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The Universe in a Cup of Tea: Cultural Changes in Social Transformation Seen from the Guanyinge Old Teahouse in Peng Town

Author(s)

Xiang Li*

Affiliation(s)

School of Ethnology and sociology Southwest Minzu Institute, Southwest Minzu University, Chengdu, China

Abstract

Teahouses are vibrant carriers of Chengdu’s regional culture and important windows for observing social transformation and cultural change. People from all directions can gather in the teahouse, a public space, to drink tea, chat, and exchange ideas. In the grand picture of China’s sweeping social transformation, those seemingly static traditional cultural spaces are often undergoing the most profound and vivid internal changes. The Guanyinge Old Teahouse in Peng Town, Shuangliu District, Chengdu, is not a museum exhibit sealed under glass but a “living” cultural site. Here, the century-old tea fragrance intertwines with the rapidly changing spirit of the times; the slow daily life of local elders coexists with the footsteps of global tourists, forming a vivid scene for understanding social transformation and cultural change. This article takes the Guanyinge Old Teahouse in Peng Town, Chengdu, and other typical cases as the core, combining an anthropological perspective to explore the cultural persistence and adaptive changes of old teahouses during social transformation from the simple dimensions of daily practice, social interaction, and functional evolution.

Keywords

Social Transformation; Cultural Change; Guanyinge Old Teahouse; Chengdu

References

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