Puer Tea Chronicle - (Revised Edition)

Author: Lei Pingyang
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2005-12-01
Features: The snow-carrying people pass by, batch after batch. The tea-hauling horses go far away, one after another. A basket of snow melts, and they carry the second one. Brew tea with snow? We have consumed too much of our fate. Those trapped in this path know well the vanity and silence of this livelihood. The melting snowwater has soaked the soles of their shoes, and the exhausted horses piled up in the heavens. West, north, south, east, one after another, roads once stretched long and boundless. But now, except for this tea racing against time, everything has turned to ash. Oh, I hardly want to mention reincarnation and decay, but except for the ancient sorrow and unchanging forgetfulness, who can accompany me through the twilight above these peaks? The light rain falls before me, and the distant dusk piles up. A tuft of grass dies in the crevice of the stone. A piece of horsebone is stuck on the road, like a blood-stained flute!—Lei Pingyang
In his book Yunnan Zhi, the Tang Dynasty scholar Fan Chuo wrote: "Tea is produced in the mountains around Yinsheng City." According to the renowned historian You Zhong in his book History of the Ethnic Groups of Yunnan, Yinsheng City was located in what is now Xishuangbanna. The "mountains" are also widely recognized in tea academia as the six major tea mountains of old Xishuangbanna: Yuelu Mountain, Mangzhi Mountain, Gedeng Mountain, Yibang Mountain, Mанса Mountain (now Yiwu Mountain), and Manzhuang Mountain. China is the original homeland of tea, and Xishuangbanna in Yunnan is the source of tea. Research by professors such as Fang Guoyu and Lin Chaomin has found that the Dai, Hani, Nuani, and Lahu ethnic groups, the indigenous peoples of Xishuangbanna, all call tea "La" in their languages. The neighboring Yi (Sani) dialect also calls it "Ia," the Naxi call it "Le," the Miao in Guizhou call it "chula," and the Tibetan people, who have long consumed Yunnan tea, call it "ja." From a linguistic perspective, it is clear that tea originated in Xishuangbanna and gradually spread to various ethnic groups around it, eventually spreading along the Yangtze River to the entire Central Plains region and through numerous channels to every corner of the world, forming a rich and glorious history of Chinese tea and Chinese tea culture.
As irrefutable evidence of tracing its origins, tea workers discovered an 800-year-old cultivated "tea king tree" on Nanuo Mountain in Menghai County, Xishuangbanna Prefecture, Yunnan, and another 1,700-year-old wild "tea king tree" in Bada Township in the same county. These astonishing discoveries not only refuted the once-popular false claim that tea originated in India but also drew tea enthusiasts from around the world to Menghai in a continuous stream, making the "pilgrimage to the tea king" another cultural landmark of Xishuangbanna.
Botanically, the tea plant belongs to the Theaceae family, with about 23 genera and over 380 species, of which Yunnan accounts for more than 260, mostly concentrated in Xishuangbanna. Why did this phenomenon occur? The reasons are twofold: First, during the major disasters caused by the Quaternary glacial period that wiped out many plants on Earth, many areas in southern Yunnan were spared, and Xishuangbanna was one of them. Second, Xishuangbanna is located south of the Tropic of Cancer, with a climate belonging to the northern tropical and southern subtropical types, featuring abundant heat, ample rainfall, no extreme cold or heat, no frost, frequent fog, and high relative humidity. The combined effect of light, heat, water, and soil provides ideal natural conditions for the propagation and growth of tea plants. Based on this, Xishuangbanna has become a major hub for tea production in China, and the "Pu-erh tea" produced here has also become a unique gem in the family of Chinese tea varieties!
Qing Dynasty scholar Ruan Fu wrote in The Record of Pu-erh Tea: "Pu-erh tea is renowned throughout the world for its strong flavor. The capital especially values it." This indicates that after long-term technological development and quality refinement, Pu-erh tea reached its peak during the Qing Dynasty. Its aged aroma, unique medicinal properties, the enchanting "unity of tea and Zen" in its tea ceremony, and the mesmerizing water journey in the tasting process for refined scholars all opened up a new, beautiful, and radiant sky in the history of Chinese tea culture.
Pu-erh tea becomes more fragrant with age and is often transformed into a rare treasure over time, such as the "Golden Melon Tribute Tea," a national treasure now preserved at the Chinese Academy of Tea Sciences. According to my understanding, this is because Pu-erh tea undergoes a "post-fermentation" process after being made. In old Xishuangbanna, it was known as a "miasma region" where epidemics were rampant. During summer and autumn, outsiders dared not enter, and the tea produced could only be transported between winter and spring. During this storage period, it was inevitably exposed to moisture. Combined with the long journey to the outside world, this formed the "post-fermentation."
Some have vividly described the production and sales process of Pu-erh tea as "grandparents make tea, grandchildren sell it," and this is quite accurate. Due to "post-fermentation," Pu-erh tea has the special qualities of rich flavor, lingering aftertaste, high aroma, and beauty that improves with age.
Another point in the history of Chinese tea is that during the Tang, Song, and Yuan dynasties, historical records show that "cake tea" was produced. Starting from the Ming Dynasty, loose tea became the norm, except for Pu-erh tea, which has always retained its "cake tea" characteristics. Does this mean that only Pu-erh tea, due to its remote origin, inherited the legacy of ancient tea? I remember that in an article discussing Pu-erh tea, the renowned Taiwanese tea connoisseur Deng Shihai wrote: "After spanning thousands of years of time with Lu Yu's The Classic of Tea, if Pu-erh tea could now be revived and celebrated for its aging process, Lu Yu would surely be pleased and disappointed. Pleased because he had picked, steamed, pounded, pressed, baked, strung, and sealed the tea, which is now finally being picked, drunk, and aged. Regrettable because he wrote The Classic of Tea, listing all eleven tea-producing provinces in China, yet he omitted the Pu-erh tea in Yunnan, which could have inherited his legacy."
Pu-erh tea has long been highly regarded in the international market, especially in China's Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan regions, Southeast Asia, and in countries like Japan and South Korea. This is due to the deep tea culture of the tea-producing region and the hard work of generations of tea farmers who were born and raised there. I hope today's Pu-erh tea people will inherit the ancient traditional craftsmanship, absorb advanced scientific methods, strive diligently, and explore bravely, aiming to recreate the glory of Pu-erh tea in the 21st century and once again showcase its charm, presenting the finest Pu-erh tea to every tea lover in the world.
As a historical record of Pu-erh tea and a novel book for promoting Pu-erh tea culture, I believe the value of The Record of Pu-erh Tea is worthy of recognition. In the tea industry, such books are not too many but too few. Thank you for the author's sincere invitation. As a preface, I have inevitably omitted many details and hope the experts will kindly point out any shortcomings!