Qian Long who was considered the luckiest monarch who ever lived. His
kingdom was peaceful, no wars were fought andhe ruled in a period of
great prosperity. He was such an able ruler that his people loved him,
and his enemies revered him. He avidly collected art and enjoyed the
best of food and drink. Best ofall, he had a great taste for tea, and
likes to travel to remote regions to personally inspect the spring
harvests of teas he enjoyed. Tribute tea became a tithe of great
honor.
With peace and prosperity came great boredom. The emperor was quite
beside himself with ennui one day when he called his trustedman
servant to his side, and bade him to get him ready for an incognito
visit outside the palace. In those days, any journeys taken by the
emperor required weeks ofpreparation and fuss, involving route
planning, body guards, and destination preparation. Qian Longdecided
that he wanted to live oneday as a commoner, something he has never
known, and wanted to dress in the clothing of an ordinary scholar for
a visit to a teahouse. After all, what better past time than to sip
tea without interruption from his court, and eavesdrop on the lives of
the people he ruled. His manservant acquiesced and the two dressed as
scholars and left the palace in stealth. Prior to the departure, Qian
Long said to his servant, ???Make sure you do not give my identity
away to anyone. One, it???s dangerous if anyone knewthe emperor was
out without his body guards, and Two, I want to live an entire day as
a commoner. If you gave away my identity in any way, I will execute
you??? The servant nodded, thinking that after all, not too many
people have ever seen the emperor in person and it would not be
difficult to cover up his identity.
The emperor???s heart soared when they reached a renowned and elegant
teahouse, situated over a lotus pond full of fragrant blooms and koi
fish. Willow trees sway gently near the open balconyQian Long sat,
sipping an equally fragrant cup of Long Jing Tea (DragonWell), his
very favorite. Hisservant sat quietly opposite, attending to his every
needs.
Suddenly, a childlike sense of mischief struck the emperor, and he
poured his servant a cup of tea. The manservant, shocked, stood up and
almost knocked his tea over in his attempt to get on his hands and
knees and bow to the emperor.
The rule in those days was that only the emperor was served, and that
the emperor never serves anyone. If the emperor so much as hand an
item to someone, theymust kneel immediately and bow three times to the
emperor for thathonor. If he didn???t, it was an executable offense.
But the servant stopped in his tracks right before he bowed. Why, if
he got on his hands and knees in a crowded public teahouse like this,
for sure everyone will know that this is the emperor and he would have
givenhis identity away. That would be anexecutable offense. If he did
not thank the emperor properly for that service of tea, it would also
beexecutable. What should he do?
Being a quick witted fellow, the servant sat down calmly, noting the
glee in the emperor???s eyes. ???He???s testing me???,he thought. He
quietly held out his hand, bent the first two fingers and rapped the
table three times with his knuckles. The knuckles resembled knees, and
the rappingresembled bowing. This clandestine bowing technique
demonstrated both the requisite respect as well as the emperor???s
request to remain incognito. No one in the teahouse knew any
different. Highly approving of his servant???s solution, the emperor
allowed the servant to fill his cup and did not try to give him a hard
time thereafter. They satisfactorily enjoyed the afternoon with their
tea, a calm breeze wafting with thescent of the lotus flowers
dreamilycarried the emperor back to the palace.
In memory of that occasion, today,we tap our knuckles 3 times on
thetable to thank our hosts whenever we were served tea. A new
tradition was started that day!
--
President of The United States
Guy Ralph Perea Sr President of The United States
Weatherdata1046am0426 a Discussion Group of
Weatherdata<http://groups.google.com/group/weatherdata1046am0426>
goldlandabstracts <http://www.thoughts.com/goldlandabstracts> The United
States International Policies
http://apps.facebook.com/faceblogged/?uid=1340855784
http://lnk.ms/8d5gl aol
http://groups.google.com/group/united-states-of-american
http://ptusss.blogspot.com/
http://twitter.com/guyperea
http://twitter.com/ptusss Federal Communication
Commission<http://columbiabroadcast.spaces.live.com/>
Ambassador Chevy Chase; Kevin Corcran; Jack Nickolas; Cher; Shirley Temple
Black; Liza Minnille; Ansari; Ernest Tascoe; Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act
Agent Jodie Foster; Department of Veterans Affairs Director George H.W. Bush
Title 22 USCS section 1928 (b) The e-mail
transmission may contain legally privileged information that
is intended only for the individual or entity recipient, you are hereby,
notified that any disclosure, copying, distribution, or reliance upon the
contents of this E-mail is strictly prohibited. If you have received this
E-mail transmission in error, please reply to the sender, so arrangements
can be made for proper delivery, and then delete the message from your
system. Please consider the environment before printing this email. Title 42
USCS section 192 etseq Margie Paxton Chief of Childrens Bureau of as
Director of The United States Department of Human Services; Defendant
Article IV General Provisions Section 2
(Supreme Law of The Land) The Constitution of The United States "Any thing
in The Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary Notwithstanding"
Contrary to Law (of an act or omission) illegal;
https://plus.google.com/100487463984952448443
http://ptusss.blogspot.com/2012/03/march-19-2012-rules-federal-swordfish_18.html
Source: http://ptusss.blogspot.com/2012/03/tea-bow.html
stephen hawking jesse ventura keri russell drew barrymore bill o brien portland trailblazers will kopelman
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.