A Scholar's Day:
Tea, Music, and Literati Life in China
An afternoon of Chinese music, art, and tea culture, inspired by the refined world of the traditional scholar.
Event Overview
On July 18, H Foundation for the Arts welcomed guests for an afternoon exploring the cultural world of the Chinese literati through music, painting, and tea at the Crowell Public Library in San Marino. The program began with a yangqin performance, followed by a short talk centered on One or Two, a portrait of the Qianlong Emperor that opens a window onto collecting, scholarly life, and tea culture in the Qing dynasty. Guests then experienced a live tea ceremony and tasted two contrasting teas: Yunnan Dianhong black tea and cold-brew green tea.
Program Highlights
Yangqin Performance
Moonlit Night on the Spring River
Tea, Told Through a Painting
One or Two
Tea Ceremony Demonstration & Tea Tasting
Yunnan Dianhong Black Tea + Cold-Brew Green Tea
Art & Cultural Context
The program took inspiration from the Qing dynasty painting One or Two, in which the Qianlong Emperor appears as both ruler and scholar, surrounded by paintings, antiques, furniture, and objects of connoisseurship. Through the painting, guests explored how tea, collecting, poetry, calligraphy, and conversation formed part of the cultivated life of the Chinese literati.
Partner
City of San Marino & Crowell Public Library
