As history entered the Sui Dynasty, everything seemed to become more grand in scale. The protracted period of war and division that had lasted for over three hundred years among the Chinese nation came to an end. Over the course of a thousand years, Tea culture had gathered its strength and was poised to advance into the flourishing period of the Tang Dynasty.

In this transitional era, Tea culture once again marked its journey with a story about using tea as medicine, bringing a satisfying conclusion to its long development. Although the “Book of Sui” was compiled by people of the Tang Dynasty, it records a poem titled “Tea Praise” which was sung during the Sui era. It is said that Emperor Wen of Sui had a dream where a deity “replaced his brain and skull,” after which he suffered from headaches. A monk then told him a secret formula: “There is a herb in the mountains, brew it and drink it, and you will recover; taking it regularly will be effective.” From then on, Emperor Wen of Sui persisted in Drinking Tea, and indeed saw results. As a result, people from all walks of life began to gather this medicinal herb known as tea.

The custom of drinking tea spread across the vast lands of China, and the song “Tea Praise” celebrated the wondrous qualities of this divine herb: “Exhausting the annals of spring and autumn, deciphering the river maps, is not as valuable as loading a cart with tea.” The story of Emperor Wen of Sui treating his headache with tea indicates that the medicinal benefits of tea had transcended the narrow realm of merely refreshing and relieving boredom. When the people of the Tang Dynasty declared “tea is the medicine for all illnesses,” the prosperous era of tea culture had arrived.

From the literature before the Tang Dynasty, we can see that tea was not only used as medicine but also as food, and its use likely predates its consumption as a beverage. The earliest record of consuming tea as food is found in “Spring and Autumn Annals of Yan”: “When Ying served as the prime minister of Duke Jing of Qi, he ate simple millet porridge, roasted three eggs and five quails, and had tea leaves as vegetables.” This suggests that during the Spring and Autumn period, tea was already consumed as a vegetable.

The “Food Taboos” by Hu Jushi and “Food Discussions” by Hua Tuo, which we have previously introduced as documents regarding the medicinal use of tea, are actually also historical records of consuming tea as food based on the principle of “food and medicine sharing the same origin.” They resemble what we now call medicinal cuisine. In particular, “Food Taboos” states: “Long-term consumption of bitter tea leads to transformation, and when consumed with leeks, it causes weight gain.” This implies that at the time, people consumed tea together with leeks as a dish, otherwise there would be no experience of “causing weight gain.”

Tea was not only used as a vegetable but also combined with rice to make tea porridge. In “Instructions of the Chief Inspector” written by Fu Yan (239-294) during the Western Jin Dynasty: “I heard that in the south, there was a woman from Shu who sold tea porridge, and the official broke her utensils. Later, she sold cakes in the market while prohibiting the sale of tea porridge, thus making life difficult for the old woman from Shu. Why?” The fact that tea porridge was sold as a commodity in the market suggests that it was a common food item during the Western Jin Dynasty. Therefore, the practice of making tea porridge probably dates back earlier than the Western Jin Dynasty.

When did tea begin to be consumed as a beverage? To trace its distant origins, one must delve into similarly ancient texts from before the Tang Dynasty. The line from the “Classic of Poetry” — “Who says tea is bitter? Its sweetness is like honey” — has been cited as the earliest evidence of tea being consumed as a beverage. However, opponents have convincingly refuted this claim, casting doubt on the authenticity of this early reference to tea drinking.

In the third year of Shenju (59 BCE) during the reign of Emperor Xuan of the Western Han Dynasty, Wang Bao, who held the position of Counselor, wrote “Pact with a Servant,” which is widely accepted as the earliest documented reference to tea drinking. This lengthy 600-character document was a contract between the author, Wang Bao, and a servant named “Bian Liao,” detailing numerous labor tasks that the servant was required to perform, causing him to beg for mercy.

There were two tasks related to tea mentioned in the pact: “Cutting fish and turtle, preparing tea and washing the utensils,” and “Buying tea in Wuyang and carrying it by the Yang family.” “Preparing tea and washing the utensils” refers to brewing tea and cleaning the tea utensils for the master's consumption. “Buying tea in Wuyang” means purchasing tea leaves in Wuyang for the master to drink. This historical record not only provides us with the earliest information about tea drinking but is also the earliest documentation of tea as a commodity.

If tea was available for purchase in the market, it indicates that tea drinking was a common activity in daily life, at least prevalent among the households of officials. Therefore, the origins of tea drinking can be traced back even further than the Western Han Dynasty. Wuyang, located in present-day Pengshan County, Sichuan, corresponds with the statement in the “Records of Huayang Kingdom: History of Shu” from the Jin Dynasty that “Nan'an and Wuyang both produce famous teas,” which explains why Wang Bao would buy tea in Wuyang. From this record, we can deduce that tea drinking was widespread in Sichuan during the Western Han Dynasty, establishing Sichuan as one of the main birthplaces of tea production and consumption in China. This is the significant value of “Pact with a Servant” in the history of tea literature.

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