When I shout with all my might,
It echoes throughout the mountains,
And it is you who awakens,
In the world of grasses and trees.
—From “Grasses and Trees Amongst Us”
As spring deepens, Tea regions are bustling with activity.
The release of “Grasses and Trees Amongst Us” during the tea season seems to have received mixed reviews. However, for tea enthusiasts, there are many commendable aspects.
This film, set against the backdrop of Hangzhou's Longjing tea Landscape, is filled with tea elements in its plot and details. Tea lovers would have noticed this.
Moreover, the names of characters, scenes, and the storyline are all poetic. Behind the poetic tea ambiance lies a harsh and cruel social reality—the terrifying pyramid scheme scams and countless family tragedies!
Every Tea Element is an “Inside Joke”
It cannot be denied that director Gu Xiaogang understands tea, or at least has done his homework thoroughly. Each tea element in the film is an “inside joke.”
01
Grasses and Trees Amongst Us: The character for “tea” split apart means “person among grasses and trees”
The title “Grasses and Trees Amongst Us” itself refers to tea.
“Tea is a fine tree from the south.”
“The character for ‘tea' split apart is ‘person among grasses and trees.'”
The character for “tea” split apart means “person among grasses and trees” (Tang Dynasty, Liu Gongquan, Regular Script)
Jiang Qin Qin plays Wu Ta Hua, a tea picker, while Chen Jianbin portrays Lao Qian, a renowned master of Hangzhou Longjing tea production. They are both people among grasses and trees. In the film, there are also depictions of tea picking, tea processing, tea preparation, and tea brewing.
02
Shouting at the Mountains: From People Shouting at the Mountains to Mountains Shouting at People
The film begins with a picturesque morning scene in the tea region: misty air, silent hills, lush greenery, and the headlamps of tea pickers like twinkling stars scattered among the tea plants. They shout in unison, awakening the sleeping tea mountains.
Shouting at the mountains is an ancient tea custom that embodies the tea region people's fervent prayers for favorable weather and a bountiful new tea harvest.
At the end of the film, He Mu Lian (played by Wu Lei) says that going into the mountains will awaken his mother. This is the mountains shouting at people, awakening Ta Hua who has strayed onto the wrong path, echoing the beginning and end of the film.
This is also in line with the theme song of the same name: “When I shout with all my might / It echoes throughout the mountains / And it is you who awakens / In the world of grasses and trees.”
03
Tea Worms: Tea Spanworms, Doomed to Never Transform into Butterflies
The tea worm appears frequently in the film, appearing twice in connection with Ta Hua, carrying profound symbolism, and can be considered the “best supporting actor.”
The first time is after Ta Hua returns from her date with Lao Qian in the tea garden and finds a plump tea worm resting on her shoulder. It witnessed their Sweetness, and scientifically speaking, its presence is a sign of an ecologically sound tea garden. However, the next day, when their relationship is exposed, Ta Hua is expelled by Lao Qian's mother.
The second time is in a luxury hotel, where Ta Hua is immersed in ecstasy, only for her best friend Jin Lan to commit suicide in the next moment, and the pyramid scheme members are arrested by the police.
This very photogenic tea worm will never transform into a butterfly. The pyramid scheme organization is named “Butterfly International,” with butterflies as their logo and a common phrase among its members. This foreshadows that Ta Hua was born a “tea worm” and, even with the guidance of “butterflies,” She will never transform into one.
The name “Ta Hua” comes from a poem by Yuan Mei of the Qing Dynasty: “Ta Hua is as small as rice, unable to blossom like peonies.” The inconspicuous Ta Hua will never bloom as splendidly as a noble Peony.
01
Tea Spanworm Larva (right)
Mature Insect (left)
In reality, the tea spanworm matures into a winged adult.
04
Rinsing Tea: Rinsing Dust? No, Brainwashing!
When Mu Lian is called to a pyramid scheme meeting on a West Lake cruise, there is a close-up of rinsing tea. The shape of the tea brush resembles a “quantum therapy” device worn on the heads of elderly people.
Rinsing tea is to clean the tea leaves and awaken them, which helps to release their aroma and flavors. Using the act of rinsing tea as a metaphor for brainwashing, those who fall into the trap of pyramid schemes begin with brainwashing, which is a blatant form of mental control.
Rinsing Tea (Photographed by Yang Wei)
Tea is a Sobering Agent Amongst Us