The Origin of Tea

Ⅰ. The Birth of Tea

Tea tree originated in southwest China. Perhaps tea trees originated from ferns born after the Cambrian explosion of life, perhaps tea trees originated from Camellia plants in the Tertiary period of the Cenozoic Era, perhaps tea trees are plants left in the Hengduan Mountains after the Quaternary Ice Age.

The origin of the tea tree is as mysterious as the three mysteries of the world (the mystery of the great silence of the universe, the mystery of the Cambrian explosion of life, and the mystery of the intelligent civilization of the earth.). Tea has 50% of the same genes as humans, which is even more miraculous. Tea is filled with mystery and magic.

A long time ago, Chinese ancestors discovered tea in the southwest region. Perhaps 10,000 years ago, or perhaps in the remote wilderness period, tea and humans have established a symbiotic relationship. They cut down tea branches, chewed them raw, applied them to wounds, cooked food, and boiled water for drinking. They soon became accustomed to the antiseptic and health-care effects of tea, or other medicinal functions, such as refreshing and promoting body fluids.

The discovery of tea was an accident. Who knew that the Chinese ancestors would fall in love with this bitter green leaf after trying it. But this accident has had an unprecedented and huge impact on human civilization, playing an important role in human health and population reproduction.

Alan Macfarlane, a well-known British professor of anthropology and an academician of the British Academy of Sciences and the European Academy of Sciences, also made relevant judgments from an anthropological perspective in his book “Green Gold: The Empire of Tea”: “Between 60,000 and 100,000 years ago, Homo sapiens entered this area (note: referring to southwest China). Perhaps out of imitation of monkeys, early tribe members began chewing tea and found that it could refresh themselves, relax the body and mind. It is very effective in reducing the fatigue caused by doing some strenuous things, such as hiking through the jungle and climbing mountains. In fact, some people chew tea leaves for this purpose until now.”

With the migration of Chinese ancestors, tea trees also spread and multiplied. About 6,000 years ago, the ancestors living in the Tianluo Mountain area of Yuyao, Zhejiang, China, began to plant tea trees. At this time, the ancestors of the Liangzhu area had already planted rice on a large scale and stored more than 200,000 kilograms of rice. The intensive cultivation of rice and tea trees provided the most important material basis for the substantial growth of the population.

About 5,000 years ago, the ancestors of the Liangzhu region were already using writing. It is more clearly clarified that on the premise that food and clothing can be solved, human beings have a more urgent need for group behaviors such as communication, recording, and exchange. Staple food cultivation, tea, and writing, these three are great creations that are more important than China’s four great inventions, and are the true origins of civilization.

The history of human development once again shows that the cultivation of staple food has greatly and steadily improved food production capacity, which has led to the substantial reproduction and growth of the population and agglomeration of life, thus promoting the birth of writing or the spread of existing writing, and eventually triggering the birth of definite human civilization. The history of human development in various river basins deeply illustrates this point.

Guizhou: One million-year-old “tea seed fossil” discovered

In 1980, scientific researchers discovered a fossilized tea seed in Yuntou Mountain, Xinzhuang, Bihen Town, Qinglong County, Guizhou Province. It was identified by the Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Nanjing Institute of Geology and Paleontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, as a four-ball tea seed fossil, which is at least 1 million years old. It is the oldest and only tea seed fossil discovered in the world so far.

The world’s earliest remains of artificially cultivated tea trees

On June 30, 2015, the Zhejiang Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archeology and the Tea Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences jointly released an important result on the archaeological excavation and research of the Tianluoshan site of the Hemudu Culture:

The roots of the Camellia genus tree unearthed at the Tianluoshan site about 6,000 years ago have been identified as the remains of the Camellia tea plant after comprehensive analysis by experts and testing and identification by multiple professional institutions. It is the earliest archaeological discovery in our country so far. Remains of artificially cultivated tea trees.

The large-scale production capacity of human staple food determines the progress of civilization, as well as the drinking process of tea and the large-scale planting and utilization capabilities of tea trees. The tea tree was born in southwest China. Due to the characteristics of human beings living scattered in the mountains, it is difficult to live and communicate more intensively, and thus cannot more effectively evolve tea drinking methods and accumulate tea culture.

The process of tea use is closely related to the development process of human civilization, especially to the large-scale production capacity of staple food and population concentration. When time entered the ancient period about 5,000 years ago, the tribes in the Eastern Territory had the ability to produce staple food on a large scale and were able to live densely on a large scale, thus promoting the birth and spread of civilization. Shennong, one of the pioneers of Eastern civilization, led the people under his rule to effectively promote the agricultural process and the effective use of tea during this special period at the beginning of civilization.

Southwest China is the origin of tea trees, and Yunnan is the origin center of tea trees. During the changes of the Shang and Zhou dynasties about three thousand years ago, the Chinese ancestors planted some tea trees on a mountain somewhere in Yunnan. After three thousand years of ups and downs, sun and moon cycles, these ancient tea trees that have experienced the vicissitudes of the world are still full of vitality and green. Although they are never silent, their figures are so majestic. They are the oldest ancient tea tree community on earth that humans have discovered, and they are also the earliest existing cultivated ancient tea tree community in the world.

During the Shang Dynasty of China, there were undoubtedly many ancient tea trees in southwest China (now Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan and Chongqing). At the same time, the original residents of the area also had a tradition of planting tea trees. Otherwise, the art of growing tea would not have spread to more and further places, and the artificial tea gardens of the Zhou Dynasty would not have emerged. Tea in the Shang Dynasty already had the functions of sterilization, soup making and precious sacrifices. Due to the lack of historical data, it is difficult for people today to penetrate the fog of history.

A piece of tea leaf, half the history of civilization. After slash-and-burn cultivation, humans gradually took control of staple food plants and water sources, making large-scale settlements possible and promoting the birth of civilization. And all of this is later than the discovery and use of tea. Tea trees have come to us over mountains and ridges without human knowledge, and spread to all parts of China. The history of human tea has already quietly begun a wonderful prologue.

Ⅱ. Development of tea drinks during its birth period

Ⅲ. Representative of the development and dissemination stage of tea: Shennong

The “Shen Nong’s Materia Medica” written in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period – Qin and Han Dynasties says: “Shen Nong tasted hundreds of herbs, encountered seventy-two poisons in one day, and solved them in full swing.” Tea sage Lu Yu first discussed the origin of tea in his “Tea Classic”: “The origin of tea as a drink originated from Shennong.”

For more than a thousand years since then, most tea books written by tea people have used this as a basis to say that tea was invented or discovered by Shennong. Many Chinese and foreign scholars have spoken out to refute the fact that there is no evidence to prove that tea was discovered by Shen Nong.

In fact, they were all wrong. Shennong, the great pioneer of Eastern civilization and the ancestor of Chinese humanities, neither invented rice nor tea. The word “fa” in “The Book of Tea” “came from Shen Nong” does not mean discovery or the first time, but means to carry forward, that is, to generalize, summarize, disseminate, and educate the people.

However, the good fortune of Chinese civilization is that Shennong promoted agriculture, including various crops including rice, tea, and tea trees. If earlier Chinese ancestors had not discovered tea, the tea tree would have been just wood for burning fires. Without the summary and promotion of Shennong’s era, agriculture and tea could not move from partial to comprehensive, and there would be no subsequent explosive growth in population and the outbreak of Chinese civilization. Without these foundations, there would be no possibility of popularizing tea in the Tang Dynasty and upgrading it to a spiritual drink.

Shennong became the representative of the development and spread stage of tea, which is in line with the development laws of human civilization and the objective development process of tea civilization. From the planting of tea trees and large-scale planting of rice in Zhejiang about 6,000 years ago, to the artificial planting of tea trees and the payment of tribute with tea in Ba during the period of King Wu’s conquest of Zhou, about 3,000 years ago, human tea civilization must have gone through an important stage of development-the stage of development and spread of tea.

Fuxi, Shennong Yandi, and Huangdi represent the beginning of recorded Chinese civilization. In that era about 5,000 years ago, while stabilizing the territory of rule, they promoted agriculture and settlement, began to use writing, and opened the bud of civilization. In this special period of transition from barbarism to civilization, the birth of civilization pioneers and ethnic leaders is undoubtedly in line with the development laws of human civilization.

As the beginning stage of Chinese civilization, the Shennong era was the starting period of later Chinese civilization, such as agriculture, medicine, industry, literature, astronomy and geography, etc. This was also the stage of the development and spread of tea. According to relevant early historical records, it can be completely confirmed that Shennong was the master of agriculture in the early Chinese civilization, representing the highest agricultural level of that era.

Shennong, as the leader of the ethnic group in the early days of Chinese civilization, was originally good at agriculture and medicine. Then, perhaps Shennong was an important promoter of the early use of tea and tea tree planting, or he was the representative of this stage of tea development and dissemination.

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