What Does the Tea Favored by Ancient Chinese Emperors Look Like?
传统制茶手艺人在制作蒙顶甘露。
制作中的蒙顶甘露。
冲泡蒙顶甘露。
茶,源自中国,盛行世界。Tea, originating from China, has become popular worldwide.
四川蒙顶山又称蒙山,是世界茶文化的发源地,也是历史上有文字记载人工种植茶叶最早的地方。作为青藏高原到川西平原的过渡地带,这里的海拔、土壤、气候等非常适合茶叶的生长。蒙山茶是古代达官贵人,甚至是皇室“亲选”的茶叶!
Mengding Mountain, also known as Meng Mountain, located in Sichuan, is the birthplace of tea culture and historically the earliest documented place for cultivating tea artificially. As a transitional zone from plateau to basin, it has perfect natural conditions for the growth of tea, making Meng Mountain Tea the favored choice of ancient nobles and even chosen by the imperial family!
早在两千多年前的西汉时期,蒙顶山“茶祖”吴理真开始在蒙顶山驯化栽种野生茶树,开始了人工种茶的历史。此后,一代又一代茶农在此耕作培育,让蒙山茶自唐朝开始就成为贡茶,一时成为茶中之王。到了明代,蒙山茶从茶饼渐渐改为散茶进贡,蒙山“甘露”正式诞生,进一步丰富了蒙山茶传统制作技艺。2022年底,“中国传统制茶技艺及其相关习俗”被联合国教科文组织列入人类非物质文化遗产代表作名录,蒙山茶传统制作技艺是该项目重要组成部分。
In the Western Han Dynasty over two thousand years ago, the "Tea Ancestor" Wu Lizhen started to domesticate and plant wild tea trees on Mengding Mountain, marking the beginning of tea cultivation. Since then, tea farmers have worked here, making Meng Mountain tea a tribute tea from the Tang Dynasty onwards, once becoming the king of tea. By the Ming Dynasty, Meng Mountain tea gradually transitioned from tea cakes to loose tea for tribute, leading to the birth of "Mengding Ganlu," further enriching the traditional tea-making techniques of Meng Mountain. At the end of 2022, "Chinese traditional tea-making techniques and related customs" were included in the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, with the traditional tea-making techniques of Meng Mountain being an integral part of this project.
蒙顶甘露传统制作技艺包括“红锅杀青、先高后低、三炒三揉”等,茶叶历经十余道工序,完成火与叶的交融蜕变,茶客方能品味到一杯味甘而清、色黄而碧的正宗蒙顶甘露。
The traditional production techniques of Mengding Ganlu include more than ten processes. Unique techniques include drying leaves in a hot wok; with high temperature followed by low; kneading the tea leaves concurrently while frying them, etc. The process enables the tea to undergo a magic transformation as a result of the influence of heat and fire. Only then can one savor the authentic Mengding Ganlu tea, which is sweet and clear in taste, with a yellowish-green color.
中文作者:四川日报全媒体记者 卢丽嘉 英文作者:四川国际传播中心记者 刘动 摄影:卢丽嘉