Three hundred years of the rise and fall of the ancient six major tea mountains

Three hundred years of the rise and fall of the ancient six major tea mountains

During the 300 years from the end of the Ming Dynasty to the present, the six Pu'er Chashan in Xishuangbanna experienced three major ups and downs with the changes of the times.

The first decline: in the middle and late Qing Dynasty, the Qing government continued to increase the burden on the peasants, and the peasants were overwhelmed. The economic interests of the tea farmers were greatly damaged. The tea merchants were also unprofitable. Many tea merchants and caravans had to go otherwise. On his way, tea farmers have abandoned the tea garden and made another living. The tea production of the six major tea mountains has been declining year by year. At the end of the Qing Dynasty, due to local chaos, robbers and bees, traffic jams, business trips and fears, tea business has no sales, tea merchants have closed down. In the past, the scene of tea merchants and horses has ceased to exist, the six major tea mountains The tea trade is also in ruins.

The second decline: In the second year of the Republic of China (1913), the Han merchants in the mainland gradually entered the Chashan to purchase tea and sold it to Laizhou, Vietnam. The transportation relied on the caravan and the cattle help. It took a month for the cattle to transport once. With the increase in tea sales year by year, the six major tea mountain teas began to recover slowly, and some tea numbers in the past began to resume tea processing. In Yibang, in addition to the old tea houses such as Qingfeng, Qingfengyi, Yuanchang and Hengsheng, there have been new additions to the park, Huimin Tea House and Shengyixiang. Hongchang and other tea houses. However, the old tea garden has not been completely restored. Although there are many teas, the production is limited. There are only about 2,000 tons per year. The teas buy each other's tea. Some tea farmers have taken some fake tea for the immediate benefit. The sales have once again been received. Great impact.

After the second rise of the “Pu'er Tea” of the six major tea mountains, the products were mainly shipped to Laizhou, Vietnam for sale. At that time, Vietnam was occupied by France. The French saw that China’s “Pu'er Tea” was very popular in Vietnam. Even if the market was controlled by the Chinese, it would increase the import tariff of “Pu'er Tea” and cause protests from Chinese tea merchants. Subsequently, the French ordered the ban on China's “Pu'er Tea” sales in Vietnam, and forced Chinese merchants to transport all the “Pu'er Tea” shipped to Vietnam. Under the circumstance of helplessness, Chinese businessmen had to negotiate privately with local Chinese businessmen and barely accepted the tea. They only collected a little return travel expenses. After the tea merchants returned to China, the owners of the caravans and cattle gangs came to recover the freight. The tea merchants had to change the seller’s debts, and the tea numbers closed down again. The tea market was sluggish. At this point, the Great Tea Mountain appeared in the Great Depression.

At the same time that the six major tea mountain “Pu'er Tea” flourished, the tea trade in the Bohai Tea Area is also in full swing. Its products are mainly sold through Myanmar to India, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, and Sichuan, China. Tibet and other places. During the Second World War, the domestic situation was unstable and road transportation was difficult, which greatly restricted the sales of tea. After the outbreak of the Pacific War, the newly built Fohai Tea Factory had to reluctantly evacuate, and most private tea houses also closed down.

The third decline: After 1949, the civil war ended and the domestic situation stabilized. Governments at all levels attached great importance to restoring old tea gardens and promoting tea production. Many special meetings were held for research. From 1952, tea production began to recover again. Some old tea houses have begun the processing of Pu'er tea. By 1953, the country had undergone industrial and commercial transformation, and the private tea house had implemented a public-private partnership operation system. Due to the control of the national planned economy, tea is listed as a commodity purchased and sold. The “Pu'er Tea” produced by the six major tea mountains and the Bohai tea area is uniformly acquired by the government and is allocated and sold according to the plans and instructions of the higher authorities. Tea from private tea houses can only be retailed and not wholesaled. In 1955, cooperatives were implemented in rural areas. From the end of 1956 to 1957, the people's communes were established in rural areas. The private tea houses of the six major tea mountains were completely disbanded, followed by state-owned tea purchasing stations and preliminary establishments throughout all tea-producing areas. In 1958, almost all the tea in the tea area was used to make green tea and black tea. It was mainly supplied to the domestic market. Some black teas were also exported to the former Soviet Union and Eastern European countries. The traditional processing of Pu'er tea has been rarely received.

From the mid-1960s to the late 1990s, the six major Chashan ancient tea gardens revived more than 30 years of spring and autumn, and once again revived its unique brilliance. Today's six major tea mountains are home tea, households sell tea, tea merchants are endless, tea has become one of the main economic sources of local farmers.