Tea has been drunk as a beverage and used in Chinese
medicine for centuries and is very much a part of the Chinese way of
life and culture. The Chinese people love tea and although they are
deeply influenced by traditional cultures they drink tea for neither
religious or political reasons. They just like it and consider it a
delicious and healthy drink.
But just how old is tea?
The earliest tea garden in records is the Xian Cha Tea
Garden on Mengding mountain in Sichuan China. The seven tea trees grown
there are said to be planted by the father of Mengding Tea, Wu Lizhen in
BC53.
Now archaeologists have discovered the worlds oldest
tea, buried with an ancient Chinese emperor. Jing Di, the Han Dynasty
emperor died in BC141 which makes the tea leaves 2150 years old! The tea
leaves were buried in a box with the emperor alongside other treasures
such as weapons, pottery figurines, ceramic animals and several full
life size horses and their chariots. As well as the tea, the
archaeologists also discovered millet, rice. Emperor Jing Di obviously
want to enjoy a nice cup of tea in the next world!
Until this discovery by researchers from the Chinese
Academy of Sciences, no tea of such antiquity has ever been found though
some chinese writing from 100 years later claims that China was
exporting tea leaves along the Tea Horse roads (more in these ancient
tea routes next month) to Tibet.
The researchers examined the tiny crystals trapped
between the hairs on the surface of the leaves and determined that they
were tea leaves that had been buried with this second century BC chinese
emperor. Jing Di died in BC141 so the tea dates from around this year.
This tea drinking emperor was also an important figure in chinese
history. In times of intrigue and treachery he was an enlightened and
liberal ruler and was determined to give his people a better standard of
living by reducing their taxes (modern day politicians, please take
note!). He also ordered that criminals should be treated more humanely
and have shorter sentences. And, despite the difficult times, he was
able to reduce the power of the aristocracy to the benefit of the
people.
The tea discovered in the Emperor’s tomb seems to have
been of the finest quality consisting solely of the tender tea buds.
Just as the Buddhist monks drank tea before meditation to help them
relax, it would appear that Jing Di wanted to achieve peace and harmony
in his after life by taking tea of the most superior quality with him.
And, today in China, tea is still the best gift that you
can give to someone to whom you wish to show respect by wishing them a
long life. So, 2150 years later tea is still a very important part of
Chinese culture.
