Yaji Masterclass: A Historical Reconstruction of Song Tea Customs

Yaji: Seasons is the first in a series of Elegant Gatherings by the Hanfugirls Collective paying homage to gatherings where ancient literati would enjoy great poetry and exchange thoughts through the finest sensorial experiences. Like the ancients who curated their lives around nature’s offerings, we commence our quarterly Yaji series, themed around the blooms and glooms of seasons – much akin to the rise and fall of ancient Chinese dynasties.

In the inaugural Yaji: Seasons gathering, experiences are tailored to different interest levels and preferences. There's bound to be one that is made for you!

Yaji: A Song dynasty Autumn's Dream

A dynasty of oxymorons, the Song dynasty pioneered Chinese capitalism and consumerism while remaining devoted to the practice of Minimalism in its artistic expressions. While the modern Japanese whisked tea ceremony known as chanoyu traces its roots to the whisked tea customs of the Song, and the former’s wagashi from similar periods, the two remain distinctly different in essence. Come into the realm of the Song literati and discover an ancient Chinese world that blends high art with popular culture, kitsch with minimalism, and the understated luxury of the Chinese that you've never seen.

Date: Sat, 24 September 2022

Venue: Stamford Arts Centre, #02-03

Recommended Dresscode: Natural fibre or Autumn’s colours

Language: English

4:30pm | Yaji Masterclass: A Historical Reconstruction of Song Tea Customs | 2hrs | from $168 by Kenny Leong

The tea affairs of the Song was a radical departure from when tea was consumed with herbs and spices as a soup or medicine. Reaching a zenith involving meticulous preparation, refined aesthetics, and a pursuit of excellence, it differed greatly from how tea is customarily perceived — instead of teapots to steep loose tea, the Song preferred to whisk powdered tea in a bowl. A great deal of skill was required to whisk the perfect bowl of tea, and painting on the tea’s surface of foam — not unlike modern latte art — was also hugely popular.

You will get to learn about the Song’s approach to tea affairs and whisk your own bowl of tea. You might even engage in a “Competition of Tea” with your fellow guests to see who makes the best tea based on popular criteria as observed in the Song.

Top up another $80 when booking your tickets online to own an entire set of Song-style teaware! If you are undecided for now, fret not, you could also purchase it on the spot for $100.

Song Dynasty Tea appreciation and tea-making ware set consists of 10 items as follows:

- Finely grounded White Tea powder (20g)

- Ceramic Tea Caddy with Metal Lid

- Bamboo Tea Spoon

- Bamboo Tea Whisk

- Black ceramic Tea Whisk holder

- Small cup for Tea paste (used in tea art)

- Tea towel with printed image (Propitious Cranes painting by Emperor Huizong of Song)

- Hare's fur glaze ceramic Tea Bowl

- Song style water pitcher

- Double layered cushioned carrier bag

For Full Programme, please refer to: https://www.eventbrite.sg/e/392631470297

Yaji: Seasons consists of four quarterly gatherings:

Yaji: A Song dynasty Autumn Dream (Q3 2022)

Yaji: The Qing dynasty’s Ode to Winter (Q4 2022)

Yaji: Spring blooms in Ming (Q1 2023)

Yaji: The Cooling Summers of Tang (Q2 2023)

ABOUT HANFUGIRL

Pan Pan (Hanfugirl) was first introduced to the term “Hanfu” in late 2015 when she chanced upon a beautifully made garment that looked nothing like the ubiquitous cheongsam yet was referred to as the traditional dress of the Han Chinese. She first created #hanfugirl in 2016 when she started dressing up in traditional Han Chinese dresses to work and it subsequently developed into a full-blown research and education endeavour to make historical knowledge relatable and accessible to the general public.

Trained as a visual artist in her formative years with knowledge of the western art history, Panpan combines her visual photo-artworks with editorials that often challenge pre-existing assumptions or stereotypes about the Chinese culture, and draws parallels between the past and the present, the East and the West.

She has been featured on major local and international news platforms such as Channel News Asia, The Straits Times, Lian He Zao Bao, South China Morning Post, Vox and CGTN.

She formally established the Hanfugirls Collective with like-minded people in 2019 and 2020 and received a residency opportunity at the Stamford Arts Centre under the National Arts Council where the collective conducted lectures, workshops and immersive performances related to ancient Chinese women and their art.

Hanfugirl regularly writes articles on Chinese cultural heritage, fashion and arts on her blog http://www.hanfugirl.io and maintains a Facebook page (Hanfugirl) and Instagram (@hanfugirl) which are sites for on-going exploration and discussions of topics related to culture and society.

ABOUT HANFUGIRLS COLLECTIVE

Hanfugirls Collective is an all-female arts collective focusing on research, education and outreach of ancient Chinese artforms with a strong emphasis on female empowerment and multiculturalism. The collective has completed an arts residency at the Stamford Arts Centre in 2019 where the collective conducted sold-out lectures, workshops and immersive performances related to ancient Chinese courtesans and their artistic legacies as well as the interconnectedness of ancient civilisations and cultures since thousands of years ago as manifested in their fashion and arts.

In the Traditional Arts Residency under the National Arts Council that followed in 2021, the Collective completed the first interactive historical dance film that combined traditional film medium with choose-your-own-path online interactives with a 360-degree dance video as part of the residency. With a strong focus on research, the collective seeks to challenge stereotypes and misunderstandings about women identity in ancient Chinese narratives, and to emphasise the confidence and independence displayed by Chinese women throughout history contrary to the usual assumptions of them being submissive and weak.

The Collective regularly conducts workshops and activities that brings the ancient worlds, their art and philosophies to modern audiences.

ABOUT KENNY LEONG

Kenny Leong is a tea practitioner, presenter, and writer who has devoted himself to tea affairs since 2014. His work focuses on fine artisanal tea and explores it through various contemporary modalities with an emphasis on education and aesthetics.

Kenny regularly conducts tastings, events, workshops, and sessions. In his course of work, he has presented tea for partners and clients such as Mastercard Priceless, FENDI, Straits Clan, OCBC, Starwood, Speciality & Fine Food Asia, etc. These events featured custom tea pairing dinners designed around specific themes, tea tastings, tea+wine crossover, and more.

In 2019, he partnered interdisciplinary art collective HF/DF on an experiential tea programme for Offcuts Teahouse, an art installation that was part of the Arts In Your Neighbourhood initiative by the National Arts Council. Through it, he realised one of his endeavours to take tea out of its conventional context while maintaining the integrity of its practice, in order to highlight the transience and ephemerality of the tea ceremony.

While research and education form the foundational pillars of Kenny’s work in the affairs of tea, his practice has also developed over the years to integrate a deeper understanding and respect for philosophical traditions and thought, reinforcing his belief in empowering practitioners and learners to tap into intuitive wisdom and awareness. Influenced heavily by classical eastern philosophical thought and tradition, an aspect of his work employs tea as a medium not so much as to teach or persuade but to encourage the practitioner to ask questions about growth, change, and finding solace. Tea sessions become opportunities for the practitioner to engage in dialogue, in which one learns to embrace the fundamental inseparability of ‘duality and unity’ of life and all that revolves around it. The practice of tea, then, is not an escape from life, but the very means by which to live it with integrity, authenticity, and awareness.

Kenny obtained his Certified Specialist of Wine (Society of Wine Educators) qualification in 2010. Previously a contributor to lifestyle and luxury publications, his works have appeared in The Business Times, Robb Report, The Peak, Prestige, Singapore Tatler, food&travel, Wine & Dine, TODAY newspaper, and other print/digital publications.

Kenny maintains an Instagram account dedicated to tea at instagram.com/kennyleong.

Key visual image Courtesy of Kenny Leong, photographed by Tan Ngiap Heng

Refund Policy:

Tickets once sold are not refundable but they are transferrable to another person.