In 1972, when US President Richard Nixon visited China, he brought many generous gifts. In order to exchange gifts, Chairman Mao also gave Nixon back 4 pairs of tea leaves he treasured.
Nixon was very puzzled when he saw that the tea sent by Chairman Mao was so small, is this also too stingy? Premier Zhou told him next to him that this tea is the big red robe of Wuyi Mountain in Fujian Province, which only produces about 8 taels a year, which is very precious, and the chairman sends you 4 taels, which is equivalent to giving you "half of the country and mountains". Nixon smiled happily when he heard the prime minister say this. The allusion of "half of the country" has also spread.
Speaking of Wuyishan Dahongpao Tea, it is indeed extraordinary, it can be said that it is more precious than gold!
In 1998, at the Wuyishan Dahongpao Tea Culture Festival, the 20-gram mother tree Dahongpao was auctioned off by a wealthy merchant for 156,800 yuan.
In 2005, at the 12th Shanghai International Tea Culture Festival, the 20-gram mother tree Da Hong Pao was auctioned for a high price of 198,000 yuan.
In the same year, at the Wuyishan Dahongpao Tea Culture Festival, 20 grams of the mother tree Dahongpao was auctioned for a sky-high price of 208,000 yuan. This is equivalent to 5.2 million yuan a pound, 1 gram up to more than 10,000 yuan! The most expensive tea in history, right?
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="6" > only 6 plants remain, growing on "rotten rocks"</h1>
The mother tree of Da Hong Pao, with only 6 trees, grows on the steep rock wall of Jiulong in Wuyi Mountain, Fujian Province, and the age of the tree is now about 360 years old. There is a narrow crack in the steep rock wall, and spring water drips from the top of the rock all year round, watering the six big red-robed mother trees.
"Tea Sage" Lu Yu wrote in the Tea Classic:
The texture of tea is born of rotten stone on the top, gravel soil in the middle, and loess on the bottom.
"Rotten stone" is a weathered rock, the soil contains gravel, good air permeability, rich in mineral content, especially suitable for the growth of tea plants.
The mother tree of the Great Red Robe just grows on such a "rotten stone", each tea leaf collects the aura of the mountains and rivers, the essence of the sun and the moon, and is rich in the charm of the rocks, and people who have drunk it say that its taste is extremely unique and wonderful! When you enter, you will first have an elegant and long fragrance of osmanthus flowers, followed by a strong aroma of rice dumpling leaves, with a long aroma, mellow taste, and long-lasting sweetness. For this reason, the mother tree Da Hong Pao is known as the "King of Tea".
It is said that in the past, after the mother tree Da Hong Pao was harvested, it was carefully treasured in the vault of the bank. If you want to take it out, you have to go through extremely strict procedures, and the degree of rarity can be seen!
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="40" > has been rare and precious since ancient times, and the quality is amazing</h1>
Due to the sparse production of the mother tree Da Hong Pao and the excellent quality of the tea leaves, it was already famous in the Qing Dynasty.
During the Qing Dynasty, the annual tea production of the Dahongpao mother tree was only about 500 grams. Someone once paid tribute to Qianlong with tea, of which Longjing was 30 pounds, Biluochun was 20 pounds, and Da Hong Pao was only eight or two. That is to say, even the Qianlong Emperor could only drink eight or two big red robes every year, which shows that in the Qing Dynasty, the big red robe was already very precious and rare.
During the Republic of China period, the market value of 500 grams of Da Hong Pao was 64 silver dollars, which could buy 4,000 pounds of rice at that time!
Someone once treasured a 16-gram jar of Da Hong Pao from the Republic of China period, and now when the tea pot is opened, the taste of the tea has not changed. After nearly a hundred years, the fragrance is still the same, which shows the amazing quality of the mother tree Da Hong Pao, which is worthy of being a treasure in tea!
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="42" > sent troops to guard and insured 100 million yuan</h1>
Such a rare mother tree, the Great Red Robe, is rare for ordinary people to see its true appearance, let alone taste it.
According to records, in order to drink the mother tree Da Hong Pao, Jiang Dingwen, a senior Kuomintang general, sent people to build a small cabin under the rock next to the da hong pao tea tree and sent troops to guard it day and night to prevent accidents.
In the early days of liberation, in order to prevent bandits from destroying the mother tree of the Great Red Robe, General Ye Fei sent a squad to guard these 6 precious tea trees.
Until now, there have been people guarding the Mother Tree of the Great Red Robe day and night.
In 2003, the Wuyishan Municipal Government also insured 100 million yuan for these 6 DaHongpao mother trees!
These 6 da hong pao mother trees have become veritable "golden branches and jade leaves"! These high-standard treatments are rare for tea trees!
Later, these 6 dahongpao mother trees could only produce 20 grams of tea per year, which was even more precious and rare, and its value rose to one million.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="44" > the origin and legend of the name "Da Hong Pao"</h1>
There are many versions of the name "Da Hong Pao" and the legend, so I will choose a more reliable version to say.
The mother tree of the Da Hong Pao was originally planted by the monks of Tianxin Temple, and it is said that at the beginning, a Fujian student named Lei Yi went to Beijing to take the exam, and when he passed through Wuyi Mountain, he fainted from heat stroke, and the monks of Tianxin Temple treated him with tea and medicine. Lei Yi later returned to Tianxin Temple to repay his kindness, and the abbot told him that it was not the monks who saved his life, but tea leaves. So Lei Zhuangyuan took off his red robe and draped it on the tea tree to show his gratitude. The story of the "Great Red Robe" has since spread.
After the "Jing Dynasty", Zhu Di sent Hu Yi to visit the temple and palace in order to hunt down emperor Jianwen. When Hu Yi walked to the Tianxin Temple in Wuyi Mountain, he heard the story of this "Da Hong Pao", and he loved to drink tea and asked for a seal, so Ming Chengzu Zhu Di named the Tianxin Temple "Tianxin Yongle Zen Temple" and at the same time named the Tianxin Temple tea "Da Hong Pao".
The Da Hong Pao itself is of excellent quality, coupled with the blessing of the emperor's canonized name, it has been even more famous since then!
In 2006, wuyi rock tea (Da Hong Pao) production technology was included in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage list.
In the same year, the mother tree of the Da Hong Pao began to stop picking and maintaining, and it has now stopped picking for 15 years. These six rare tea trees are now inscribed on the World Heritage List.
In 2007, Wuyishan City donated the last 20 grams of the mother tree Da Hong Pao picked in 2005 to the National Museum for treasure.
Since then, the precious and rare mother tree Da Hong Pao has withdrawn from the jianghu, but the legend about it on the jianghu is still circulating.
The Da Hong Pao tea on the market now is propagated by the cuttings of the Da Hong Pao mother tree, which maintains the characteristics of the mother tree and is considered an extension of the Da Hong Pao mother tree, so it is also called "Da Hong Pao".
Senzai Confucian Interpretation, Ancient Landscape Tea. Zhong Lingyuxiu's Wuyi Mountain has bred the precious and rare "King of Tea" Da hongpao, which is a wonderful flower in the Chinese tea garden and an important part of Chinese tea culture!
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