Tap Your Fingers When Using A China Tea Set

Although the first fine china tea sets were used over 5,000 years ago, many ancient customs from that time are still popular today.

One of the customs is finger tapping, which amazes many who are new to the world of Chinese tea. It is a gesture that shows your respect to your host.

As the Chinese tea customs go, when tea is served, the guests should thank their host for the tea. However, many find it interesting that rather than say it, the Chinese simply tap the table with three of their fingers (the middle, index, and ring fingers). Each time you get your cup refilled, you repeat the gesture.

The gesture isn’t superstitious at all. In fact, the story of finger tapping dates back over 200 years to the Qing dynasty.

The emperor at that time would go all throughout his kingdom to see how real people’s lives were going. He would travel long and far to some of the smallest towns and largest metropolises. But he would always be sure to stop in on the tea house in the town.

In one small village, the emperor and his entourage were greatly impressed at how the local tea house owner poured tea for his guests. They did it by leaning in an acrobatic way all around the table. The emperor decided he must try this technique himself.

Now having the emperor serve you tea was something completely unheard of. Even just being in the presence of the emperor usually meant you had to bow down. So what could his companions do? They couldn’t let everyone know he was the emperor by bowing down, but they had to thank him somehow.

One of the companions had an idea, and he tapped three of his fingers on the table as a symbol of bow to his emperor.

So that’s how this custom was started. It wasn’t long before everyone in the country was doing it, and even today people across the country and the world follow this tradition.

Next time you visit a Chinese tea house, try to observe the interesting finger tapping technique to quietly thank your host for their delicious Chinese tea and beautiful China tea sets!

Author D. Cheng has written about Chinese culture, calligraphy, and arts & crafts such as Jingdezhen china tea sets for ages. Occasionally, he endorses skilled Chinese craftsmen. Check out some excellent Chinese tea sets.