In the height of summer, Mangshi City's Sandaishan Deang Township in the Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture is a lush green landscape of trees and bamboo groves. Driving along the old section of National Highway 320 from Mangshi to Ruili, the tea fields on the mountains are a vibrant green through the car window.
Sandaishan is the only Deang township in China, with a Deang population of 4,390, accounting for 22% of the total Deang population nationwide. Chudonggua Village is the core protected area for the Deang people. Walking into Chudonggua Village, the village is built on the mountain, with stilt houses of the “four-eave outflow” type known as “chuandoufang” scattered throughout the village. In 2009, Zhao Latui elevated his family's existing stilt house to create a homestay while preserving the original architectural style of the Deang people. “Nowadays, the gross income from tea production and our homestay business is around 100,000 RMB per year.”
The courtyard in front of his house is filled with Fermented tea being sun-dried. “Fermented tea is a characteristic drink of the Deang people, and the skill of making it must be passed down,” says Zhao Latui, a master technician in fermented tea production. Despite the complex process of making fermented tea, he insists on producing it every year.
As the tourism reputation of Deang villages grows, more and more visitors from outside the region have come to love the Deang fermented tea.
The Deang people are a mountain minority living in the border areas between China and Myanmar. Their language belongs to the Wa-Deang branch of the Mon-Khmer family within the Austroasiatic language group. The language is divided into three dialects: “Bulei,” “Rumai,” and “Ruojin.” They do not have their own written script but, due to long-term interactions with the Dai, Han, and Jingpo peoples, many are fluent in Dai, Chinese, and Jingpo languages.
The Deang people originate from the ancient Pu people and have close ties with the “Ailao” kingdom. Before the Qing Dynasty, historical records referred to the Deang, Bulang, and Va peoples in Yunnan Province collectively as “Pu” or “Puman.”
The “Pu people” were already residing along the Nu River by the second century BCE, arriving in the region before the Achang and Jingpo peoples, and they were among the earliest ethnic groups to develop the Baoshan and Dehong areas. During the Sui and Tang dynasties, they were known as “Mangman,” “Puzi Man,” and “Wangjuzi Man.”
They submitted to the rule of the Han and Jin dynasties, as well as the Nanzhao and Dali Kingdoms. In the later period of the Song Dynasty, the Deang ancestors established their own regional governance, the “Jinchiguo” (Kingdom of Golden Teeth).
1\. Fixing
2\. Stir-frying
3\. Master Technician Zhao Latui kneading the tea
4\. Dragon bamboo used to hold the kneaded tea
The “Pu people” belonged to Yongchang Commandery (present-day Baoshan City, Yunnan) during the Han Dynasty. From the Tang and Song dynasties through the Yuan and Ming periods, the Deang ancestors, the “Mangshi Man,” lived along the Lancang River. In the Yuan Dynasty, the “Mangshi Road Military-Civilian Governorate” was established in present-day Luxi, and Ali (allegedly a Deang chieftain) was appointed as the local official. According to the Deang folk epic “Dagudaleng Gelaibiao,” “The Deang people are transformed from tea, and tea is the root of the Deang people.” Planting, drinking, and giving tea tell the story of the ancient Deang people's journey from antiquity, carrying deep cultural significance.
For thousands of years, tea has been an essential beverage for social interaction and medicinal purposes among the Deang people. According to “Shennong's Herbal Classic,” “Shennong tasted herbs and encountered seventy-two poisons in a single day, which were cured by tea.” Li Shizhen's “Compendium of Materia medica” states that “although its taste is bitter, its nature is thin, making it yin within yang, capable of ascending and descending.” Drinking Deang fermented tea can clear heat and quench thirst, reduce inflammation, relieve alcohol effects, refresh the mind and throat, and aid digestion.
Deang folklore suggests that regularly drinking fermented tea can enhance beauty and extend life. Tea is the most important beverage for the Deang people. In particular, adult men and middle-aged and elderly women cannot go a day without tea, and they prefer strong tea.
5\. Sealing the bamboo tubes filled with tea.
6\. Lining the pit with banana leaves and burying the bamboo tubes with the mouth facing down, covering them with soil for 6 to 8 months before retrieving them.
7\. Fermented tea retrieved from the bamboo tubes after being buried for six months.
8\. Steaming the retrieved fermented tea and pounding it into a paste in a special Deang mortar.
When Drinking Tea, they often place a large handful of tea leaves in a small teapot, add a little water, and boil it. Once the tea turns a dark Coffee color, they pour it into small cups for consumption. Because this tea is very strong, it can easily make one excited and unable to sleep at night.
However, the Deang people, who frequently drink it, become addicted to it. If they don't drink it for a day, they feel weak and lack energy. Conversely, if they Brew a pot of strong tea when they are tired, a few sips will immediately refresh their spirits. Tea is not only an important part of daily life for the Deang people but also holds a significant place in their social lives. They almost never go a moment without tea. The Deang people believe that “when tea is offered, the intention is conveyed.” When guests arrive, they are first served tea; when visiting relatives and friends or sending a marriage proposal, tea is presented as a gift. For invitations to important events, a small packet of tea tied with red thread serves as an invitation. When two people have a disagreement, the one at fault can offer a package of tea to seek forgiveness. It is evident that the role of tea is irreplaceable by other goods. Due to the special status and function of tea, the consumption of tea is substantial