Tea in Ancient China
painting of women enjoying tea from the Tang Dynasty
We could talk about tea in ancient China forever. The words “history” and “China” together never seem to equal something short.
Think of this as an executive summary, we are only going to touch on the broad stroke highlights.
The Discovery of Tea in China
The discovery of tea is widely attributed to Shen Nong in 2737 BCE when a leaf found its way into his cup of hot water and the resulting brew brought us tea. Shen Nong is a mythological pseudo-historical figure whose name means “sacred farmer” and is credited for the discovery of agriculture and Chinese medicine as well as tea.
The tea tree plant, camellia sinensis, originated in the region where southwest China borders India and Burma. China’s Yunnan province (home of Pu’er tea) and India’s Assam province (home of Assam tea) are located in this area.
an excerpt from the Tang Dynasty text “Cha Jing”
Cha Jing and Flourishing of Chinese Tea Culture
In the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD), considered a “golden age” in China’s history, the first written text devoted to tea, the Cha Jing, often translated as “The Classic of Tea” was created by Lu Yu. Still in print today, this text is something tea enthusiasts often discuss.
Reading the Cha Jing, however, will illuminate how tea drunk today differs significantly from how tea was drunk in the 8th century. For instance, tea was a powder that drinkers added salt, grains, and other additives into before drinking–things nobody really associates with tea drinking today.
The way we drink tea today (loose dried leaves brewed in hot water) has more to do with how tea was prepared and served in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). But before we fast-forward to the Ming Dynasty, a few words on the intervening 400 years.
During the Tang Dynasty, tea culture flourished and developed. Drinking and enjoying tea was widely celebrated as a refined past time. The refinement and development of a tea culture continued into the Song Dynasty (960-1276).
Throughout this time, tea was shared with others (like Japan and Korea) and traded as a precious commodity such as on the Ancient Tea Horse Road or with other countries along the Silk Road.
painting of a tea party from the Song Dynasty
Tea in China Before 1368
China was conquered and ruled by neighboring Mongolians in the Yuan Dynasty bringing an end to the Song Dynasty, and tea culture didn’t quite get the attention it once did.
When the Ming Dynasty was up and running in 1368, however, tea was about to undergo a resurgence of sorts with lots of innovations and developments.
We are going to pause here in 1368, because as we said, this is only a mini-history lesson on tea in ancient China.
We will catch you again soon regarding tea’s innovations and developments in the Ming Dynasty and how that still influences the way we drink tea today.