The history of tea in Emei Mountain began with the farming culture of ancestors in Emei area more than 0/000 years before BC, and the founder of ancient primitive Taoism in China who fled to Emei Mountain in the Western Zhou Dynasty before BC. Such as Mr. Wang Yi of Ghost Valley and Lu Tong, a hermit of Chu State.
During the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty in 135 BC, Taoism in the mountains was quite famous for baking tea, and Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty sent envoys to worship in the mountains.
During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, Taoism and Buddhism gathered for more than a thousand years and were accepted as tea affairs (picking, processing, baking and storing; Tea ceremony, ceremony and tribute to the imperial court have become a ritual system. With the visits of imperial courts, local officials, dignitaries, temple patrons, ordinary pilgrims, and literati for hundreds of years, Mount Emei is in an endless stream. As the order of temple etiquette, drinking tea has become an indispensable ritual activity for Taoism and Buddhism in the mountains. The tea art connotation of Taoist tea and Buddhist tea has gradually formed, such as receiving guests, attracting guests, watching tea, making tea, drinking and discussing Taoism. Mountain breeze, Lin Tao, water and wind have all become immortal camellia rhyme. Tea monks in Taoist temples and monasteries have their own opinions on tea, which have been passed down from generation to generation.
The humanistic connotation of the integration of Taoism, Buddhism and Confucianism is getting longer and richer, which greatly enriches the connotation of tea culture in the development of Emei Mountain tea history. Therefore, there are many tea poems and articles praising Emei tea:
"The wind pushes the pine forest, and the tea cooks the snow forever."
"Blue and white holding a lamp, ask Emei Guigu Zhang Bao Qiao Shan Qian Shou how to raise the sun and the moon in the same year; Five thousand herbs, bless the grandmother of Xianshan, inherit the grace of heaven, and bake the fragrance of Yao grass into snow buds. "
"Send the thatched cottage in the spring before Qingming Festival, and Mount Emei is fragrant."
Tea baked by Taoists and Buddhists in Emei Mountain has never been used as a commercial transaction, donor or pilgrim. Taoist temples never charge for tea. Both Taoism and Buddhism regard it as a tool. When a wandering fairy goes to other mountains or a great monk at home and abroad comes to Pu Xian, Buddhists will give the top-grade snow buds in the temple as gifts.
2. Emei Mountain Buddha Tea
Emeishan Buddha tea occupies a very important position in the history of Emeishan tea and tea culture development, with a history of 1900 years.
The forms of Emei Mountain Buddha tea are as follows: first, there are many temples engaged in tea production, and their tea gardens are large in scale, accounting for more than 90% of the total tea production in the whole mountain; Second, temples should develop tea production according to local conditions. Due to the differences in soil and water, altitude and vegetation, the quality of tea has different characteristics, including subtle differences in soup, color, taste and shape, as well as their own characteristics; Thirdly, in tea processing technology, they have formed their own methods; Fourthly, through traveling and studying, we introduced the baking technology from other places.
In the Ming Dynasty, tea monks in Heishui Temple successfully baked "Emei White Bud" according to local conditions. Due to the influence of climate in a small area, the tea trees on the rocks of Heishui Temple have formed the appearance characteristics of "white for two years and green for one year", hence the name "Emei White Bud". At the same time, for Emei Snow Bud Green Tea, there are differences in "Five Peaks Snow Bud" due to different tea gardens and different regions, such as "Tianchi Snow Bud", "Jingyue Snow Bud", "Baiyan Snow Bud", "Heishuifeng Snow Bud" and "Baozhangfeng Snow Bud". In the meantime, "Heishuifeng Snow Bud" and "Baozhangfeng Snow Bud" are particularly precious.
In the development of Emei Mountain Buddha tea, from the spiritual concept of tea to the specific tea activities, a unique cultural affiliation has been formed. According to Buddhism, Emei tea is a gift from Buddha, a legitimate intention of Pu Xian to stay in Mount Xi as a Buddhist Dojo, and a gift to all Buddhist disciples. It has the curative effect of eliminating all diseases, expelling foul breath and prolonging life, and also has the spirit and bodhicitta of clearing heart and improving eyesight, wisdom and good roots, and realizing all life. "The jade hand is slender, the Zen mind is pure, and the Buddha is devoutly recited, and it is collected in front of the Buddha."
3. Buddhist tea chapter system
1. Buddhist tea ceremony activities in the mountains are filled with Zen. Every year when picking spring tea, tea monks should bathe themselves and meditate on Tommy in the process of picking tea to show their piety to the Buddha. Every year, the first new tea is given to the Buddhas and Pu Xian.
Second, Buddha, tea and tea art are all ceremonial ceremonies. There is a difference between drinking and drinking in temples, and the tea ceremony is very particular.
Generally, pilgrims drink tea, which is led to the living room by the monks in charge of reception in the temple, and worshipped by the tea monks.
Those who receive outstanding pilgrims, or famous literati, temple patrons and dignitaries, are introduced into the abbot's room or master's room, where they are worshipped with excellent tea and expensive tea sets. In order to receive a large number of worship groups, the temple will hold a tea ceremony and welcome guests with Buddha tea. The specific ceremony is that the tea monk in charge should buy a tea set, make a tea case, clean his hands with a copper basin, moisten tea with spring water, start with tea to worship Buddha and start with tea to entertain guests. At the beginning of the ceremony, monks on both sides of the temple meditated on the futon, chanting Tommy, supplemented by wooden fish and other utensils in the temple, and the Sanskrit soup was filled with Zen. Distinguished guests are placed in the next case, watching the rituals of tea monks and Zen tea, or chanting scriptures with all tea monks. When the tea monk in charge is making tea, the tea monks on both sides will present the cups one by one for the guests to smell and drink. All kinds of things take about half an hour.
Emei Mountain Buddha tea takes "Emei Snow Bud" as the top grade. From the Tang Dynasty to the late Qing Dynasty, it was always used as a tribute and never stopped paying tribute to the imperial court every year. Especially in 267 of Ming Dynasty, the amount of tribute was the largest. In the development of tea history in Emei Mountain, tea activities were always carried out in the mountains by disciples of Taoism and Buddhism before the late Qing Dynasty, from the production and planting management of tea gardens to tea picking and processing. If there is not enough manpower, the temple also asks the surrounding farmers to help manage the tea garden or pick fresh leaves, and some technologies in tea production flow to the people. At the end of the Ming Dynasty, the tea garden of Wannian Temple was rented to the local squire for various reasons, and a certain amount of tea was collected as a pawn every year according to the contract. It was not until 1697 (thirty-six years of Kangxi) that the local government ordered the temple to be returned.
After the tea garden of the temple was run by nearby villagers, the tea production and production technology flowed to the people. Farmers and squires in Gao Qiao, Eshan, Shuijing, Tianjin (later called Huangwan), Lian Yue (later called Puxing) and Shuang Fu began to grow tea on a small scale. Tea processing is divided into three categories: frying, baking and drying. The processing tool is a firewood iron pot; The processing procedures are spreading and drying fresh leaves, deactivating enzymes, kneading, high-temperature iron pan drying to enhance fragrance or drying in the sun.
At the end of the Ming Dynasty, after the tea activities in Emei Mountain expanded to the surrounding mountainous areas, the habit of drinking tea entered people's homes. The formation of folk tea activities in Emei Mountain area has been integrated into rural folk culture. Tea farmers in Gao Qiao and Lian Yue Township have produced tea-picking folk songs and tea-picking love songs in the long-term tea-making activities. For example:
"March is a good spring,
Yao Meishan is busy picking tea,
Tea picking should be sharp,
Marry a diligent person. "