Date of Award
9-11-2024
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Heritage Studies, Ph.D.
First Advisor
Edward Salo
Committee Members
Gregory Hansen, Lauri Umansky
Call Number
LD 251 .A566d 2024 F56
Abstract
During the heyday of the Silk Road trade routes, rulers, religious pilgrims, and merchants alike eagerly described the goods they sought after and traded. They also gave insight into their life, be it related to administration, travel, time with a notable cleric, or engaging in employment as barter for lodging despite being on a quest of piety. These writings hold pages of descriptions about the people who interacted with those goods and services. They describe trading customs as a performance. They use silk, rice, sugar, fruit, and tea to gain entry and favor. These people learned customs and navigated with a language that transcended their mother tongues. It is from these descriptions we can learn about the people who interacted with these goods, and the material culture that evolved from them. This dissertation follows the evolution of tea and tea culture as it straddles the abyss between tangible and intangible culture to illustrate these changes. More specifically, it investigates the leap from a practice of the court to pop culture.
Rights Management
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Floryshak, Lisa Mae, "Steeped: The Expansion of Tea Culture from the Court of the Tang to Its Emergence in Pop Culture (600 To 1400 CE)" (2024). Student Theses and Dissertations. 64.
https://arch.astate.edu/all-etd/64
