W. Kandinsky, Dominant Curve, 1936

History of Tea : China

Legend

Tea is nearly 5,000 years old and was discovered, as legend has it, in 2737 b.c. According to legend, the Shen Nong (or Shen Nung) , an early emperor was a skilled ruler, creative scientist and patron of the arts. He was called “The Divine Healer.” Numerous other medicinal plants were attributed to this legendary emperor. His far-sighted edicts required, among other things, that all drinking water be boiled as a hygienic precaution. One summer day while visiting a distant region of his realm, he and the court stopped to rest. In accordance with his ruling, the servants began to boil water for the court to drink. Dried leaves from the near by bush fell into the boiling water, and a brown liquid was infused into the water. As a scientist, the Emperor was interested in the new liquid, drank some, and found it very refreshing. And so, according to legend, tea was created.

Shen Nong

Although the famous ninth century Tea Master Lu Yu affirms that tea was discovered by Shen Nong, a king or emperor named Shen Nong probably never lived. In China's remote past, Shennong was the name of a primitive farming tribe. One clever unnamed Shennong chieftain is said to have invented plowing tools and grow crops, thus helping them evolve to an agricultural society from a fishing and hunting economy. In addition, he advocated setting up regular markets on a barter basis. He was believed to have tasted all the local herbs and become expert in the properties of herbal medicines. He taught people how to cure their diseases and collected his prescriptions in a book called the Materia Medica of Shen Nong. These achievements accorded him the status of a divinity, the name 'king or emperor' Shen Nong, and the title, 'Father of Tea'.

Based on the medical book 'Pen Tsao', attributed to Shen Nung, there are references which credit tea with being 'good for tumors or abscesses that come about the head, or for ailments of the bladder. It dissipates heat caused by the phlegm, or inflammation of the chest. It quenches thirst. It lessens the desire for sleep. It gladdens and cheers the heart'.

Shen Nong is also credited for developing the theory of "opposing natural forces" which would later play an important part in Taoist philosophy.

Almost 3,000 years later, Confucius was the first to really apply Shen Nong's theory of opposing forces. Confucius declared that it was man's responsibility to live a moral and just life, that by following a code of ethics and behavior, man could influence the opposing poles of good and evil that maintain the order of the universe. Gradually, the theory was expanded to describing everything in the universe as opposite poles - Yin and Yang - hot and cold, black and white, passive and aggressive and so on.

Lao Ziu translated Confucius' views of universal order into his own philosophy. Lao Ziu believed that man shouldn't interfere with fate, that the universe should be allowed to follow its destined the path (Tao). Lao Ziu's theories became hugely popular, gaining many followers, and gathering momentum until the religion called now known as Taoism was born. Despite Lao Ziu's basic theory of noninterference and allowing the natural order of events to take place, Taoists composed guidelines or a path (Tao), which when followed, eventually led to the "Great Tao" or the AbsoluteExternal.

Taoism became more than a religion, it became a blueprint of life. Taoists believed that man was a universe unto himself. Not only did a disciple of Taoism learn a moral code to follow to reach universal harmony but he also learned what foods to eat and what herbs to take to reach an internal harmony. Following the principles of Yin and Yang, hot and cold, Taoists began categorizing foods by their properties. They recommended "cold" foods such as fruit, vegetables, crab and fish to reduce heat in the body and "hot" foods such as fatty meats, eggs, spicy and fried foods to increase heat and vitality in the body. They soaked medicinal plants and herbs in alcohol, creating Yin and Yang, hot and cold, balancing tonics. These early tonics are the roots from which evolved the pills, creams and potions that comprise the pharmacopoeia of traditional Chinese herbal medicine today.

Sui Dynasty

During the Sui Dynasty (581-617), tea started to be drunk more for its taste than for its medicinal benefits. It was also during this period that China began to use tea as a currency, bartering tea bricks with her Mongolian neighbors for items such as herbal medicines, horses, wool and musk. In the far reaches, tea pressed into cakes served as a medium of exchange almost from the beginning of the tea trade. Tea cakes continued in this role even after paper money was introduced in the eleventh century.

Tang Dynasty

During Tang Dynasty(618-907 A.D.), tea drinking evolved into a form of art. Tea consumption spread throughout the Chinese culture reaching into every aspect of the society. In 800 A.D. Lu Yu wrote the first definitive book on tea, the Ch'a Ching (The Holy Scripture of Tea). Drawing from his vast memory of observed events and places, he codified the various methods of tea cultivation and preparation in ancient China. The pantheistic symbolism of the time was urging one to mirror the Universal in the Particular. LuYu, a poet, saw the same harmony and order which reigned through all things in the Tea-service. He has since been worshipped as the tutelary god of the Chinese tea merchants.After writing his great book,he attracted many students and became a friend of the Emperor.

Ch'a Ching

An abridged version of the Ch'a Ching's description of the proper tea making process is as follows: After being plucked on a sunny day, the tea leaves must be baked over an even fire, with no wind. After baking they should be placed in a paper bag to cool. When completely cold the leaves can be ground. Then spring water should be heated to just under the boiling point and a pinch of salt added. Then bring it to a second boil, and stir only the middle portion of the liquid. Steep the ground tea leaves in this water in each cup individually and drink before it cools. The first and second cups taste the best, and more than four or five cups should not be consumed. During this time tea was baked in a cake form, and to prepare a cup of tea, a bit was shaved from the edge into boiling water to which salt had been added. Several different preparations were used to make tea, including the addition of onion, ginger, orange, or peppermint. Milk and sugar were never added to tea, although both were available and used in other foods. Different preparations of teas held different medicinal purposes, although by this time tea was primarily thought of as a beverage in spite of its believed healing properties. The tea was typically drunk from bowls or cups that had been glazed blue on the inside, which was thought to bring out the greenness of the tea. By 850 people were also beginning to prepare tea in the form of detached leaves, not compressed into bricks ( Pu-er or Tuocha teas).

Lu Yu's work clearly showed the Zen Buddhist philosophy to which he was exposed as a child. It was this form of tea service that Zen Buddhist missionaries would introduce to imperial Japan.

Sung Dynasty

During Sung Dynasty (690-1279 A.D., ). every aspect of tea was further refined. Harvests became carefully regulated affairs. Before the harvest began, sacrifices were made to mountain deities. After a specific day was chosen to harvest the leaves at their peak, the tea pickers picked leaves to the rhythm of a drum or cymbal. The tea pickers were usually young girls who had to keep their fingernails a certain length in order to pick the leaves without touching their skin. The freshly harvested leaves were sorted by grades with the best grades sent to the emperor as tribute. A cake of high grade tea could be worth several pieces of gold while one of the highest grade would be priceless. In the Sung dynasty the whipped tea came into fashion and created the second school of Tea. The leaves were ground to fine powder in a small stone mill, and the preparation was whipped in hot water by a delicate whisk made of split bamboo. The new process led to some change in the tea-equippage of Lu Yu, as well as in the choice of leaves. Salt was discarded forever. The enthusiasm of the Sung people for tea knew no bounds. Epicures vied with each other in discovering new varieties, and regular tournaments were held to decide their superiority.

The tea began to be not a poetical pastime, but one of the methods of self-realisation. Tea rooms and houses were built in order to enjoy tea at a social and spiritual level. There were even competitions among tea connoisseurs who were judged on the way they conducted their ceremony and on the quality of the tea leaves, water, and brewed tea. The art of making ceramic tea equipment was developed a great deal during this period. Tea bowls became deeper and wider to aid in the whipping. Since the prepared tea had a very light green hue, black and deep blue glazes were used on the bowls to enhance the tea color. The most famous style of these bowls was a black bowl with lines running down the bowl called rabbits fur. royal philosophy dominated this period and tea preparation became less complicated and more peaceful. The Japanese art of tea has its roots from this era.

The sudden outburst of the Mongol tribes in the thirteenth century resulted in the devastation, destroyed all the fruits of the Sung culture. Manners and customs changed to leave no vestige of the former times. The powdered tea is entirely forgotten.

Gong Fu steeping method

Gong Fu(chinese - skillful) has been passed down to the present day from the days of Ming Dynasty Emperor Shen Tsung in 16th century China, so it boasts a 400-year history. The full aroma and sweetness of the tea can be brought out when using a small teapot to steep tea. During the Ming (1368-1644) and Ch'ing (1644-1911) dynasties, the purple clay ceramic teapots of Yihsing, Kiangsu were the most famous.

Teapots

China has the greatest tradition of pottery-making in the world. The use of the word 'china' for any porcelain or porcelain-like products shows how closely the country is identified with ceramics. Pottery has been made in China from as early as the 3rd millennium bc, but it is only from the Han dynasty (206 bc - 220 ad) that a continuous tradition begins, low-fired, lead-glazed earthenware being made in large quantities for use in tombs. High-fired wares were also made, developing into the Yue wares of the Six Dynasties (251-589) and Tang (618-907) periods. These were stoneware, fired to a temperature of about 1,200°C and covered in a green celadon-type. The most important feature of Tang ceramics was the perfection of the fine pottery known in the West as porcelain in the 7th or 8th century. The Song dynasty (960-1279) was the golden age of Chinese ceramics, with famous kilns in both northern and southern China. Jingdezhen, in south-eastern China, became the most important ceramic centre from the Yuan dynasty (1279-1368) onwards. Underglaze cobalt painting started to be used at this time on the porcelain for which this area became famous. During the Ming dynasty (1368-1644), this 'blue and white' ware reached an unsurpassed level, particularly in the 15th century. Overglaze enamel colours were introduced in the 16th century, first in combination with underglaze blue (doucai or 'contending colours') and later on their own. During the Qing dynasty (1644-1911) 'famille verte' enamels became popular in the reign of Emperor Kangxi (1662-1722) and 'famille rose' in the reign of Emperor Yongzheng (1723-35). The pink used in 'famille rose' enamels was derived from colloidal or opaque gold and was probably introduced from the West by Jesuit monks at court. The ceramic complex at Jingdezhen was managed by able directors during the 18th century and enjoyed court patronage, notably that of the Emperor Qianlong (1736-95). Another important kiln site was in Dehua, Fujian province. This produced the fine white porcelain, left unpainted with a milky glaze, that came to be known as 'blanc de Chine' in the West and was very popular in Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries. Imperial wares of the 19th and early 20th century have recently begun to enjoy increased favour.

Yixing Teapots

Yixing(pronounced yeeshing) teapots are thought as superior to all other types for brewing tea. The pots are made from the signature clay of Yixing, an area situated 120 miles northwest of Shanghai in Jiangsu province. Highly prized for its porous nature, which is excellent at absorbing the flavor of tea, Yixing clay occurs naturally in three characteristic colors: light buff, cinnabar red and purplish brown. Other colors are created by mixing these three or adding mineral pigments; for example, the dusty black color is obtained by mixing in cobalt oxide and the blue color is made by mixing in magnesium oxide. A principal factor in determining the depth of the color is the concentration of iron in the clay. All the characteristic Yixing colors are called zisha, but the most celebrated of all Yixing wares is its zishayao, or purple sandware, in which a relatively high concentration of iron produces a deep purplish brown color, sometimes called "pear-skin." Western tastes tend to run to a wider range of colors other than the prized zishayao.

Porcelain

Ceramic made from china clay (kaolin) and feldspar (china-stone), closely related to pottery but fired at a much higher temperature to produce a fine, hard, translucent, white material. Porcelain was first made during the Tang dynasty (618-907 ad) in China, where a combination of easily accessible raw materials and superior kiln design resulted in the ceramic industry being many centuries in advance of the West.

Chinese Tea Ceremony

Taiwan site on Chinese culture

Hua Ming Tea Company : Chinese tea history

Gray and Seddon : Chinese tea classification