On May 22, a 91-year-old man left. In Changsha, Hunan, in front of the outpatient building of Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, three bunches of verdant rice stand quietly. Three bunches of green grass, sustenance of mourning, a thousand words, the story of the old man's life.
It's on such a day, the same moment. The people of the tea village in the mountains of western Hunan invariably worship Elder Yuan with three cups of tea. Silent thought in his heart: "Elder Yuan, go all the way!" ”
In 1953, at the age of 23, Yuan Longping graduated from Southwest Agricultural College and was assigned to Huaihua Anjiang Agricultural School, where he began a long 18-year teaching career. The Xuefeng Mountains in western Xiangxi and the fields of the Wuling Mountains have left the footprints of the old man's struggle before he was born. It can be said that Yuan Longping's students are all over the great Xiangxi, and most of the first generation of agricultural technicians in the new China's Great Xiangxi are under the door of Yuan Lao. In small Guzhang County, since 1963, 25 students who graduated from Anjiang Agricultural School and Hunan Agricultural University have returned to Guzhang. Using what he has learned, he began the journey of serving the ancient abbot of the tea town. Academician Yuan Longping attaches great importance to the feelings of teachers and students, and is more concerned about the development of the ancient tea industry.
Time is rushing, the years are not living, and Elder Yuan's concern and care for the ancient tea industry has never changed. Academician Yuan Longping, although his feelings for Guzhang tea before his death were not familiar to the public, the people of Guzhang had already carved it into their hearts.
Remember that in May 2003, Changsha Dufujian Pavilion was shrouded in a mist of smoke and rain, and the promotion activities of 18 tea enterprises from Guzhang were held as scheduled. On that day, Elder Yuan braved the rain to attend the event site and personally inscribed a banner with the words "Chinese Good Tea Guzhang MaoJian". The solemnity of the old man's pen moment, that kind face full of years and frost, as if he was a simple farmer, a resolute old father, leaving an unforgettable memory. In the promotion meeting of Guzhang Tea that year, Elder Yuan's attendance became a wonderful stroke. It also deeply inspired the confidence of Guzhang County to make the development of tea bigger and stronger.
Under the attention of all sectors of society, in 2021, Guzhang, today's tea township has achieved a total area of 190,000 mu of tea gardens in the county, with a per capita tea garden area exceeding 1.2 mu, ranking first in the province, forming a pattern in which nearly 70% of the county's agricultural population is directly or indirectly engaged in the tea industry, 80% of the agricultural income comes from tea, and 90% of the villages grow tea. It has become a leading pillar industry for the economic and social development of the county. It has formed high-quality tea enterprises represented by Ying Meizi, Longping Tea Enterprise, Spring and Autumn Tea Industry, Niujiaoshan Tea Industry, Guyang and Tea Industry, which has greatly promoted the take-off development of the local economy of Guzhang. Guzhang County has been successfully awarded the honorary titles of "China's Organic Tea Town", "China's Tea Culture Town", "China's Famous Tea Town", "World Ecological Guzhang Tea", "National Top Ten Charming Tea Towns", "China's Top Ten Ecological Tea Producing Counties", "National Tea Standardization Project Demonstration County", "National Key Tea Producing County", "Tea Garden Green Prevention and Control New Technology Demonstration County", "China Organic Tea Production and Export Base Demonstration County" and so on.
Elder Yuan's feelings are typical of the feelings of a generation of intellectuals who miss Cangsheng, especially the selfless support and love for the ancient tea industry, including simple and affectionate feelings. Life has an end, what is immortal is Wei An's personality charm and rich spiritual heritage, and it will also inspire the ancient tea people to take the dream as a horse, live up to Shaohua, and only fight for the day!