A cup of tea?

Chinese hospitality enthuses when guests are entertained at home. Stereotypically, a cup of hot tea, sometimes, a cigarette, is offered with an invitation " qǐng ". This offer of tea and cigarette, is more of a hospitality ritual or a brief welcome ceremony. Tea or no tea sometimes could mean a lot to the guests as well as to the host or hostess of the same cultural back-ground. This is very well depicted and displayed in Chinese novels and movies. " Qǐng " is often used along with " laí " in casual circums-tances, and repeated several times as " qǐng! qǐng!qǐng! " and " laí! laí! laí! ", so that a sort of casualness, closeness and cozi-ness is achieved.

What seat? What tea?

A local official let in Su Dongpo, a revered Song ( 420 - 479 ) poet and essayist without knowing who he was. "Seat!", "tea!" he said without much enthusiasm. He soon recognized the extraordinary disposition that was a scholar and then said, with moderate enthus-iasm: "be seated please!" Have some tea please!". when finally informed who the visitor was, the official enthused, in why-did-not-you-say-so-earlier tone, "May I ask you to take the seat of honor please? May I ask you to try our fragrant tea please?"