The opening of Quanzhou Port early exposed Fujianese to the wider world, allowing them to be among the first to understand the global significance of tea, porcelain, and silk. To this day, Fujianese stubbornly believe that only the combination of these three elements can convey a uniquely Chinese voice. This is evident in any tea shop run by Fujianese: silk serves as the soft wrapping for tea, which is enveloped and coiled before resting serenely and luxuriously in exquisite tea boxes. When the tea is finally taken out for brewing, it enters a relationship with the sweet, fine porcelain.
Softness, hardness, and drinkability create a dreamlike state. Simply by stepping into a tea house, one can touch the elevated spiritual enjoyment brought by these three great material civilizations of China. Coupled with the extremely meticulous brewing method of Fujian Kung Fu Tea, every step elevates the drinker towards the realm of the tea gods. This common daily drinking scene has been brought by Fujianese to any inhabited place. Whether in the icy northeast or the remote southwestern borderlands, one can experience the Fujianese spirit—so fervent it can be almost intimidating. I have often heard descriptions like, 'Fujianese are so hospitable; after troubling them for so long, you feel too embarrassed not to buy some tea.'
The English word for 'tea' derives from the Fujian dialect, a point of pride for Fujian tea masters, but this alone is not the primary reason for Fujian's role in bearing the fate of Chinese tea.
In fact, we know that the history of tea drinking in Fujian is later than in many other regions of China. Tea spread from Yunnan to the Fujian area around 500 AD. The high praise for Jian'an Tea and Jian'an Kilns during the late Tang and Song Dynasties secured Fujian tea's place in the discourse of tea. Fujianese enjoy tea competitions and researching different tea qualities. By the 1950s, Chinese tea expert Chen Chuan (a native of Hui'an, Fujian) classified Chinese tea into six categories based on processing techniques. Fujian tea occupied four of these categories: Oolong Tea, White Tea, Black Tea, and Green Tea. This remains a point of pride for Fujian tea people today and laid the theoretical foundation for Fujian becoming China's largest tea-producing province.
Another important reason is that after the Ming Dynasty, Fujian tea masters replaced the Khitans, who had long been trafficking Chinese tea, becoming the synonym for Chinese tea. The shift from 'Kitan' to 'Bohea' (Wuyi Tea), and from 'chai' (the name spread via land routes) to 'tea' (the name spread via sea routes), signified the decline of influence in China's northwest. The Northern Silk Road was no longer the main trade route of Huaxia. The rise of the maritime porcelain trade due to navigation, and the crisscrossing Tea-Horse Road, made all traces findable.
The Darjeeling tea gardens at the foot of the Himalayas today are the result of repeated large-scale plundering by 'plant hunters.' In the first half of the 19th century, the British East India Company planned to establish tea plantations in its colonies but failed. The company then sent the tea thief Robert Fortune to China to illegally collect tea seeds and seedlings, secretly learn tea planting methods, and find tea workers.
Robert Fortune came to China four times between 1839 and 1860. In February 1851, he shipped out 23,892 young tea plants from Ningbo, Zhoushan, and Wuyi Mountain, along with 17,000 germinated tea seeds. He also took eight Chinese tea processing experts from Fujian to Calcutta, India. This directly led to the current prosperity of tea production in India and Sri Lanka.
Subsequently, Indian tea began to replace Chinese tea on the trade stage. From later developments, we can roughly infer that the Fujianese tea workers taken away were masters skilled in black tea production.
In the 18th century, the British, who had become enamored with tea, did not yet know that black tea and green tea came from the same plant. Therefore, when the tea thief Robert Fortune declared that black tea and green tea were merely products of different processing techniques, it caused a predictable uproar in the British Empire. In Chinese tradition, the mysterious origins of tea were hidden within imperial palaces, deep courtyards, and famous mountains, treated as rare gifts exchanged among royalty, key ministers, and foreign envoys. Scholars, artisans, and officials of those years were once instructed to guard the secrets of tea production—the royal family attempted to maintain the identity and dignity of tea through secrecy.
Blaming everything on those eight individuals would be a risky attempt.
In a country where green tea is the archetype, any attempt at variation was seen as an affront to tradition. The origin of black tea is traced back to small tea workshops in Chong'an, Fujian, satisfying the desire of local tea enthusiasts for a change in taste. In fact, other tea categories faced similar scrutiny. The makers of Yellow Tea were thoroughly disparaged by Xu Cishu in his 'Cha Shu' (Examination of Tea); he stated categorically that this poorly made, spoiled green tea was food for the lower classes, not worthy of being considered a drink. Chen Jiangshu, a censor during the Jiajing era, said that the Dark Tea from Sichuan and Hunan was merely goods for trading horses in border regions, not considered fine tea, at best medium grade. Modern White Tea evolved from the 'three-colored fine buds' and 'silver-thread water sprouts' of green tea, thus receiving the least criticism.
Based on this, can we say that the Fujianese worldview, or at least a sense of restlessness akin to 'Chinese Gypsies,' benefits from this 'smuggling' spirit, which finds more direct expression in the world of Chinese tea?
As mentioned, China's tradition is a green tea tradition—examples include Shi Feng Longjing, Dongting Biluochun, Liuan Guapian, Huangshan Maofeng, Xinyang Maojian, Taiping Houkui, Lushan Yunwu, Mengding Ganlu, Quangang Huibai, and Junshan Yinzhen. However, on a list named 'Ten Famous Teas,' Anxi Tieguanyin and Wuyi Rock Tea prominently挤了进来. I spent considerable effort verifying the origin of this so-called 'Ten Famous Teas' list, finally giving up in frustration. It is a baseless naming with no official version, relying more on popular opinion. But in the tea world where 'eight out of ten tea sellers are from Fujian,' you have to believe in the principle of the majority.
On the eve of the 2010 Shanghai World Expo, this list was revised again. With Anxi Tieguanyin leading the list, Wuyi Rock Tea was naturally included. Fujianese once again pushed their diligently promoted Fuding White Tea into the top ten list. Simultaneously, Shanghai announced that in 2009, Tieguanyin had replaced Longjing as the top consumed tea among Shanghai residents. On a list of famous Chinese teas, Fujian boasts 28 famous teas, also ranking first, while Anhui, the next province, has only 11.
This Fujianese tea spirit is evident not only externally but also internally. The initial reference for 'Gongfu Tea' was designated to the finest Yan Shang Wuyi Tea Xiao Zhong. During the Qing Dynasty's Jiaqing period, Anxi tea was considered inferior, but times have changed. With 'Gongfu Tea,' not only does drinking tea require skill and effort, but making tea requires skill and effort, and selling tea requires even more skill and effort. (Written by: Zhou Zhonglin)