Numerous volumes have been
devoted to the development of tea in China. Below is
a brief outline of the history of tea in China.
Early History
It's interesting to note that with all the attention
given today to the health benefits of tea, this
wonderful plant began in China not as a beverage,
but as a medicinal herb. Have we come full
circle? Early historical accounts of tea are
unclear, for the Chinese character for tea had
not been standardized, and several other Chinese characters
appear in books referring very likely to the same
plant, Camellia Sinensis, what we now call tea.
Nearly
every Chinese language book about tea begins with
the story that it was the Emperor Shen Nong
(probably mythical), who discovered the medicinal
benefits of tea around 2700 BC. He is also credited
with inventing agriculture and discovering many
plants used for food or medicine. But are there clear records of the
earliest use of tea? The scholar Gu Yanwu
(1613-1681) noted that the use of tea in China began
when the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC) conquered the
region of Ba Shu, modern day Sichuan, indicating
that Sichuan had already established the custom and
production of tea. Scholars seem to agree on this
early date.
Tea
spread through the subsequent Han Dynasty (202
BC--AD 220) as a widely used medicinal herb noted
for its ability to clear the mind and cleanse the
body of poisons, among other things. After the Han
Dynasty broke up, China underwent 370 years of
disunity with different dynasties ruling different
regions, known as the Six Dynasties. Chaotic, yes,
but culturally it was a lively period. Buddhism
gained a foothold, and monasteries began growing tea
to aid in meditation. Tea was also seen as a better
way to entertain guests than serving alcohol. But
tea's real history as the beverage we all know and
love really takes off during the "Golden Age of
Tea," the Tang Dynasty.
Tang Dynasty
(618-907)
Poetry,
Li Po, Tu Fu, Wang Wei, landscape painting, &
Buddhism
When you hear the name Tang Dynasty, keep in mind
that this is a 300 year-plus long dynasty best known
for its size (the largest empire in the world), the
development of China's greatest poetry (which kids
are still required to memorize), the invention of
landscape painting (though almost nothing extant
survives), the busy-ness of the Silk Road (silks,
porcelain, etc.), and the cosmopolitan/international
character of its capital Chang' an (modern day Xi'an).
It was an era when the aristocracy dressed
colorfully, women road horses, and Buddhism spread
like wildfire.
As
for tea, remember two things about the Tang Dynasty:
1) the tea consumed was green tea pressed into
bricks, and was boiled with other spices (juniper
berries, ginger, scallions, salt, etc.) and poured
from a pitcher (no teapots yet); and 2) the great
"tea sage" Lu Yu, who after growing up in a Buddhist
monastery as an orphan, traveled far and wide to
write the most influential book on tea in history,
the Cha Jing, or "Classic of Tea."
Lu Yu's careful documentation of tea
production, growing areas, equipment, etc. would
help spread the influence of tea and raise the
beverage to new heights.
During the Tang period, tea spread throughout China
as a popular beverage consumed by all classes, while
the aristocracy raised tea drinking to an art form.
In fact, so popular was tea that the government
began collecting a special tea tax, set up a
government bureau to regulate the tea trade, and
used tea as a currency in its tributary relations
with nomadic peoples living along China's borders.
It was also during the Tang that tea was first grown
in Japan as well as in Tibet.
Sung Dynasty
(907-1279)
Monumental landscape paintings, exquisite porcelain,
& the rise of the scholar-official class
The
Sung Dynasty was culturally brilliant , but
politically weak. The Sung is usually divided
into two periods: the Northern Sung, when China was
united and the capital was in the north, and the
Southern Sung, when the northern half was taken over
by tribal kingdoms and the capital fled to modern
day Hangzhou, near Shanghai. Despite the weakness of
the period, this 500 year dynasty marks the
development of the "classical" China we think of
today: educated mandarins who passed exams based on
the classics, philosophy and history, and were then
appointed to rule districts throughout the empire.
These men enjoyed sitting in elegant gardens while
listening to music, composing poetry, and creating
paintings for friends. They also loved tea!
During the Sung, green tea was ground into a
powder and whisked into a frothy drink with a bamboo
whisk. You've probably seen this kind of tea made in
the Japanese tea ceremony where the custom still
survives (visiting monks from Japan took the custom
back home). Tea continued to be enjoyed by all
classes. In fact, the government official Wang
An-shih said that tea equals rice and salt in that
you can't have a day without it. During the Sung,
tea production spread to the southeast region of Fujian, which is now a major tea growing area.
High quality tea produced during the Sung gave rise
to the interesting custom of "dou cha" or
"competition tea," where people competed not only
over the quality of tea leaf, equipment, and water,
but also the final frothed bowl of tea. People
competed to see who could produce the most beautiful
and delicious bowl of tea. Because there was an
emphasis on the froth, black and brown bowls were
highly prized, as they highlighted the color of the
tea and froth. Loose tea, as opposed to brick or
pressed tea of earlier dynasties, becomes
increasingly common. The teapot, however, had yet to
make its appearance.
Ming Dynasty
(1368-1644)
"Literati-style" painting, blue/white porcelain,
steeped tea
A
brief but traumatic 90 year period of history
followed the Sung Dynasty when the Mongols ruled all
of China. Their period of rule is not terribly
important in understanding tea. By the time the
strong and harshly draconian Ming Dynasty was
established in 1368, teapots had appeared and the
custom of brewing with loose tea leaf was
established. Steaming tea as a part of processing
fresh tea leaves was largely replaced by dry pan
frying, a common practice even today. Powdered tea,
so popular during the Sung, faded away, while new
teas appeared from Fujian's Wuyi Mountains, as well
as scented teas. Teahouse culture was popular with
all classes, and performers entertained while tea
was served in teahouses and in opera houses.
The
Ming period is also famous for producing perhaps
half of all pre-20th century books about tea. During
the Ming Dynasty, blue and white porcelain was first
produced at Jingdezhen and the famous unglazed,
reddish-brown teapots from Yixing became well known.
Because Europeans arrived at this time to purchase
tea, the west also adopted the Ming custom of using
teapots to steep tea. Because the English imported
their tea through the Fujian port of Xiamen (Amoy),
the English adopted the Fujian dialect word "te"
for this drink. Elsewhere in China, "cha" was
and is the most common word for tea.
Qing Dynasty
(1644-1911)
Manchu ethnic group governs China, ornate
decorative tastes popular, diverse styles of
porcelain,
Peking Opera
develops
The
borders of
China
extended farther than any previous period during the
Manchu-ruled Qing Dynasty. Throughout the period,
China continued to develop new teas, including
oolong tea and more varieties of scented teas. Lung
Jing or "Dragon Well" tea was popularized after the
Emperor Qianlong visited the tea area near
Hangzhou
in 1751. Fujian's famous oolong growing region of
Anxi converted almost entirely to oolong production
in the mid-1800s, while Taiwan's oolong tea became a
famous export product in the 1860s. The fragrant and
lightly oxidized Baozhong (Pao Chong) tea appeared
in
Taiwan
in 1881.
The
tremendous amount of silver paid by Europeans to
import tea triggered two important events: 1)
selling opium in China as a product to stem the
drain of silver, which would in turn trigger the
Opium Wars and devastate China; and 2) the British
decided to grow tea in India to replace China as a
cheaper source for tea. This adversely affected
China and led to the further colonial development of
India.
1912-Present
It's difficult to discuss tea in China over the past
century, for it was dealt serious setbacks by
political chaos and warfare from 1912 to 1949, and
by the Communist collectivization of tea fields and
closing of teahouses from 1949 to the 1990s. Today,
the picture is changing dramatically as privatized
family operations are producing higher quality teas,
Taiwan tea farmers are investing in tea operations
in
China,
and teahouse culture is being revived in cities. Two
other trends of interest are the development of
organic tea farms, as well as the production of
famous teas, such as Hangzhou's Dragon Well tea, in
other regions of
China.
Rising income has increased domestic consumption and
the price of Chinese tea has risen accordingly. Right now, we are living through an interesting
transition in China, and the future of tea looks
positive and exciting.
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