Dahaiwen, who has passed his sixtieth year, has blond hair, a high nose bridge, brown eyes, and a pair of glasses. He is elegant and gentleman. He is an authentic American. When meeting for the first time, he spoke fluent Chinese and said: “Hello everyone, I am Hugh, my Chinese name is Dahaiwen, I like China, I love to drink Chinese tea, and I have a relationship with Chinese tea.”
Dahaiwen met Chinese tea pickers in Chashan, Huishui County, Qiannan Prefecture, Guizhou Province, China. He was extremely enthusiastic and greeted everyone, asking “Do you like tea? Do you like green tea or black tea?” Dahaiwen would recommend it to foreigners, “Duyun has a good hair tip, you can taste it.”
“I used to drink coffee, but after tasting authentic Chinese tea at a Chinese friend’s home, I fell in love with tea drinking and Chinese tea art.” Talking with Dahaiwen about his China complex, tea is an inevitable topic.
The Chinese tea complex of an old foreign man
Dahaiwen went to the tea factory to learn about Chinese tea culture. Photo by Zhang Huiwei
In 2004, Dahaiwen came to Guangzhou, China.
“When I arrived in China, it aroused my enthusiasm for tea. When I buy tea in a supermarket or a tea shop, I will ask the waiter in English which province the tea is produced in China? How is it made? But unfortunately, they said I don’t understand Chinese, and I can’t speak English clearly.” Dahaiwen told reporters.
It was this experience that made Dahaiwen decide to do something for Chinese tea.
“Go to school and teach children to introduce Chinese tea in English.” In March 2014, Dahaiwen and his wife applied to become international volunteers at Guizhou Shenghua Vocational College. Dahaiwen became an English teacher at the Tea Academy as he wished.
“I am very happy to come to Guizhou, the hometown of Chinese green tea. The important thing is that I realized my’Chinese dream’.” Dahaiwen said, “Here, I will tell the children how to introduce Chinese tea to foreigners.”
“In the United States, some people drink coffee, some people drink Coke, and many people drink tea.” Dahaiwen told his students, “but not everyone who drinks tea knows the knowledge of tea.”
“Now in the United States, there are more and more Chinese people and more and more Chinese companies.” Dahaiwen is very fortunate that he chose to learn Chinese very early and has been learning Chinese until now. “I am often told by Americans that my children are learning Chinese and my neighbors are learning Chinese. It seems that the whole world is learning Chinese.” Dahaiwen smiled and said, “I am better than them, because I not only can speak Chinese, but also use Chinese. Do things in Chinese and English to spread Chinese tea culture”.
Dahaiwen likes to drink tea and also likes to study tea. “Although Chinese tea culture is too difficult for me, I really love them. They are very Chinese and beautiful.” Dahaiwen said that once, He saw a Chinese Tang poem about tea in a documentary, so he took his notes and read the poem aloud to a Chinese friend accompanying him on the road to a tea garden afterwards. “They are all surprised! I think it’s amazing, right?” He smiled and made a face.
In order to let Dahaiwen have a deeper understanding of tea knowledge, the school invited Dahaiwen to the school tea training base to participate in training, which made Dahaiwen happy.
“Picking tea and making tea, I often made mistakes when I first started learning.” Dahaiwen smiled and said, “Making mistakes is also an indispensable and unforgettable experience to understand Chinese tea.”
“On the one hand, he told us how to introduce Chinese tea to the world, and on the other hand, he was humbly learning about Chinese tea culture.” Yu Mengjiang, a student of the Tea Academy, is Dahaiwen’s instructor in tea making and learning. “Dahaiwen truly loves Chinese tea. people.”
I like Chinese tea, tea culture, and the ancient vicissitudes of the Chinese nation, so Dahaiwen focuses on teaching students the introduction of tea: I hope that students can master the origin of each type of Chinese tea and the method of making tea. , English introduction to the efficacy of tea.
Speaking of why he loves Chinese tea so much, Dahaiwen said, “In China, drinking tea is a kind of culture, but also a normal life.”
At present, Dahaiwen has become a “business card” of the Tea Academy.
“Every time I go back to the United States, I will give my family and friends a box of handmade tea made by students of the Tea Academy, and introduce them to the production methods of these teas.” Dahaiwen said, “This is the taste of China, and I know the Chinese people best. Kind way.”