Event
"Physicians advise the use of it": Chinese Tea in Early America
Author: Yiyun Huang, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Comment: Rebecca Tannenbaum, Yale University
This is a hybrid event. The in-person reception will begin at 4:30 pm.
This paper explains how and why early Americans came to believe Chinese tea had healing powers. Huang argues that eighteenth-century colonial merchants and libraries paved the way for this popular belief by establishing intellectual and market-oriented pathways. These pathways facilitated the cultural transfer of Chinese ideas about tea's medicinal properties. The transfer of these ideas made Chinese tea popular in North America among a cross-section of colonial society.
The Pauline Maier Early American History Seminar invites you to join the conversation. Seminars bring together a diverse group of scholars and interested members of the public to workshop a pre-circulated paper. Learn more.
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Hybrid Event
The in-person reception starts at 4:30 PM and the seminar will begin at 5:00 PM.
Masks are optional for this event.
The virtual seminar begins at 5:00 PM and will be hosted on the video conference platform, Zoom. Registrants will receive a confirmation message with attendance information.
