Zhou Min
The Prachuap Khiri Khan region is fond of tea, and it has its origins.
"Since the Qin people took Shu, there have been tea drinks." Gu Yanwu, a beginner in the Qing Dynasty, believes that the matter of drinking tea was slowly spread after the Qin State annexed Ba and Shu, which is also certain that the tea culture in China and the world was first developed from the Bashu region. This view has been recognized by the academic community, and the tea community has different views on the time when Bashu began to drink tea.
Tea culture in China and the world was first developed from the Bashu region. Unless otherwise noted, the pictures in this article are all pictures of the author Zhou Min
According to the Tang Dynasty tea saint Lu Yu's "Tea Classic", "tea is drunk, sent by the Shennong clan", some people believe that tea drinking began from prehistory.
The earliest written record of the Bashu tea incident comes from the "Covenant of Servants" by Wang Zhen at the end of the Western Han Dynasty. This is the earliest record of tea in our country and the world.
The text mentions tea, one sentence is "fish stew turtle, cooking to the end" (荼, that is, the ancient character of tea), indicating that in the Western Han Dynasty, Chengdu not only tea drinking has become a fashion, in the rich family has a special tea drinking utensils. Another sentence is "Wuyang buys the di, Yang clan bears the burden", indicating that the tea at that time had been commercialized, and there was a tea trading market like Wuyang (present-day Pengzhou, south of Chengdu).
The "Covenant of Servants" at the end of the Western Han Dynasty is the earliest record of tea in the world
There are clouds in the Tea Sutra: "There is Jiamu in the south." Southwest China is not only the origin of tea plants, but also the distribution center of tea plants, with the richest tea plant resources. Therefore, the Bashu people love tea, first of all, to get the great benefit of their nature. From the Qin and Han dynasties to the Western Jin Dynasty, Bashu was an important center of tea production and technology in China. During the Three Kingdoms wei dynasty, Zhang Yi first recorded the tea making methods and tea drinking habits of Bashu in the Guangya, "Jingbajian picked tea to make cakes, and made rice paste." If you drink, first burn to make it red, squeeze the end into the porcelain, cover it with soup, and use green onions and ginger to make it. It is sobering and sleepless. ”
At present, a large number of cultivated tea plants are botanically counted as a species: tea, scientific name Camellia sinensis, camellia family camellia genus. The seed addition of ninesis means "Chinese", indicating that the original place of tea plants is China.
Tea, scientific name Camellia sinensis, is a genus of camellia in the camellia family.
The flowers are white, with 5-6 petals and 3 peduncles at the apex.
The fruit of the tea tree
Over the past few thousand years, the matter of drinking tea has been completely integrated into the daily life of the Sichuan and Chongqing people. In a way, drinking tea is even more important than eating. In this regard, Mr. Zhang Hexhui, an old tea guest who lived in Chongqing for seven years during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, has made a precise observation:
"At any crossroads in Beiping, there must be an oil and salt grocery store (and vegetable stall), a grain store, and a coal shop. And in Chengdu it is not like this, it is a big teahouse that replaces everything. We know that the people of Rongcheng are above the teahouses, and their needs are better than those of oil and salt side dishes with rice and coal. "The Yu people have a special taste in the teahouse, twice in the morning and evening, and the large and small teahouses are full of pits and valleys." ”
Old photo of a tea house in Chengdu, Sichuan in 1941. Infographic
The same is the love of tea, inseparable from tea, but in comparison, the tea style between Bashu is still a subtle difference. Chongqing people drink tea, the essence is eight words: unrestrained, free. This unique style of drinking tea left a deep impression on Mr. Zhang Hexhui, and in the article "The Fun of Lying down in the Tea Shop", he called it "eight years of anti-Japanese war life, and the person who specially lifted the pen and wrote a big book also":
"But the smaller tea shop is quite leisurely, such as the reclining chairs arranged around the house. Guests come, each one is on a bed, although lying down and drinking, a few shorter ones are clipped next to the chair. After work, invite two or three friends, find a small tea house in a secluded area, buy a plate of bullshit cards, make several bowls of tea, support feet, lie on the chair, gossip about ancient and modern affairs, the cost is limited, and it is enough to consume two or three hours... Especially in the suburban small tea house, there are only four or five tables and stools, and two rows of reclining chairs are placed under the eaves, quite like the rain of Beiping, looking up at the fog, the breeze blowing, the flat forest valley, around the surrounding, and it is interesting. ”
Mr. Zhang Hexhui is worthy of being a literary master, and he has fulfilled the essence of Chongqing Tea House. Today, chongqing people's favorite is still this kind of open-air dam tea - in the open-air dam randomly put some tables and chairs, casually half-lying down, randomly brew a cup of tea, and chat with friends two or three. The ideal dam tea, preferably under the yellow kudzu tree. This Chongqing people's favorite tree, its widely spread tree shape is like a huge green umbrella, and it is a perfect match for Dam Dam Tea.
The yellow kudzu tree is widely spread in shape, which is a perfect match with Dam dam tea
Sichuan and Chongqing are rich in tea. As early as the Western Han Dynasty, Chengdu became the consumption center of tea in China and the earliest tea distribution center. The Western Jin Dynasty Zhang Zai's poem "Dengcheng Lou" says, "Fangdi Crown Liuqing, Overflowing Taste Sowing Nine Districts", that is, the famous tea of the Capital. The Western Jin Dynasty Sun Chu's "Out of the Song" points out that Bashu is the high-quality origin of tea: "The cocoon comes out of the fangshu upside down, and the carp comes out of the Luoshui Spring." White salt out of the east of the river, beautiful sauce out of Luyuan. Ginger, gui, and tussock out of Bashu, pepper, orange, magnolia out of the mountains. ”
The more famous teas in Sichuan are Emei Bamboo Leaf Green, Mengding Manna, Dragon Ball Fragrant Tea, etc., while Chongqing has Yongchuan Xiuya and Banan Silver Needle. However, the most suitable for drinking Damba tea is the Tuo tea, which is cheap and good, and has a strong mass foundation in the southwest region.
Once the Sichuan-Chongqing people have opened the "Dragon Gate Array", they can't receive the scene for half a day, and the high-end famous tea will have to change the tea leaves when brewing three times, and the trouble is not to say, and the baba tea is not compatible with the luxurious and casual aura. The tuo tea taste is heavy and strong, quite resistant to bubbles, and a cup of lid bowl can be drunk for half a day. The tuo tea on the market has three kinds of origins in Yunnan, Chongqing and Sichuan, and the quality is quite good.
Chongqing Tuo Tea, authentic mountain city flavor data map
Whenever a foreign friend comes to Chongqing, a "magic internet celebrity city", to punch in, I usually take them to drink a cup of Baba tea and feel the authentic flavor of Chongqing.
For example, outside the Chongqing landmark People's Auditorium, there are many old yellow kudzu trees with ancient trees and beautiful tree shapes, and the open-air café under the tree is the first choice for me to bring friends from other places.
There is also Jiangbeizui, above which is the central financial district, and the streets are full of young faces of business fans. However, as soon as you turn around, you will be a few steps away to the Jialing River, sitting here drinking Dam tea, you can also enjoy the confluence of the two rivers of the Yangtze River Jialing River, overlooking the Chaotianmen Wharf opposite.
Drink a cup of Baba tea and feel the authentic Flavor of Chongqing.
The oldest dam tea in Chongqing is its fragrant residence next to the Lianglukou Gymnasium, but unfortunately it has now been demolished. It has accompanied the people of Chongqing for many years, when there was often a Mercedes-Benz BMW parked next to the teahouse, but when you look at the tea drinkers, you can't see the identity at all, everyone drinks five yuan, ten yuan a cup of tea.
I often joke that a set of class consumption theories like "taste" or "style", once in Chongqing, like GPS, often does not work.
Two intersections, an unknown dam tea
Urban construction is changing with each passing day, but dam tea is endless. A few days ago, we just asked friends to meet at the intersection of the two intersections, just across the road from the emergency center, and we found a new one.
This tea house, sandwiched between the intersection of two roads in Shangliziba, is not a big place, and there are more than a dozen small tables. Sunlight sprinkles through the yellow kudzu tree, which is the most comfortable "flower sun" in late spring.
Opposite the teahouse is the former site of the U.S. Embassy in Chongqing
In recent years, Chongqing people have taken the style of "wild tea house" to the extreme. On the south bank of the Yangtze River where my family lives, whenever the weather is sunny and warm, I always see someone driving in, propping up a small table, a folding chair, from a stove for boiling water to a teapot and a tea cup in the open space, and the whole house is saluting, or alone, or drinking with one or two friends and friends, which is very uninhibited.
"Wild tea house", as long as the weather is good, many people will come to the open area by the river to drink tea. Visual China figure
In addition to Dam dam tea, there are also many tea houses with characteristics in Chongqing. For example, the traffic tea house in Huangjueping, walking here, it is as if you have crossed into the escort capital of the Anti-Japanese War period: the guy dressed in a tang costume and carrying a long-beaked teapot to fill the tea customers, the old-fashioned solid wood eight immortals table and bench, and the steaming kettle on the stove. Once, I brought my friends from Beijing here, and they shouted in amazement, "You can directly shoot anti-war dramas!"
Traffic Teahouse Visual China Picture
There is also the old tea house in Wangjiangsu, not far from the north bridge of the Yangtze River Bridge, which was originally the former site of the financial confidential room and dance hall of the Kuomintang Chongqing Coral Airport during the Period of the Capital. For a while, I loved to come here, and the furnishings in the teahouse also had the atmosphere of the capital era, and the view was wide, and the yangtze river was in sight.
The Nanshan Academy is located in a quiet environment, and the tea houses are scattered in a wind and rain corridor built by the mountain, surrounded by old camphor trees, and the unique fragrance of camphor trees is in the air.
On the outer wall of the tea house, the words "the former Kuomintang old Chongqing Peidu Coral Dam military airfield financial confidential room and dance hall site" are engraved. Visual China figure
After drinking tea for half a lifetime, I think that the quality of the tea itself is secondary, to drink the taste, there are two key elements: One is to have tea friends who can talk, and then you can say that the first half of the day is still happy and full of interest.
The second item is also the most important thing, that is, to be idle. Tea drinkers, if they still have in their hearts the next thing to do, that is, no matter how good the tea is, they can't drink any taste.
With a cup of tea in hand, Chongqing people can get comfortable everywhere.
People who are accustomed to drinking tea, if they can't take this sip when they go out, they always feel sorry. For example, I like to travel in Southeast Asia, the locals are simple and the prices are low, but the only thing I am not used to is that Cambodia, Laos and Thailand do not provide boiling water, and I have to bring my own electric kettle every time. The only exception is Burma, presumably because it was influenced by the British during the colonial period and thus retained the habit of drinking tea. Another year, I went to Xi'an with my girlfriend, and the rich historical and cultural atmosphere of the ancient capital made us linger. After walking around for most of the day, I was tired and thirsty, and I wanted to find an open-air tea house to drink a few cups, but I couldn't find it.
At that time, we especially missed the Dam and Dam tea in Chongqing.
Editor-in-Charge: Wang Yu
Proofreader: Zhang Liangliang