China is the first country in the world to discover and use tea as a beverage and medicinal use, and it is the homeland of tea worthy of its name. According to research, tea originated between 6,000 and 70 million years ago, and 5,000 years ago in the Shennong era, tea was widely used for medical treatment.
The statue of Shennong with the head of the ox
The Yunnan-Guichuan region of southwestern China (i.e., Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan) is the origin of tea trees, and the climate is warm and humid, which is suitable for the growth of tea trees. Since the end of the 19th century, many wild tea trees have been found in the primeval forests of Yunnan-Guizhou region, among which the oldest tree is more than 2,700 years old. In addition, in Sichuan, Guangxi, Hunan, Guangdong and other places, many naturally growing ancient tea trees with a height of more than 10 meters have also been discovered.
Tea culture throughout the ages
From the Western Zhou Dynasty (about the 11th century BC to 771 BC), tea was not only used as a medicinal and sacrificial offering, but also began to be drunk, and by the Han Dynasty (206 BC - 220 BC), tea drinking was very common and began to become a commodity.
Tea flourished in the Tang Dynasty and flourished in the Song Dynasty, and the Tang and Song dynasties inherited the essence of tea drinking from their ancestors, pushing Chinese tea culture to a peak. The Tang and Song dynasties were more particular about tea drinking than modern people, and they were more engaged in the study of tea art than modern people. As a result, in the history of tea drinking in China, there was a Tang and Song Dynasty's exquisite tribute tea craft and the Song Dynasty's pursuit of skill.
The printed beam note of the Western Zhou Dynasty is the prototype of the tea pot.
Tribute tea, that is, tea as a tribute. The form of tribute tea can be the local famous tea handed over to the imperial court, or the imperial court set up a royal tea garden in the famous tea area, with special boutiques for the royal family to enjoy. The origin of tribute tea can be traced back to the Zhou Dynasty, and it was the largest and most elaborate in the Tang and Song dynasties, which contributed to the development of tea-making technology. Due to the good tea ceremony and tea banquet in the Tang Dynasty, there was a great demand for tea, and there were as many as 17 prefectures and counties in the Tang Dynasty. The "Gu Zhu Gong Roast" made by Zhejiang Guanbai (a production base specializing in the production of tea for the imperial court) is very famous. By the Song Dynasty, Gongcha was superior to the Tang Dynasty in both quantity and quality. The Song Dynasty royal tribute baking base was located in Fujian, and the cultivation and harvesting technology was more sophisticated, producing the famous "Dragon and Phoenix Group Tea".
Tea fighting in the Song Dynasty, also known as "tea fighting", was a competition to test the quality of tea. Tea fighting originated in the five generations and was created by the people, but because of its strong skills and interesting process, the upper class and even the common people are very enthusiastic. When fighting tea, each sends a treasure of tea to take turns to look at the color and taste, and distinguish the advantages and disadvantages. The procedure of tea fighting is first of all "boiling the cup", that is, heating the teacup, then "adjusting the ointment", that is, putting the appropriate amount of tea powder into the cup to mix, followed by "ordering tea", that is, pouring boiling water into the cup, and finally "blowing", that is, constantly stirring the tea soup in the teacup rapidly, so that the tea surface is full of soup. The tea noodle soup flower is bright white and uniform, and the soup flower is slow to retreat and there are few water marks.
Tea fighting in the Song Dynasty
Song Dynasty dragon and phoenix group tea atlas
From medicinal to drinking
Shennong, who is one of the ancestors of the Chinese nation, is also the "god of agriculture", because he has mastered the technology of farming and taught it to the people, so that the people's lives have been improved. Shennong discovered a variety of herbs while discovering the grains, and personally tried the properties of different herbs, accidentally tasted the leaves of the tea tree, and found that the fresh leaves of the tea tree have a detoxifying effect. This is the origin of the medicinal use of tea.
Before the Wei and Jin dynasties, the Shennong Classic of Materia Medica and Hua Tuo's Treatise on Food recorded examples of tea as medicine, and after that, the main function of tea shifted from medicinal to drinking. To this day, the medicinal properties of tea are still valued. According to the results of clinical experiments on tea: tea can treat diabetes, hypertension, coronary heart disease, arteriosclerosis, eye disease, gastroenteritis, and has the effects of reducing blood lipids, weight loss and bodybuilding.