History of Tea in China
A Brief Summary
China's National Drink.
Originally consumed for medicinal purposes (often mixed with shallots, ginger, garlic or plums), tea grew in popularity in China. It became so popular that by the 4th century China began to cultivate tea rather than harvest it in the wild. By early 8th century, it was an important part of life in China and became the “national beverage.”
It Started in China. . .
The story of tea started around 5,000 years ago in China. Legend has it that emperor Shen-Nung, “The Divine Healer” accidentally discovered tea around 3,000 BC. Making camp under a large tree, the emperor and his entourage made a fire and prepared a large pot with boiling water. A fierce wind blew some dried leaves into the pot of hot water. The leaves turned the water a golden color and released a fragrant scent. The emperor drank the water, and the delicious taste and scent delighted him. He immediately recognized the invigorating and refreshing effect and shouted “T’sa”, which means godlike. The Emperor, a botanical explorer, accidentally poisoned himself 85 times, each time being cured by this brew. The Chinese adopted “cha” as the name for this tea and still call it that today.
The Sage of Tea.
In 780 AD, the poet Lu Yu was commissioned by tea merchants to write the Ch’a Ching (documenting the sum of contemporary tea knowledge).
People established the idea of tea ceremonies during that time something that made tea to become an important aspect in the Chinese culture and influenced the Tang rulers to declare tea China’s national drink. The Chinese attribute much of the cultural integration to Lu Yu, a Buddhist monk of the time.
The monk started researching the uses of tea and its health benefits and came up with good tea brewing and consuming techniques. Because of his role in the Buddhist religion, it was easy for him to ingrate tea into many spiritual ceremonies. People started using it to promote Buddhism ideals such as spirituality, harmony and contemplation. Tea was memorialized in art, poetry, politics and religion during the Sung Dynasty, which followed the Tang Dynasty.
Song of Tea.
A Tang Dynasty Poem by Lu Tong.
“When drinking the first bowl of tea, I feel moist in my throat and lip;
the second bowl dispels the loneliness and boredom in my heart;
during the third bowl, I’m embarrassed at creativeness, and start to search for new knowledges;
the fourth bowl is drunk out, my grievances along with my light sweat dissipate through pores;
the fifth bowl refreshes my mind;
the sixth bowl can help to communicate with immortals;
after the seventh bowl, I feel I am extraordinary and refined, a slight breeze crushed my arms.
Where is Penglai Mountain? With this wind, I, Yu Chuan Zi, want to fly there.”
Tea Spreads to the West.
Tea is thought to have first left Chinese borders in the 5th century, as it was apparently used to barter with Turkish traders.
The Silk Road
The ancient world wide web.
The Silk Road was and is a network of trade routes connecting the East and West; from the 2nd century BCE to the 18th century CE. It was central to the economic, cultural, political, and religious interactions between these regions. (Wikipedia)
The Tea Horse Road
The Ancient Tea Horse Road (in China) was a trade route mainly through Yunnan, Sichuan, and Tibet. From the 6th century to the 20th century, people in Sichuan and Yunnan provinces traveled by foot and horseback with pack horses to exchange tea for horses with people in Tibet – hence the name, the Tea Horse Road.
The Ancient Tea Horse Road rivaled the Silk Road trade routes for importance, and as the longest ancient trade road in the world, at more than 10,000 kilometers in length, but was certainly toughest to travel. As one of the highest and most precipitous ancient roads in the world, which has carried and spread civilization and culture for centuries.