A Short History of Chinese Tea: From Legend to Gongfu

Tea has been part of Chinese life for well over two thousand years. Legend credits the mythical emperor Shennong with discovering it; in reality, tea plants were first used in southwest China, around Yunnan and Sichuan. Over the centuries the way people drank it changed completely: in the Tang dynasty (618–907) tea was pressed into cakes and boiled, and Lu Yu wrote the first book about it; in the Song (960–1279) it was ground into powder and whisked; in the Ming (1368–1644) loose-leaf steeping took over; oolong and red tea (what the West calls black tea) appeared around the turn of the Ming and Qing; and in the Qing (1644–1912) tea became a global trade.

Tea history at a glance#

Legend and origins#

The best-known story says the emperor Shennong, the "Divine Farmer," was boiling water when leaves blew into his pot. He drank it and found it refreshing. It's a charming myth with no historical basis.

Botanically, the tea plant comes from southwest China and the neighbouring regions. Tea was first chewed, eaten or used as medicine, and only later became an everyday drink. By the Han dynasty it was being traded, and by the Tang it was drunk across China.

The Tang: boiled tea and Lu Yu#

In the Tang dynasty tea was steamed, pounded and pressed into cakes. To drink it, people toasted the cake, ground it and boiled the powder in water, sometimes with salt. Around 760–780, Lu Yu wrote the Cha Jing (Classic of Tea), the first book devoted to tea, describing growing, making, boiling and drinking it, and even the best bowls. More in Lu Yu and the Classic of Tea.

The character 茶 (cha) also settled in the Tang, in the 8th century; before that, tea was written with an older, similar character and several other names.

The Song: whisked tea and contests#

In the Song dynasty, tea was ground to a fine powder, whisked with hot water in a bowl into a froth, and drunk from dark bowls that showed off the white foam. The most famous were Jian bowls from Fujian, with "hare's fur" and "partridge feather" glazes. Scholars held tea contests, judging the whiteness and lasting power of the foam. Japanese monks brought this way of drinking tea home, where it survives in matcha. More in Jian bowls.

The Ming: the loose-leaf revolution#

In 1391, the first Ming emperor, Hongwu, ordered that tribute tea be sent as loose leaf instead of pressed cakes, which were labour-intensive to make. Over time, steeping whole leaves in water became the normal way to drink tea in China. That change created the need for teapots and smaller cups, and Yixing clay teapots became famous. More in my Yixing teapot guide.

The Qing: oolong, red tea and the world#

Around the turn of the Ming and Qing dynasties, new styles developed: oolong in Fujian and red tea in the Wuyi mountains. In the south (Fujian, Guangdong, Chaozhou), people brewed strong tea in small pots with many short steeps: the roots of gongfu tea. Pressed tea kept travelling to Tibet along the Tea Horse Road, while tea went by land to Russia and by sea to Europe. The two routes also gave the world two words for tea; see why tea is called chai.

The 20th century and today#

The 20th century brought wars, a collapse in exports and, during the Cultural Revolution, the closing of many teahouses. Gongfu tea was revived and standardized in Taiwan in the 1970s, then returned to mainland China with the tea boom of the 1990s and 2000s. Today China is again the world's largest tea producer, and regional teas like Longjing, Da Hong Pao and pu-erh are national brands. More in my gongfu guide and Chinese tea ceremony.

How history shows up in your cup today#

Myths#

"Shennong discovered tea in 2737 BC." It's a legend; the date is traditional, not historical.

"The Chinese always drank tea the same way." Boiled, whisked and steeped tea each dominated different eras.

"Gongfu tea is thousands of years old." It developed in southern China in the Qing and was revived in the 1970s.

Practical advice#

You don't need history to enjoy tea, but it explains a lot, and it's a great antidote to anyone who says there's only one correct way to brew. Every era had its own "correct" way.

The bottom line#

Chinese tea began in the southwest, was boiled in the Tang, whisked in the Song and steeped from the Ming on, with oolong and red tea arriving around the turn of the Ming and Qing and gongfu brewing in the Qing. Each era left something in today's cup. More in my Chinese tea guide.