Insect fighting, cock fighting, bull fighting... do you know about tea fighting?

Lv Weitao, Curator at the National Museum of China

Zhang JinMember of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Working Committee of China Arts and Crafts Association

What’s even better than coffee latte art is, of course, tea art competition!

In the hit TV series "Dream of Splendor", the heroine Zhao Pan'er's "tea fighting" skills really attracted the attention of many viewers. Due to the pursuit of refinement and artistry, a more difficult "tea art" appeared in the "tea fighting" in the Song Dynasty - that is, drawing patterns or words on the tea soup, just like the "coffee latte art" in the West. Zhao Pan'er in the play won the "tea fighting" with this superb skill.

In fact, if you look closely, there are still differences between "Tea Art" and "Coffee Latte Art". The traditional Chinese "Tea Art" only uses water to pour in and stir the tea soup to change the pattern. "Coffee Latte Art" is to add milk to coffee and superimpose different colors. In terms of content, "Tea Art" includes patterns such as animals, insects and fish, flowers and plants, and poems, which is much richer than "Coffee Latte Art".

In 2017, "Tea Hundred Plays" was included in the list of intangible cultural heritage of Fujian Province. Mr. Zhang Zhifeng, the inheritor of "Tea Hundred Plays", is an expert in this art. He can "paint on tea with water" in a few minutes, and the painting can last up to a quarter of an hour. But it should be pointed out that the tea soup of "Tea Hundred Plays" is not suitable for drinking, but more for viewing. Of course, this is also the beauty of "Tea Fighting".

It has a longer history than coffee latte art – or tea competition!

It is generally believed that "tea-fighting" originated in the Tang Dynasty. There is a legend that the popularity of "tea-fighting" was influenced by Concubine Mei, the favorite concubine of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang. This concubine, who appeared before Concubine Yang, was extremely favored by Emperor Xuanzong of Tang. It is said that her original name was Jiang Caiping and she was from Putian, Fujian. In the legendary novel "The Biography of Concubine Mei", there is a record of her experience of fighting tea with Emperor Xuanzong of Tang:

Tang Xuanzong and Mei Fei were competing in making tea. Tang Xuanzong joked to his brothers, "This is a Mei fairy. She played the white jade flute and danced the 'Jinghong Dance', which made everyone present praise her. Now she has beaten me in the tea-making competition." Mei Fei replied, "I accidentally defeated Your Majesty in this little game. When it comes to reconciling the four seas and commanding the nations, the Emperor has his own laws. How can a little girl like me compete with you?" Tang Xuanzong was very happy to hear this.

This shows that Mei Fei was also a "tea-fighting" expert like Zhao Pan'er. Records about Mei Fei are mostly found in local chronicles, and her existence is also questioned, but Mei Fei's story is a "key" to tracing the origin of "tea-fighting".

According to research, "Tea Fighting" should have originated in the tea town of Jianzhou (now Jianyang, Fujian) in the Tang Dynasty, which was famous for producing tribute tea. It was an act of local tea farmers and tea drinkers comparing and evaluating the quality of new tea after the new tea was made in spring every year. It was called "Tea Fighting" in the Tang Dynasty and "Tea Fighting" in the Song Dynasty. It is actually a form of tea evaluation and social activity.

The key to "tea fighting" is "fighting". The word "fighting" adds a competitive color to "tea". Just as "where there are people, there are rivers and lakes", where there is tea, there is the tea world. When different factions get together to taste the quality of tea, "tea fighting" is born. In the Song Dynasty in history, the trend of "tea fighting" was indeed prevalent. From emperors to literati, from Zen monks to the people, it was popular among all walks of life.

The rise of "tea fighting" is largely related to the change in the way of drinking tea in the Song Dynasty. In the Tang Dynasty, the mainstream way of drinking tea was "boiling tea", which is to grind tea leaves into powder and pour them directly into boiling water to make tea soup; while in the Song Dynasty, the mainstream way of drinking tea was "making tea", which is to put the ground tea powder into a tea bowl, then pour boiling water, and then make tea soup. Because "making tea" has more procedures, strong skills, and more fun, it also has the content of "fighting".

The Past of “Tea Fighting”: Tribute Tea

In the early Northern Song Dynasty, the imperial court set up a royal tea plantation in Beiyuan, Jian'an, Fujian, mainly producing cake-shaped "Tuancha". This tea is similar to the current Pu'er tea cake, but it is much more complicated to make, with more than a dozen processes of varying sizes. The tea cake is also printed with dragon and phoenix patterns, so it is also called "Dragon Tuan" and "Phoenix Cake". When paying tribute to the court, it must be sealed in a golden bag. This tea is exclusively for the royal family, and ordinary people rarely have the opportunity to taste it. Ouyang Xiu, a famous official in the Northern Song Dynasty, served as an official for 20 years before he was lucky enough to share a cake of "Dragon Tuan" with four people.

"Tuan tea" can be divided into large and small, such as "Longtuan" tea can be divided into "Da Longtuan" and "Xiao Longtuan". The founder of "Da Longtuan" was Ding Wei, who supervised the production of tribute tea in Beiyuan. Later, when Cai Xiang supervised the production of tribute tea, he transformed "Da Longtuan" into "Xiao Longtuan". "Da Longtuan" originally weighed eight cakes per pound, while "Xiao Longtuan" weighed twenty cakes per pound. The purpose of Ding Wei and Cai Xiang was to "compete for favor", and as a result, the former finally became the prime minister and was granted the title of Duke of Jin, and the latter was promoted to Hanlin Academician (a senior civil official around the emperor) and Sansi Envoy (the highest central financial official in the Song Dynasty). As a result, many people began to look for new teas everywhere, and even plundered famous teas as tribute, with the purpose of getting promoted and making money.

At that time, there was an official in charge of the canal transport named Zheng Kejian, who created a kind of tea called "Silver Silk Water Bud". This tea is made by picking the tips of the newly grown buds on the tea branches, steaming them, peeling off the outer leaves, leaving only a strand of the bud core, and then soaking them in clear spring water in precious vessels. The resulting bud cores are bright and clear, like silver threads, and then they are made into square-inch-sized tea balls. This tea ball is as white as snow, so it is named "Longyuan Shengxue".

Zheng Kejian was favored because of this, and his official position was promoted to Fujian Road Transport Commissioner (the highest administrative chief in Fujian), specializing in Beiyuan tea. Later, Zheng Kejian ordered his nephew Zheng Qianli to collect famous teas in various valleys and mountains. He got a famous tea called "Zhucao". Zheng Kejian ordered his son Zheng Daiwen to go to Beijing to offer it. Zheng Daiwen was indeed promoted for his contribution to the tribute tea. At that time, someone ridiculed and said, "The father is honored because of the white tea, and the son is honored because of the red grass." When Zheng Daiwen returned home after being promoted, he held a banquet and gathered all his relatives to celebrate. Zheng Kejian said proudly, "It's a fluke." His nephew Zheng Qianli was indignant because the "Zhucao" was taken away, and he said, "Qianli complains."

The emergence of tribute tea has, to a certain extent, promoted the development of famous teas and the improvement of tea picking and processing technology, and also promoted the spread of the "tea-fighting" activity. Cai Xiang mentioned in "Tea Records" that the "tea-fighting" trend first emerged in Jian'an, the production area of ​​famous teas and tribute teas of the Southern Tang Dynasty in the Tang Dynasty, and the best teas from the "fight" were used as tribute teas. Therefore, "tea-fighting" became popular only after the rise of tribute tea.

In Jian'an, Fujian, the famous "Beiyuan official tea plantation" is the royal tea plantation that produces "Dragon Balls" and "Phoenix Cakes" and other "famous brand products". At the same time, there are also a large number of "private tea plantations", that is, private tea plantations, with a total of more than 1,000. Every year when the new tea is on the market, tea farmers compete to test their new teas, judging the best and the worst, and competing for the new and unique. As a result, the style of "tea fighting" is particularly prosperous.

Tea-fighting complex: the whole country loves to "fight"

Fan Zhongyan, a famous politician and writer in the Northern Song Dynasty, once wrote a poem called "Tea Fighting Song", which recorded the fact that the climate in Huzhou, Zhejiang suddenly turned cold, while the climate in Jian'an, Fujian became warm, thus replacing Huzhou as the place of tribute tea production. In order to select the best tea to pay tribute to the royal family in order to seek promotion, local officials in Fujian held a tea evaluation meeting in the spring when tea was produced, which was called "Tea Fighting Meeting". Tea farmers carefully picked and selected the best tea buds to make "Tea Fighting" for "Tea Fighting". It can be seen that the "Tea Fighting" at that time was praised by the court, so the whole country, from the rich and powerful, literati and scholars to the common people, enjoyed it.

There was also a poet named Tang Geng, who was demoted to Fujian, but he was not depressed. He still participated in the "Tea Contest" with great interest and even wrote an article "Tea Contest Notes". This article has important historical value in the history of Chinese tea culture. The viewpoints on the quality of water used in tea tasting put forward in the article are valued by later generations.

The promotion of the royal family also contributed to the rise of "tea fighting". Because the emperors of the Song Dynasty all loved drinking tea, such as Emperor Taizu of Song, Zhao Kuangyin, who was addicted to drinking tea and could be called the person who opened up a new era of tea drinking in the palace. Among the many emperors, Emperor Huizong of Song, Zhao Ji, could be called the only "Tea Emperor" in Chinese history. He was a noble emperor and had a very elegant taste. Not only was he obsessed with drinking tea, he also wrote "Daguan Tea Theory", the only person in Chinese history who wrote a book on tea drinking. The book was written during the Daguan period (1107-1110), and it detailed the process of tea production, picking, making, storage, tea sets, tea tasting methods, etc., and there are many records about "tea fighting".

Tea Competition: The Right Time, Right Place and Right People

"Tea fighting" is a competition of skills and tea sets, which is very interesting and challenging. Participants in the "Tea Fight" must each offer their own famous teas and take turns to taste them to determine the winner. The content of the competition includes the hue and aroma of the tea leaves, the fragrance of the tea soup, the quality of the tea sets, the control of the boiling water temperature, etc. The "Tea Fight" must be collectively evaluated, and the winner is the one with the best. Because "tea fighting starts with color", and white tea is the most valuable, black porcelain tea cups are the most important, which can make the black and white contrast clear.

The "Tea Contest" is usually held during the Qingming Festival, because the new tea is just produced and put on the market at this time, which is the most suitable for participating in the "Tea Contest". During the "Tea Contest", tea lovers bring tea sets and homemade new tea. Generally, they form groups freely, with as many as a dozen people in a group and as few as three or five people. And every time this happens, many neighbors go to watch the fun. If it is at a tea trading place, there will be more customers on the scene to buy tea. If the tea wins the contest, it will be snapped up at a high price.

The place for "tea fighting" is usually the street market or teahouse, tea shop and other places. If it is a teahouse or tea shop, there must be a kitchen behind it for making tea, and "tea fighting" is held in a wide and bright hall. Usually, some neighbors like to get together to talk about tea and family matters, and some people just want to fight tea. If some tea lovers have an elegant house or an old courtyard, they will often invite three or five friends to "fight tea" and taste tea.

People in the Song Dynasty paid more attention to the pursuit of spiritual aspects. Literati and scholars all liked to make friends over tea, and ordinary people also enjoyed "tea-drinking competitions". In a work by the Song Dynasty painter Liu Songnian, the scene of "tea-drinking competitions" was depicted. This painting is called "The Tea Garden Gambling Market". In this painting, you can see men, women, young and old, and all kinds of people. Everyone has a different expression, but their eyes are all focused on the "tea-drinking competition", which vividly depicts the scene of "tea-drinking competitions" among the people at that time.

(Song Mingyuan gambling market picture)

What is the point of winning the "tea-fighting contest"? The winner's tea can be used as a tribute to the emperor, thereby increasing the popularity of his tea brand. Moreover, due to the greatly increased popularity of the "tea-fighting contest", the winner will attract the emperor's attention and be promoted. However, Zhao Pan'er in "Dreams of Splendor" did not have such "lofty" pursuits. Her idea may be very simple. If she wins the "tea-fighting contest", she can gain a foothold in the capital and then expand her tea business.

The "tea-fighting" also had an important impact on tea drinking in Japan and South Korea, especially in Japan. According to the "Chacha Exchange", when the Japanese "tea-fighting" began, it was mainly to distinguish between real tea and non-tea, which may have been influenced by the "tea-fighting" in the Song Dynasty to distinguish between Beiyuan tribute tea and other teas. At that time, there were ten ways to "tea-fight" in Japan, and the winner could get the "Four Treasures of the Study" made in China.

According to the Japanese "Genhyō Shakusho", in the third year of Entoku (1491), a "tea-fighting" with "four kinds and ten servings" was held. That is, before the "tea-fighting", three kinds of tea were first tasted for the "tea-fighting" contestants, and then they were repeatedly presented in the ten tastings of the "tea-fighting", while the fourth kind of tea was only presented once, and finally it was seen who could distinguish them clearly. Compared with the Chinese "tea-fighting", this method was more interesting and more complicated, and played an important role in the formation of the Japanese tea ceremony.

The disappearance of tea fighting

However, due to the complicated production process of "ball tea", it consumed a lot of manpower and material resources, and "tea fighting" became an activity for all classes to compete with each other at a high price. This was still popular in the Song Dynasty, when the economy was relatively prosperous and the society was relatively open, but it weakened in the turbulent Yuan Dynasty. By the establishment of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang, who was born as a cowherd, a monk, and a beggar, obviously could not stand such fancy tea activities. In the 24th year of Hongwu (1391), Zhu Yuanzhang issued an edict: "Stop making dragon balls, and only collect bud tea to be presented." That is to say, in the future, "ball tea" would not be allowed to be presented as tribute, only "loose tea" made from buds would be presented as tribute. In addition, he also abolished the Beiyuan tribute tea garden in Fujian and no longer set up royal tea farms.

After Zhu Yuanzhang abolished Tuancha and promoted Sancha, the production of "Tuancha" and the trend of "Tea Fighting" gradually declined and were lost in the long river of history.

In comparison, the picking and brewing methods of "loose tea" are much simpler. Without complicated processes and procedures, tea drinkers began to pursue the authentic and natural taste of tea. Under the brewing of boiling water, the complete buds of tea gradually unfold, and the sense of smell and taste buds are instantly enveloped by the overflowing tea fragrance. Although there is no fun of "tea fighting", it gives people the most simple and natural beauty.