

By Li Jing (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-08-15 09:43

Remember the tea ceremony in John Woo's Red Cliff, which the character Xiao Qiao uses to help her rebel husband Zhou Yu defeat the tyrannical prime minister, Cao Cao?

Although critical to the plot, it played for just a few seconds on screen. For a fuller version, head for Jianwai SOHO, where the Dew of Holy Harmony Company is located.

Sun Tong, the manager of Dew of Holy, is the architect of Red Cliff's tea scene and also the person who tutored actress Chilling Li, who plays Xiao Qiao.

For the scene, Sun choreographed a series of gestures borrowed from typical Chinese dances. The full version that lasts 13 minutes, also draws on poetry, classical music and Chinese folk stories.

The whole ceremony plays out like a short drama. Routine introductions to tea are replaced with a monologue, and the tea leaves themselves are shown to carry different meanings.

In the segment, Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai (Butterfly Lovers), which is the Chinese answer to Romeo and Juliet, two tea makers in traditional Chinese costume illustrate the tragic romance using different brewing gestures.

Traditional Chinese culture is also expressed through this new tea-making ceremony. For example, to demonstrate the tea ceremony of weddings, performers clad in bright red make the tea with red tea sets. The ceremonies are all held around a low table with cushions.

Visitors can get a close look and even have a go at the tea making, as instructions in English are also available.

Dew of Holy Harmony, 2302, Block 16, West Jianwai SOHO, Chaoyang district, 5900-5133

北京天合露文化傳播有限公司, 建外SOHO西區16號樓2302