Happy #ChineseNewYear !🧧🧨
Why is it the Chinese New Year and not the Lunar New Year?
As a traditional festival that has been handed down in China for thousands of years, it makes me feel disrespected that in recent years it has suddenly been forced to change its name to LNY
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On X you can always see Chinese videos being called “Japanese” and things originated from China being labeled Japanese — sometimes even smeared as “China stole it,” like with Mocha (抹茶).
Here’s the actual story:
Mocha (powdered tea) originated in China during the Tang Dynasty (7th–10th centuries) and reached its peak in the Song Dynasty. Tea leaves were steamed, dried, and ground into fine powder, then whisked with hot water in an elegant “pointing tea” style popular among scholars.
Strong evidence comes from China’s Famen Temple (法门寺), a Buddhist temple over 1,700 years old with an underground palace containing undisturbed royal treasures. Among them is one of the earliest known royal tea sets, including a gilt silver tea caddy woven out of metallic yarn (Picture 1), a gilt silver tortoise-shaped tea box (Picture 2), a tea roller-grinder (Picture 3), and a silver stove. As part of the set, a “Tiao Da Zi” (调达子, Picture 4) mixing container was used — in ancient China, tea was prepared like a meal: ground into powder, mixed with spices into a paste, then whisked with hot water.
In the late 12th century, Japanese monk brought the technique and seeds from China. Japan refined it with shading methods and made it central to Zen Buddhism and the tea ceremony, turning it into a symbol of harmony and tranquility. While China later shifted to loose-leaf tea, Japan preserved the powdered form.
Today, Mocha is booming globally as a superfood. China has reclaimed its place as the world’s top producer, with Guizhou Province (especially Jiangkou near Fanjing Mountain) as a major hub — often called China’s “Mocha Capital.” Its misty high-altitude climate is perfect for quality tea, and modern factories have made it a big exporter.
In short: Born in China, popular in Japan, thriving again in China.