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-carrying horses go far away, one after another. A basket of snow melts, and they carry the second basket. Do they use snow to tea? We have consumed too much of our fate. Those trapped in this path know well the emptiness 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. Alas, I am reluctant to mention reincarnation and extinction, but apart from the ancient sorrow and unchanging forgetfulness, who can accompany me through the twilight above these peaks? The small rain falls before my eyes, and the distant dusk piles up. A tuft of grass dies in the crevice of the rock. A piece of horsebone is stuck on the road, like a blood-stained flute!—Lei Pingyang
Tang person Fan Chuo said in his book Yunnan Zhi, "Tea comes from the mountains around Yinsheng City." According to the renowned historian You Zhong's History of Yunnan Ethnic Groups, Yinsheng City was located in what is now Xishuangbanna. As for "the mountains," the tea academic community has reached a consensus that they refer to 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. According to the research of professors Fang Guoyu, Lin Chaomin, and others, the Dai, Hani, Nuani, and Lahu ethnic groups, the indigenous peoples of Xishuangbanna, all call tea "La" in their languages. The neighboring Yi ethnic group's Sani dialect also calls tea "Ia," the Naxi call it "Le," the Miao in Guizhou call it "chula," and the Tibetan people who have long drunk Yunnan tea call it "ja." From a linguistic perspective, we can see that tea originated in Xishuangbanna, gradually spread to various ethnic groups around it, and then spread along the Yangtze River to the entire Central Plains region. Through numerous channels, it reached every corner of the world, forming a rich and splendid history of Chinese tea and Chinese tea culture.
As irrefutable evidence of tracing its origins, tea workers discovered a 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 of the same county. These astonishing discoveries not only refuted the once-popular false claim that "tea originated in India" but also attracted tea enthusiasts from all over the world to Menghai, making the "pilgrimage to the tea king" another cultural landmark in Xishuangbanna.
Tea plants belong to the Theaceae family, with about 23 genera and over 380 species, of which Yunnan accounts for more than 260, primarily concentrated in Xishuangbanna. Why did this phenomenon occur? The reasons mainly lie in two aspects: First, during the several major disasters caused by the Quaternary glacial period that wiped out many plants on Earth, southern Yunnan, including Xishuangbanna, was spared. Second, Xishuangbanna is located south of the Tropic of Cancer, with a climate belonging to the northern tropical and southern subtropical types. It enjoys abundant heat, ample rainfall, no extreme cold or heat, no frost, frequent fog, and high relative humidity. The combined effects of light, heat, water, and soil provide 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 Story of Pu-erh Tea, "Pu-erh tea is renowned throughout the world for its rich flavor. The capital particularly 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 captivating changes in its taste during the brewing process for the refined and elegant scholars—all of these opened up another splendid 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 in the Chinese Academy of Tea Sciences. According to my understanding, this tea undergoes a "post-fermentation" process after being made. Old Xishuangbanna was known as a "miasma region," where epidemics were rampant. During summer and autumn, outsiders dared not enter. The tea produced was often only transported out between winter and spring. During storage, 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 in taste, becoming more fragrant with age.
Another point is that in the history of Chinese tea, the Tang, Song, and Yuan dynasties all produced "cake tea." Starting from the Ming Dynasty, loose tea became the norm, except for Pu-erh tea, which continued 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 on Pu-erh tea, the renowned Taiwanese tea expert Deng Shihai wrote, "The glorious era of the Tang and Song dynasties, after crossing thousands of years of time with Lu Yu's The Classic of Tea, if it could now be revived through Pu-erh tea's aging process, Lu Yu, if he were alive, would surely be both pleased and disappointed. Pleased because he personally picked, steamed, crushed, pressed, dried, strung, and sealed the tea, which is now finally being picked, drunk, and aged. Regretful because he wrote The Classic of Tea, listing the tea-producing regions of eleven provinces in China, yet failed to include the Pu-erh tea from 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 workers 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 for excellence, and explore boldly to rebuild the glory of Pu-erh tea in the 21st century and once again showcase its charm, offering the finest Pu-erh tea to every tea lover in the world.
As a historical record of Pu-erh tea research and a novel book for promoting Pu-erh tea culture, I believe the value of The Story 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. This preface is far from perfect, and I welcome corrections from the experts!