How a man from the Midwest became Wu De the tea master
Aaron Fisher from Ohio always had an interest in Asia, and left home as soon as he could to visit. On his travels he became fascinated with tea ceremonies, settled down and set up his own tea centre in Taiwan
Tea master Wu De lives in Taiwan where he teaches cha dao, the way of tea. Don’t be deceived by the name – he is a white American, born Aaron Fisher and raised in rural Ohio, but his interest in Asia began when he was very young. At the age of two he confounded his parents by asking Santa for a Chinese sister.
“I was a peculiar kid. People weren’t shocked by anything because I was just strange,” he says.
In those days most children’s toys were made in Taiwan, prompting him to look it up in an atlas. He saw it as “this little island ... with magic toy factories”.
Later he began practising martial arts and meditating at the beginning and end of each class. At university he studied anthropology and philosophy, got into Buddhist meditation and was intent on becoming a monk.
“I was celibate through college – that was hard. When there are pretty girls everywhere it’s not easy, but once I was in the mountains it was easier,” he says.
The time in the mountains was immediately after college. He was so keen to head to Asia that as soon as he graduated, without even waiting for his graduation ceremony, he headed to India where he lived and worked in a meditation centre for several years. He began preparing tea daily as part of his meditation practice.