During the Song Dynasty, drinking tea became a part of daily monastic life. After each meditation session, monks would "prepare tea" to relieve fatigue from long hours of sitting. Tea drinking was institutionalized in Zen monasteries, with specific times set aside for it each day. A duty monk would beat a drum to gather the monks in the meditation hall for tea. This drum was specifically called the "tea drum," the monk responsible for beating it and overseeing tea affairs was known as the "tea head," and the hall used for gathering monks to drink tea was termed the "tea hall." In monasteries, newly appointed managing monks would first invite everyone to tea, and any discussions of matters would also begin with offering tea to the involved parties—almost nothing could be accomplished without tea. Before the Song Dynasty, offerings before Buddha statues mostly consisted of flowers, fruits, and the like. By the Song era, tea had also become one of the offerings placed before the Buddha.