The history of tea production in Yixing should be earlier than 1800 years ago at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty. Lu Tongjun has a saying that "Xiyang, Wuchang and Jinling all produce good tea", which was written in the late Eastern Han Dynasty. Jinling is another name of Changzhou today, and from ancient times to now, only Yangxian County has produced more tea in Changzhou. It can be inferred that the tea produced in Yangxian County was quite famous in the Eastern Han Dynasty before 220 AD.
Yangxian tea reached an unprecedented peak in the Tang Dynasty. In the mid-Tang Dynasty, Li Qiyun was appointed as the magistrate of Changzhou, and a monk from one mountain went to Yangxian County for tea. Lu Yu made it "the best fragrance in the world" and "the best". After the recommendation of Lu Yu and others, Yangxian tea was designated as tribute tea by the court for its excellent quality. According to the Records of Yixing County, Tanggong Mountain, which produced tribute tea at that time, was "thirty-five miles southeast of the county seat, named after the tea tribute produced in the Tang Dynasty, with Jinsha Temple under it", which is the origin of Tanggong Mountain and Tanggong Village in Yixing today.
In the tea administration system of the Tang Dynasty, a tribute tea courtyard was set up to produce tribute tea. Yixing Gongcha Courtyard "has more than 30 houses and 30,000 laborers", "1000 craftsmen" and "20,000-year-old Yanggongxian Tea". Collecting tribute tea is an important event in the Tang Dynasty. When tribute tea is mined, the prefect will personally open the garden and recruit 10,000 people to suddenly pick tea. After the tribute tea is made, it is a great event to hold a banquet and compose poems. As the tribute tea produced in Tanggong Mountain is a favorite treasure of the royal family, the output is not much, and it must be rushed to Chang 'an through the post road, which is called "urgent tea". Lu Tong, a poet in the Tang Dynasty, said in his poem "Raise a Pen and Xie Meng Persuade to Send New Tea": "The emperor never tasted Yangxian tea, and the plants and trees dare not bloom first", which fully explained the supreme position of Yangxian tea at that time. A mountain in the southwest of Yixing, hence the name "Mingling". Because the imperial court attached great importance to tea, and the local government also attached great importance to it, tea trees changed from wild in the mountains to planting, and then extended to the people, and the wind of drinking tea gradually drifted away.
According to research, the tea used in the Tang Dynasty is different from that used now. Tang people eat cakes and teas. When using tea, they first grind the cake-shaped tea leaves into tea powder, cook them in a boiling pot, and add salt to the soup to make it salty. When making tea, the nobles in the palace should add some spices such as pepper to add flavor. After cooking, spoon it into a bowl and eat it with soup and tea powder, which is called "eating tea".
Compared with the Tang Dynasty, the amount of Yangxian tea tribute in Song Dynasty has basically not decreased. Immortal tea is not only favored by royalty, but also by literati. Su Shi, a great writer who went to Yixing many times and planned to "buy Tian Yang envy and plant oranges for the elderly", left a famous sentence "Xuebu begged Yang envy for me".
There were many wars in the Yuan Dynasty, but Yangxian tea was popularized to border ethnic minorities because of the war, and the demand was even greater at that time. Wanli Zhi has been published for four years: "90 kinds of new tea are given each year, 1,000 kinds of tea are given at the end of the year, and 410 kinds of tea buds are given". With today's 33.5 liters, it should be said that the amount of tea tribute in Yangxian County in Yuan Dynasty is very considerable. In order to suit the hobby of Mongolian nobles, the Yuan Dynasty set up a tribute tea official office called "Tea House" outside the tribute tea courtyard, and was in charge of the tribute tea in Yixing.
In the Ming Dynasty, Yangxian tea was still a tribute. Tea-making techniques and drinking habits in the Ming Dynasty have changed greatly. Leaf tea (slice tea) gradually replaced end tea, and the technology of making green tea was basically mature. While following the tea-making method, the tea-making method appeared, making tea with teapot. During the Chongzhen period, tea houses were opened and tea drinking was further popularized, which penetrated into the daily life of Yixing people and became one of the seven things of "daily daily rice, oil, salt, sauce and vinegar tea". As tea has become a necessity in people's daily life, the imperial court has taken relatively complete management measures for the production, transportation and marketing of tea, and specially set up a "tea bureau" and a "tea introduction office". Yixing still retains tea culture monuments such as Tea Bureau Lane and Tea Pavilion.
During hundreds of years in Qing Dynasty, with the economic development and social changes, Yixing tea industry rose and fell from time to time. Due to the turmoil and war, Yixing's tea gardens suffered huge losses and gradually went to the bottom. However, celebrities and literati in the upper class still like Yangxian tea very much, and they praise the teapot by drinking tea, which makes the teapot reach its peak.
Since the Republic of China, due to the continuous war and social unrest, Yixing's tea production and sales have entered a relatively depressed period, which lasted until liberation. However, tasting tea in teahouses has become an indispensable part of some people's daily life. Yixing people love tea, and friends come from afar, so they must make tea to show their respect.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, especially since the reform and opening up, tea production in Yixing has developed rapidly. The tea garden area has grown from 6,543,800 mu in the early days of the People's Republic of China to 75,000 mu now, and the tea garden area and tea output rank first in Jiangsu Province. A series of famous teas, such as Yangxian Xuebu, Jingxi Yunpian, Shanjuan Chunyue, Zhuhai Jin Ming and Shengdao Shoumei, have won numerous awards in previous national "Chinese Teacups" and Jiangsu "Lu Yu Cup". Yangxian Xueya produced by Gan Yuan Tea Farm 1989 and Jingxi Yunpian produced by Xinjie Tea Forest Farm were awarded the title of National Famous Tea by the Ministry of Agriculture, while Yangxian Xueya produced by Xia Ling Tea Farm 1990 was awarded the title of National Famous Tea by the Ministry of Commerce. After that, famous tea gradually formed a dominant position in Yixing tea products. In 2002, Yixing became one of the first batch of 20 pollution-free tea production demonstration bases in China.
Characteristics of Yangxian tea
Yangxian tea is produced in Tanggong Mountain, Nanyue Temple, Limo Mountain, Mingling and other places in Yixing, Jiangsu. After baking, the finished tea strips are tight, straight and wonderful, and the color is green. The soaked soup has clear color, even leaf bottom, delicate fragrance, fresh and mellow taste and sweet aftertaste. Spring tea in Yangxian County is mostly picked in front of Grain Rain.
"Yangxian Tea" is famous all over the country for its clear soup, fragrance and mellow taste. Yixing, which is close to Taihu Lake, is surrounded by mountains and waters, with beautiful scenery, and has the advantages of "good volume", "tribute" and "ancient spirit", attracting countless tourists at home and abroad; Many tourists who come here will never forget to brew a cup of "Yangxian tea" to taste after enjoying the lakes, mountains and wonders of Yixing. The brewed tea soup is clear in color, fragrant and sweet, which is the best in tea.
The history of Yangxian tea
Yixing has a long history of producing tea, which was called "Yangxian tribute tea", "Piling tea", "Yangxian purple bamboo shoot" and "Jinling purple bamboo shoot" in ancient times. Yixing was called "Yang Xian" in ancient times. Yangxian tea began in the Eastern Han Dynasty, flourished in the Tang Dynasty and matured in the Song, Ming and Qing Dynasties.
As early as the period of Sun Wu in the Three Kingdoms, it was named Chijiangnan, and was then called "National Camellia". "National Mountain", that is, the distance of Moshan today. According to Yixing County Records, "fifty miles southwest of Moshan County ... the top of the mountain produces beautiful tea, and its fragrance is the highest among other species".
Lu Yu, who was known as the "Cha Sheng" in Tang Dynasty, made a long-term investigation in Nanshan, Yangxian County (now known as Yixing in ancient times) in order to study the planting, picking, baking and tasting of tea, and accumulated rich original materials for writing the book Tea Classic.
Lu Yu wrote in his "A Source of Tea Classics": "On the sunny cliff, there is a shady forest, where purple is on the top, green is on the bottom, bamboo shoots are on the top, and buds are second." After tasting the jiagou offered by the same monk, Lu Yu thought that "Yangxian tea" was really "the first fragrance in the world" and "the top grade". Due to the recommendation of Lu Yu, "Yangxian Tea" is famous all over the country, and it has caused a lot of noise for a while.
Since then, "Yangxian tea" has been selected as tribute tea, so it is called "Yangxian tribute tea".
Tang Suzong years, Changzhou secretariat of Li Qiyun began. During the tea season, the magistrates of Changzhou and Huzhou gathered in Yixing tea area, and Tang Taizu sent tea officials, envoys and eunuchs to Yixing to set up a "tribute tea courtyard" and a "tea house" to be responsible for the production, evaluation and appraisal of tribute tea.
After the tender tea is baked, it immediately passes through the post road in batches, and the trotters are sent to the capital day and night to catch up with the "locust feast" of moving to the DPRK. At that time, this kind of tea was called "urgent tea" and could not be delayed for a moment.
Zhou of Ming Dynasty praised "Yangxian Tea" as "light yellow but not green, with pale white leaves, thick stems and few stalks" in his "Cave Camellia Department". Soup is soft as jade dew, sweet and fragrant, deep and eternal. The more you sip, the more delicious it is. "
As you know, Yixing, Jiangsu is thousands of miles away from the capital (now Beijing). I wonder how many postal workers are exhausted. How many horses are exhausted? ..... As Li Ying, a poet in the Tang Dynasty, said: "Lingyan is constantly exposed, the official red seal is constantly pressed, and the whip of the postal road is like electricity. Who will rush her husband to see you again in the middle of the night; There are four thousand miles of Huangcheng Road, and there will be a Qingming banquet when you arrive. "
Compared with the Tang Dynasty, Yangxian tea in the Song Dynasty was not only favored by the royal family and the country, but also favored by literati. Su Shi, a great writer who has been to Yixing for many times, intends to "buy Tian Yang envy and plant oranges for the elderly", leaving a famous sentence "Xueya asks Yang envy for me, and the water army entertains Hui Quan as milk".
Lu Tong once planted tea in Yinan Mountain, and his Seven Bowls of Tea Poems are widely circulated at home and abroad, which is regarded as the enlightenment content of Japanese tea ceremony culture. However, Yangxian tea in Yuan Dynasty was popularized to the border ethnic minorities because of the war. Volume 4 of Wanli Records records: "90 cups of new tea are offered every year, 1,000 cups of tea are offered at the end of the year, and 410 cups of sprouted tea are offered". With today's 33.5 liters, it should be said that the amount of tea tribute in Yangxian County in Yuan Dynasty is very considerable.
In order to suit the hobby of Mongolian nobles, the Yuan Dynasty set up a tribute tea official office called "Tea House" outside the tribute tea courtyard, and was in charge of the tribute tea in Yixing. In the Ming Dynasty, Yangxian tea was still a tribute. During the Chongzhen period, teahouses were established and tea drinking was further popularized. The imperial court adopted relatively complete management measures for the production, transportation and marketing of tea, and set up a "tea bureau" and a "tea introduction office". Yixing still retains tea culture monuments such as Tea Bureau Lane and Tea Pavilion.
During the hundreds of years in the Qing Dynasty, with the economic development and social changes, the tea industry in Yixing rose and fell from time to time, but celebrities and literati in the upper class still liked Yangxian tea very much and praised the teapot for drinking tea, which made the teapot reach its peak. Since the Republic of China, Yixing people's tea tasting in teahouses has become an indispensable part of some people's daily life. Yixing people love tea, and friends come from afar, so they must make tea to show their respect.
Lutong Caotang, which is welcoming guests in Yixing Bamboo Ocean Fairy Tea Ecological Sightseeing Park, will reproduce the quiet scene of tea fairy leisurely seeing Nanshan.
Tracing the history of Yangxian tea
As for the origin of "Yangxian Tea", according to Yixing County Records, the founder of tea drinking was a farmer named Pan San, who was later honored as the "Land Lord" of Yixing. In Song Dynasty, Hu Zai quoted the story of rebuilding Yixing Tea House in Tiaoxi Fishing in Conghua: a monk gave the wild tea produced in Yangxian Mountain to Li Qiyun, then the governor of Changzhou. He asked Lu Yu to appraise it, and suggested that it was a good gift for Emperor Tang Daizong, and the time was around 766.
The second "Cha Sheng" after Lu Yu. The poet Lu Tong wrote a famous sentence "The Emperor must taste Yangxian tea, but the hundred herbs dare not bloom first" in the poem "Sending New Tea", and Liu's Miscellanies in the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties recorded that "the tea in the world is the most admirable". Yuan Zhonglang (Hongdao) in the Ming Dynasty pointed out in "Tea Essays": "Wuyi tea has medicinal taste, Longjing tea has bean taste, and Yangxian tea has' golden taste', reaching the top grade of tea." Japan in the East highly respects "Yangxian Tea".