11.18.08
Tieh Kuan Yin (Ti Quan Yin)
posted by James Norwood Pratt | 16 comments
Tenth in a series on the teas of China.
Iron Goddess of Mercy - Ti Quan Yin, is a variety of tea plant from which extraordinary oolong tea is made; in fact, Ti Quan Yin from Anxi County in southern Fujiian Province is ranked as one of China’s Ten Most Famous Teas, making it of interest even without its fascinating history. Anxi (Sand) County - is where the Ti Quan Yin cultivar or variety of tea plant was discovered. Its legend tells how faithfully the poor farmer Wei maintained a dilapidated old temple to the bodhisattva Quan Yin, who is the bodhisattva of compassion or Buddhism’s equivalent to the Madonna, so to speak. One night the Compassionate One appeared to her devotee in a dream and directed him where to lok for his reward, which he was told to share with the whole community. Al Wei found at the spot indicated was a solitary tea sprout, but his he nurtured like a gift from heaven - and so it tourned out to be to the entire region, which has prospered ever since from this gift. Just what the word Iron means in its name is never explained very clearly.
Ti Quan Yin is best prepared gongfu style, the way they do in south China, steeping the tea in a fist-sized pot and drinking it from thimble cups. Made in this way it ranks as one of the strongest teas anywhere yet retains unbelievable delicacy. Whatever the preparation, superior Ti Quan Yin simply has no peer for intensity of aroma, fruitiness and depth of flavor.
Next week: Shuixian and Fenghuang Dancong
November 18th, 2008 at 6:22 am
As a matter of fact, there are two legends for the discovery of this variety of tea: the Wei and the Wang legend. The Wei legend that you reported is the only one which explains the iron qualification (Tie). Indeed, the bodhisattva Avalokite?vara (Guan Yin) representation in the Anxi Temple to which Wei devotes himself was made out of iron.
This kind of teas are really exceptional. I mean higher qualities, where gong fu cha style is highly recommended to extract wonderful tastes. There are two type of Tie Guan Yin: the traditional ones which are heavily roasted and have fruity and woody tastes and the lightly roasted ones which are floral and fruity. And As they are really easy to find, they are a really good introduction to more complex, more subtle or more powerful oolongs as Wuyi yancha, feng huang dancong or high mountain taiwanese oolongs.
November 18th, 2008 at 1:15 pm
Out of curiosity, did the owners of the photos give permission for their work to be used?
November 18th, 2008 at 8:48 pm
Alex - I’m sure our photo editor has. We take great pains to make sure that each image is accounted for. I will have Melanie respond directly to let you know for sure. Do you know something I don’t?
November 19th, 2008 at 12:25 am
You may be sure, but the owner of the photos were not asked.
Flickr lists the rights intended for the viewer by the copyright holder of the image. You did not seem to read them. The first photo of the Bodum teapot is posted as “all rights reserved.” That does not give you any right at all to repost the image here.
Next, the photo of the gong fu set is listed with a more liberal license, granting some additional rights to you, the viewer. This “Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.0 Generic” license grants NON-COMMERCIAL entities the right to reuse the image, but gives no rights for modification. It also requires clear attribution to the author/copyright holder, not some obscure web link.
Seeing as T-Ching seems to be in the business of selling things, they are given zero rights to copy this photo without a separate arrangement with the copyright holder.
Please learn a thing or two about copyrights before stealing any more photos.
The online tea community is a small group and this will certainly be noticed.
November 19th, 2008 at 12:37 am
As the owner of one of the photos in this post, I can assure you that I was NOT asked for permission to use this photo. Many of my photos are posted on Flickr under a Creative Commons, NON-COMMERCIAL, Attribution license. I believe this site is Commercial in nature, and clearly there is NO attribution here. Two violations of the licensing, and very poor form, as I am aware that this has been an issue with t-ching in the past.
November 19th, 2008 at 12:00 pm
I know the owner of those photographs personally, and she most certainly was NOT asked.
Image theft is disgraceful. You should be ashamed of yourselves.
November 19th, 2008 at 2:26 pm
It has come to our attention that an error has occurred concerning a photograph that was used in this post. I am holding my breath as we re-examine all of the recent images in the hopes that the vast majority of those are fine.
As some of you may have noticed, we have a few new positions that have been filled at T Ching. We have a new managing editor, photo editor and teen editor. EVERYONE at the T Ching blog is a volunteer. We all share a love of tea and a heart felt desire to support our mission here at T Ching- to turn the world on to tea. We receive no money for our efforts on this educational blog nor do we pay any salaries. The banner ad for Sole of Africa, for example, is donated space for this very worthy cause. Posting articles on a blog is a complex process, involving many steps and procedures. There is in fact a learning curve. Ultimately I assume responsibility for any mistakes that have been made and will write to each talented photographer whose wonderful images we have used inappropriately. We are human beings after all and I can promise you one thing - we will make mistakes again. Hopefully not the same ones we’ve already made. It is our intention to write a full post about this next week - giving voice to everyone who has written to us about it.
Perhaps the most difficult aspect of this entire event has been the assumptions that others have made. People seem to assume the worst. Perhaps they have been burned in the past and live their lives expecting others to hurt them again. Our country is going through a revolution of sorts. There is a feeling of change and hope for America, despite our grim financial circumstances. I hope that people can begin to change their expectations of others. Let’s learn to expect good things from people. If they should disappoint us, let’s give them an opportunity to explain and perhaps to make amends. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we approached people with the expectation of seeing good deeds from them?
Please accept my apology for any errors that have been made. We are committed to doing better today than we did yesterday and even better tomorrow than we did today.
November 19th, 2008 at 10:01 pm
I don’t know what all that balderdash about hope and change is about. You are using pictures under copyright, you have been notified, and you are still using them while trying to defend yourself.
The online tea community is small, word of this is getting around on the forums, and right now T Ching is being removed from blogs and RSS feeds.
We are “assuming the worst” because you are continuing to use pictures that do not belong to. You have not even had the decency to remove them in the interim.
I imgaine that this comment, like others I know that have been posted, will not see the light of day. But understand that we are not molified, or placated, or even shamed by your sad, psuedo political rhetoric.
November 19th, 2008 at 10:42 pm
I would like everyone to know that we have been alerted to the fact that we have mistakenly used some images that have copyright restrictions without explicit permission from the photographers. We have gone back through all of the posts since our new photo editor took over and have identified a total of 7 images (6 photographers) that were improperly used. All of the rest of our images are appropriately used. We have contacted all of the photographers involved to notify them of this mistake and asked if they would be comfortable granting us permission to use their images or if they would prefer that we remove them. We have heard back from 3 of the photographers who graciously granted us permission. We are awaiting responses from the remaining 3. As soon as we hear from them, we will act accordingly. I hope that everyone can see that all of the images have always had links to the photographers page for credit. This was obviously not an attempt to hide anything or blatant subterfuge.
It is clear that some people are very angry and upset. For this we apologize for causing you any undue distress. We will be publishing everyone’s comments along with a post of a formal apology and explanation of how this has happened.
November 20th, 2008 at 10:14 pm
Flickr is a beautiful resource, representing the work of thousands of artists. Nevertheless, I know from experience how confusing it is to use. That confusion does not excuse improper use, but I know that the publisher and editors of this blog did not blatantly “steal” the work of others. They admire - even love - perfect images captured by talented photographers. Even as you rightfully feel betrayed by this misuse, please recognize that the first motivation was that wonderful Eureka moment: “Wow, that photo is PERFECT!” The joy of finding your perfect image from all the mind-boggling choices is the culprit here. Think about it, T Ching’s photo editor is very well-qualified in the art and design department, and she chose your photo(s). What an awesome compliment! And, your pride of ownership is deserved - thanks for pointing it out to all of us who read the blog.
And, give yourself the gift of forgiveness. It’s as beautiful as your photo.
November 20th, 2008 at 10:51 pm
Ah, fantastic. So now I should feel grateful, complimented and honored that T Ching misused my work. Again, I would like to reiterate that when this all started, I was mildly annoyed. Had the image just been taken down immediately, pending permission, it would have all blown over. Instead, this is the sequence of events:
A reader recognizes my photo, and knows it is being used without permission.
Reader asks if blog has obtained permission
Blog editor publicly says “of course,” she is “sure the editor” has obtained permission.
Reader alerts me to my image being used on a commercial blog, against licensing, and blog’s claim to have permission.
I respond at the source that my permission has not been sought. This response is not posted to the blog.
A response from the editor is put up that praises other people who have had their work stolen as “gracious” when they evidently give permission (shutting barn door after horses escape?) Other artist(s) are characterized as “angry” and “upset.”
(This is when I first begin to get “angry and upset”)
HOURS later (while my property remain on this site) I get an email that basically says “well we’d like to use it anyways, is that okay?”
I say, “no. you should have asked, and you shouldn’t have lied, and you shouldn’t insinuate that I am the one in the wrong here.”
Formal “apology” is posted that basically says “oops we goofed, but it’s not really “stealing” like the OTHER people who steal online, but YOU…. blah blah blah diatribe minimize minimize excuse excuse”
I post another response that “stealing” is still stealing.
They EDIT the post AFTER I respond, but BEFORE they put up my comment.
I make note of the revision.
They now ATTACK me and lyingly claim that the revisions were happening SIMULTANEOUSLY with my objection.
And now YOU, Regena, want to give them a total pass, and tell me I should be flattered, huh?
I found a great post on a blog called Cha Dao, regarding theft of intellectual property. I am posting the snippet here (under Fair Use standards.) I think it applies perfectly to this situation. It redefines your “Eureka” moment from the other perspective.
“I think at the base of such plagiarism is a greediness, a selfishness, an impulse in the mind of the about-to-become-a-plagiarist that hisses, “This is excellently written, and I want it. I want the benefit of having it associated with me. I want the aura of its eloquence without the decades of labor required to write at this level.””
The same applies here to photography.
November 21st, 2008 at 1:46 am
Dear Sandy & Dear Michelle–
Your long-time colleagues like myself thank you for the example of honesty and forthrightness you have set in dealing so openly with this photography glitch. Mistakes are bound to occur, even in our world of tea, but let them not dismay you nor distract us from the considerable and on-going contributions you have made to Tea Culture. Let us also gently remind some few that Anger is altogether out of place in that culture.
November 21st, 2008 at 2:05 am
Norwood - Thank you for your perspective and wisdom. You have touched my heart. I feel blessed to have you as a contributor and supporter of T Ching. If Oscars were given within the tea industry - you would surely hold the record for receiving the most. I will always consider you the Father of Tea Culture in America.
Regena - you know only too well the challenges of blogging. We’ve made our share of mistakes and taken the hits for it. You always find a way to bring me comfort and encouragement and I appreciate that. Your recommendation of “forgiveness”……..that says it all.
November 21st, 2008 at 2:12 am
Stacey -
I will respectfully disagree with your interpretation of events and any similarity you perceive between the situation that Cha Dao has had to deal with. The blog he describes has continued to publish his copied material and has made no apologies or attempts to correct the situation. Within a day of our discovering that your photograph was inappropriately used on our site, I sent you a personal apology and we removed your photograph by the end of that day after I heard back from you. If you read the last paragraph in Corax’s post, you will see that the response he continues to look for from the perpetrator of this plagiarism, even after all of this time, is simply to receive an apology and the removal of the plagiarized material. Exactly what you received within one day of our discovering our mistake.
November 21st, 2008 at 11:18 am
Stacey,
I deserved that. Thanks for pointing out the parallel between written intellectual property and the photograph. The internet is rewriting the rules for plagiarism, and people like you will keep us honest as we navigate. Have a wonderful weekend, and I hope you get a chance to drink some ti quan yin.
November 22nd, 2008 at 2:51 am
Instead of discussing about tea we are discussing about photographs and its ownership and copyrights, which certainly does not harm anybody since the healthy discussions done here are more beneficial to the society in particular and tea industry in general.
Can I request everybody involved here to be more true to tea trade we are all involved with. We sitting on the other side of the fence realise the value of such blogs like Tching, where cause of tea is always taken up in the right ernest.
We are proud to be involved with T ching.