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on Day: September 14, 2020
on Drinking Tea in the Tiergarten
on In part 1, Matthew and the Princess enjoy tea as he tells her his story, rather the story of Black America, where “they sat an hour drinking tea in the Tiergarten” pp.14
Tea has significance in this text placed in the larger context of Afro-Asian intimacies within the novel, in that it seemingly acts as a coming-together of the two parts of the world- East, and West. The origins of tea can be traced back to China, where it was believed to be discovered around the 30th century BC and 21st century BC (teabox). However, it wasn’t until 202 BC and 220 AD that tea was in use as a beverage, where it was offered to nobility but eventually grew in popularity to become a staple in Chinese tradition. Tea was a prized commodity in the rest of the world- along trade routes into India, Turkey, and eventually Europe. Tea also played a large role in the development of colonialism, especially concerning the English empire, becoming a vital import in British colonies.
The setting of part 1 in Berlin, where the two English-speaking people of color- one Brown and one Black- come together for afternoon tea is a note to the quotidian impact of European colonialism/imperialism, the Transatlantic Slave Trade, and the ways in which Afro-Asia interact, directly and indirectly. Many people credit the British for the global popularization of tea without acknowledging the violent colonial history that made it plausible- the appropriation of its cultural significance in Asia and the extraction of indigenous peoples’ resources/labor in order to produce high volumes of tea.
DuBois, W.E.B. Dark Princess: A Romance. Oxford University Press, 2007.
Teabox. “History of Tea.” UK Tea & Infusions Association, 20 Apr. 2017, www.tea.co.uk/history-of-tea.
Tea in Tiergarten
on “As they sat at tea in Tiergarten, under the black tall trees, Matthew’s story came pouring out:” (DuBois 8).
Over tea, Matthew tells his story to the Princess. Tea often seems to bring people together, and its soothing warmth encourages storytelling. The origins of tea are not concrete, but legend says that the first cup of tea can be traced back to 2737 BC in China. Emperor Shen Nung was drinking a cup of hot water when a few leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant blew into his cup. Voila, the first cup of tea was created. Other legends exist as well. Some speak of tea as first being used as a medicated beverage in the Shang Dynasty, and other myths say that the first tea bushes were grown from the torn eyelids of the founder of Chan Buddhism. Either way, tea originates from Asia and has always been associated with status, even today. It is therefore interesting that the first meeting of Matthew and the Princess involves the drinking of tea. Matthew, a black immigrant from America, and an actual royalty of African descent are drinking tea, a symbol of status, in a white country that has a horrifyingly racist and discriminatory past. In this scene, the symbol of tea serves to connect Africa with Asia in a European setting.
DuBois, W.E.B. Dark Princess: A Romance. Oxford University Press, 2007.
Teabox. “History of Tea.” UK Tea & Infusions Association, 20 Apr. 2017, www.tea.co.uk/history-of-tea.