James Benn: Buddhism, Tea, and Material Culture in Premodern China

Tony Chabolla
Calendar
When:
April 14, 2016 @ 4:00 pm – April 14, 2016 @ 6:00 pm America/Los Angeles Timezone
2016-04-14T16:00:00-07:00
2016-04-14T18:00:00-07:00
Where:
SSMS 2135
Social Sciences and Media Studies
Isla Vista, CA 93117
USA
Cost:
Free (Open to the public)
Contact:
Dominic Steavu-Balint
Email

This lecture by James Benn (McMaster University) looks at the surviving artistic, material, and literary evidence for Buddhist involvement in the promotion of tea drinking and the invention of a Chinese tea culture in premodern times. Some of the questions it looks to answer include…

  • What was the connection between religious practice, beverage consumption and aesthetics in Tang and Song-dynasty China?
  • In what ways did Buddhist institutions, individuals, and ideologies help to create meaning around a relatively new beverage?
  • How can historians of religion and culture make sense of modes of consumption in the past?

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