The age-old Chinese habit of drinking hot water has gone viral. On TikTok and RedNote, influencers clutch steaming mugs and extol the benefits of drinking warm water for digestion, circulation – of both blood and qi – and balance. What they are describing is yang sheng – the practice of nourishing life that exists at the heart of traditional Chinese medicine. TCM, once the nagging voice of your grandmother, is now what the cool kids post on their feeds.
The Mandarin term for this is guochao, loosely meaning “national wave” and describing the rebranding of Chinese heritage as something desirable rather than dowdy. It began with Li-Ning starring on the runway at New York Fashion Week in 2018, followed a year later by Florasis’ engraved lipstick cases – the designs of which were inspired by ancient Chinese relief-engraving craftsmanship.
Now, the trend has migrated to restaurant and bar menus – guochao in digestible form – steeped in a promise of wellness and cultural pride. The challenge, however, is how to translate a tradition defined by bitter medicine into something people actually crave.
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