Shennong Herbal Classic is the first pharmaceutical monograph in China, which was written in the Warring States Period and completed in the Western Han Dynasty. In the form of legend, this book collects the drug knowledge accumulated by the working people for a long time since ancient times, including a paragraph that says: "Shennong tasted a hundred herbs and encountered 72 poisons every day, and his relatives solved his doubts." According to textual research, the tea here refers to ancient tea, to the effect that in ancient times, the legendary Shennong personally tasted herbs in order to find plants beneficial to human survival and was poisoned many times in one day. But he was saved by tea. Although this is an obviously exaggerated legend, we can also learn from it that the use of tea by human beings may have started from medicinal use. According to the investigation, the word "tea" first appeared in "Bai Yin Master Monument" and "Huaihui Monument", about the middle of the Tang Dynasty, from 806 to 820 AD. Before that, "tea" was expressed by the polysemous word "tea".
The basic meaning of the word "tea" is "bitter herb". In ancient times, people still lacked understanding of tea. It is completely understandable to classify it as bitter vegetable only according to its taste. When people realized the difference and special function between it and the general Sophora alopecuroides, a new word representing it alone came into being.
Tea is as important as food. However, "tea is not produced locally due to climate and other reasons. In order to strengthen the control of ethnic minorities, the government adopts a limited direct distribution method for the supply of tea to achieve the purpose of "governing the border with tea". At the same time, the government not only controlled the supply of tea, but also exchanged a small amount of tea for most of the war horses, which brought a heavy burden to the brothers. This is the "tea-horse mutual market" in history.
Tea, as a kind of beverage, has spread to ethnic minority areas in northwest China since the Tang Dynasty and has become a necessity for local people. One day without Chaze's disease, three days without Chaze's disease.
Tea has experienced a long history from invention to use. The reason why it is welcomed by people is not only because it can be used as a drink, but also because it can play a certain role in health care and treatment of the human body. During the Three Kingdoms period, Zhuge Liang led troops to fight in the south and the north. Once, the soldiers arrived in Lihai, Yunnan, and they suffered from eye diseases because of acclimatization. Zhu ordered the soldiers to pick tea and boil water to drink, and soon the eye disease was cured. Until now, the local people still call the tea tree "Kongming Tree" and respect Zhuge Liang as "tea ancestor". China is the origin of tea trees. China's contribution to human beings in the tea industry mainly lies in the earliest discovery and utilization of this plant, which has developed into a splendid and unique tea culture in China, the East and even the whole world. According to China history books, before drinking tea, "the ancients drank water in summer and soup in winter", and they always used warm soup to quench their thirst. Drinking tea has changed people's bad habit of drinking raw water and greatly improved people's health. As for tea, it is regarded as "undoubtedly the best gift from the East to the West" in Europe and America, "Without the introduction of tea and coffee in Europe, drinking would be more luxurious", "The benefits of tea to mankind are immeasurable", "I am sure that tea is one of the saviors of mankind" and "a great comfort" and so on. Except Korea, Japan, Central Asia and West Asia, tea drinking and tea production and trade all over the world were introduced from China around the Tang Dynasty. Most of the others were introduced and developed after16th century, especially in the last 200 years.