“茶之为饮，发乎神农”，翻开当代的中国茶史，篆刻着一个个闪光的名字：吴觉农、庄晚芳、王泽农、张天福、陈宗懋……然而在茶文化领域，还有一个名字不能忽略，那就是88岁高龄的国际茶文化研究会名誉会长王家扬。
　　“我与茶的情缘还只是开始……”
　　王家扬，1918年出生于浙江宁海，1938年抗日从军，成为一名新四军战士。南征北战、粗茶淡饭，“在我作战的岁月里，茶还只是解渴的饮料。”
　　走出战场，王家扬投身政治工作。从江苏省总工会主席到全国总工会书记处书记，从浙江省副省长到浙江省政协主席……在政治舞台上，王家扬辛勤耕耘，殚精竭虑。“在机关工作后我开始喝茶，当时北京市委开会时，会议室门口就有卖小包装龙井茶叶的，两毛钱一包，我就经常掏钱泡上一杯。”“但是当时以机关工作为中心，并没有把喝茶当作一项事业。”
　　“真正与茶结缘是在1990年后。”“茶可以清心，可以养性。闲暇之余，清泉素茗，品上一杯，即使是身处闹境也会有一种‘尘心洗尽兴难尽’的意境。”“茶不但是健康饮料、文化饮料，更是一种和谐饮料!现在我对茶的兴趣还在加深，对茶的理解还在增进，我与茶的情缘还刚刚开始……”
　　
　　中国的茶文化使者
　　
　　从“武阳买荼”到“芳荼冠六清”，中国茶文化源远流长。但正式成立茶文化国际组织，却始于20世纪90年代的“丝茶之府——天堂杭州”。1990年为推进杭州“中国茶叶博物馆”的建设，杭州茶界八家单位发起了“第一届国际茶文化研讨会”，会议由王家扬主持，在会议闭幕式上，中、日、韩等国和香港、台湾地区的代表联合提出“成立国际茶文化研讨会固定组织”的提议，王家扬就是这一提议的牵头人，他随即被推选为筹备小组的组长。1993年“中国国际茶文化研究会”经国务院民政部正式批准成立，王家扬作为首届会长制定研究会的章程、制度，并成功主持浙江杭州、湖南常德、云南昆明、韩国汉城、浙江杭州、广东广州前六届国际茶文化研讨会，茶界精英云集，各国政要助推，把茶文化的研究推向空前繁荣。
　　作为茶文化界的大师，王老认为“茶文化”应该是广义的“文化”，它是包括诗画、音乐、美食、旅游等在内的“大文化”。“弘扬茶文化，必须推动茶经济”因为“文化是以经济为依托的，文化的目的是为了推动产业的发展，不能为了文化而文化。”
　　曾经担任国际文化交流协会理事长的王家扬深切感受到“天下茶人是一家”，“中国应该加强茶文化的国际交流与宣传，通过宣传使外国茶客在消费时不仅仅只是停留在看‘有机、绿色、无公害’这些单纯的标签上，而是以茶文化为依托，使茶叶成为一种意识。”
　　
　　“弘扬茶文化从娃娃抓起……”
　　早在上个世纪90年代初，王家扬就已经开始了“茶为国饮”的倡导者。在1994年的“倡导茶为国饮研讨会上”他提出：“茶为国饮，公家做起”，“把茶宴、茶会列入机关、事业和企业迎宾待客的礼遇。”
　　“我们的茶文化不但要走出去，还要延续下去，这就必须依靠茶文化教育”所以，“茶为国饮，要从娃娃抓起”。“一个人的行为意识是从小就养成的，所以学生的茶文化教育就显得意义重大，我们应该专门开设茶文化的课程，把陆羽的《茶经》编到学生的课文里去。”
　　作为浙江树人大学的创建人，王家扬独具慧眼，在人文学院设立茶文化交流专业，这在全国高校中是唯一的、也是树人大学的特色。他经常告诫该专业的学生：“茶文化不仅仅只是停留在简单的道具上、书面的资格证书上；一个出色的演员表演时要真正地投入角色；一场正宗的茶文化表演也要真正地投入到茶文化博大的内涵中去，而不是为了表演而表演。”“几天时间就想成为一名茶艺师、茶艺员是绝对不可能的，即使考出了证书，那也是缺乏含金量的。”
　　
　　踏遍青山人未老
　　
　　米寿之年的王老，虽是一头银发，却神采奕奕、容光焕发。问及长寿秘诀，曰：“喝香茶、观茶园也。”
　　从黄山毛峰到云南普洱，从福建武夷山到四川峨眉山，从山东日照到广东潮州，从韩国济州岛再到宝城茶园……十几年来，王老一路访茶、品茶、评茶，足迹遍布大江南北、海外他乡。“如若给王老绘制一张茶路图，那将是一张以杭州为中心，覆盖大半个地球的射线星状图。”跟随王老多年的秘书如是说。
　　虽然王家扬表示，今后的茶事活动会少参加一些，但是接受完采访后，刚从临安回来的他，又往“安吉白茶”的方向奔去……
　　(作者系《农民日报·中国名茶专刊》记者)
　　
　　
　　Veteran Devotes to Tea Culture
　　By Zheng Yingying
　　
　　The modern Chinese history of tea records events and names such as Wu Juenong, Zhang Tianfu, Zhuang Wanfang, and Chen Zhongmao, who have made contributions to the promotion of Chinese tea. Wang Jiayang is another name that goes down in history of the modern Chinese tea culture.
　　At age 88, Wang is honorary president of the China International Tea Culture Research Association. Born in 1918 in Ninghai, Zhejiang, Wang joined the Communist-led army in 1938 in the Resistance War Against Japanese Invasion. Wang remembers what role tea played in the combat years: "Tea was merely a drink to quench thirst then."
　　When New China was founded, Wang began to work in the government. In his long career, Wang worked as President of Jiangsu Federation of Trade Unions, Secretary of All China Federation of Trade Unions, Vice Governor of Zhejiang Province, and President of Zhejiang CPPCC.
　　When reminiscing of his years in the government office, Wang says that tea became a must when he began to engage in administrative work. He recalled he sometimes spent 20 cents for a small bag of Dragon Well Tea at the entrance to a conference room in Beijing Municipal Government decades ago and then made a cup of tea for himself for a meeting there.
　　
　　Wang became attached to tea in the 1990s. He agrees that purifies one's heart and cultivates one's moral character. He says, "A cup of tea can keep one uncorrupted by the maddening world. Tea is more than a beverage for health and culture. It is a beverage also for people to strengthen ties with each other. My interest in tea is deepening, my understanding of it is increasing and my attachment to tea is just beginning."
　　Though the cultural dimensions of Chinese tea can trace back to ages ago, it was in the 1990s that China first had an international organization for tea aficionados and professionals. In 1990, eight units involved in tea undertakings in Hangzhou sponsored the 1st International Symposium on Tea Culture. Wang presided over the gathering. At the closing ceremony, representatives from China, Japan, Korea, China's Hong Kong and Taiwan came up with a proposal to set up an international organization. Wang was elected as leader of the preparatory committee. In 1993, the China International Tea Culture Research Association was officially set up. As president, Wang was in charge of formulating the association's constitution and rules. And he presided the first six international symposium sponsored by the association respectively in Hangzhou, Changde of Hunan Province, Kunming of Yunnan, Seoul of Korea, Guangzhou of Guangdong Province, and Hangzhou. The symposiums attracted tea professionals and aficionados, and government officials from all over the world, who helped boost research on tea culture to an unprecedented height.
　　"Tea culture should be composed of a wide range of dimensions in poetry, painting, music, tourism, cuisines," Wang observes. He also points out, "China should step up efforts to publicize tea as its cultural consumption. Labels such as "green, organic and free of pollution" should no longer be used. Tea is more than these labels. Tea should become life's consciousness based on tea culture."
　　Since the early 1990s, Wang Jiayang has been an advocate of making tea our national beverage. On a symposium held in 1994 on promoting tea as a national beverage, Wang said, "Tea is our national beverage. The government should adopt it as the national beverage. Government offices, institutions and enterprises should use tea to entertain visitors."
　　As president of privately funded Shuren University, Wang made sure that the college of liberal arts offers an academic course in tea culture and issues academic degrees to graduates in this field.
　　At age 88, Wang looks very robust. When asked about his good health secret, he says, "I drink tea and visit tea gardens." For more than 10 years, Wang has visited a lot of tea production bases. His secretary says that if a map is used to indicate his visits, there will be a Hangzhou-center radiating lines that cover almost half of the world.
　　
　　 (Translated by David)