Thats how, the first tea cuppa was accidentally made and shen nung became the worlds first tea drinker. Chinese mythological tales cite the origin of teadrinking to 2737 bc, when chinese emporor shen nung sips boiled drinking water into which a tea leaf has floated. Lu yu wrote in his monumental book the classic of tea. Around 2500 bc, the first chinese herbal, shen nung pen tsao ching, was written by emperor shen nung.
It is thought that tea trees cultivated in other countries have their origin directly or indirectly from china. He was also known as the divine healer and divine cultivator. The chinese emperor, shen nung, was the promoter of chinese agriculture in general and tea in particular. Its makes a perfect coffee table book and is a must have for any english speaking tea scholar or tea enthusiast, but just not a great first book to read about tea. Here is the fascinating account of what a simple tea leaf did to change the course of history. It also refers that the tea leaf quenches thirst, lessens the desire for sleep, gladdens and cheers the heart. In shen nungs medical book pen tsao, it is written. Supposedly he ate a yellow flower of a weed that caused his intestines to rupture before he had time to take the antidotal tea. This particular emperor liked his water to be as clean as possible something that wasnt always easy to obtain in his time.
T he emperor set up camp with his entourage in the shade of a large tree. An interesting and dedicated herbalist, shen nung personally tasted each of these herbs andyou guessed itunfortunately died due to a toxic overdose, all in the name of plant medicine. If shennong existed outside of myth, he was the second emperor in a group known as the three sovereigns. More important, the earliest version of shen nungs book was not written until the second or third century ad, and its references to tea date from that era, not from the dawn of chinese history, when shen nung lived. Some wild tea trees found in yunnan province are believed to be thousands of years old. The servant had boiled the water for hygienic reasons before the emperor was to drink it. His treatise propelled him into near sainthood in his own lifetime. Accidental discovery of tea in 2737 bc, legend has it that leaves from a tree dropped into emperor shen nung s cup of boiling water.
Tea permeated every aspect of chinese society and in 800 ad a chinese scholar named lu yu wrote a definitive book on tea entitled the classic of tea. In chinese history there is reference to tea as far back as 5000 years. Shen nung was the first to recognize the potential health benefits of tea and is considered the father of chinese medicine. Tea was the subject of books and poetry, the favorite drink of emperors, and a. Emperor shennung was the second of chinas mythical emperors 35002600 bce. It has shaped history throughout china and is now a beverage that has both shaped the health and history of china with the rest of the world.
The emperor found the taste to be refreshing, and insisted upon having more. As the story goes, tea was first discovered when the chinese emperor shen nung dried leaves from the tea plant fell into his cup of hot water in 2737 bce during his travels. Shen nung, a renowned herbalist, decided to try the infusion that his servant had accidentally created. In reality, martin notes, shen nung was probably a creation of legend and humans may have already been drinking tea for about half a million years. The tea culture was highlighted in a book by lu yu 780 a. Shennong is also known as wugushen five grains, or wuguxiandi first deity of the five grains. Based on the medical book pen tsao, attributed to shen nung, there are references which credit tea with being good for tumors or abscesses. However, we are able to access little information about how herbal medicines were used prior to the compilation of the shennong herbal, about 1,800 years ago. The beginning is clouded in legend, the most famous of which concerns the emperor shen nung pronounced shaynung. Shen nung who studied plants and herbs was in the court yard when the leaf of. The divine farmer who discovered tea first teasenz. Ukers, while a masterpiece in its own right, reads more like a long journal or an encyclopedia than it does a story or a quick reference guide to tea. In the beginning tea is an ancient beverage and one legend says that it was discovered in china around 2737 bc by emperor shen nung. Although several countries have their own tea origin myths, the widely accepted story begins in 2737 bc in ancient china with the chinese emperor shen nung shennong, chinese.
Emperor shen nung discovered tea when leaves from a wild tree blew into his pot of boiling water. China is the first country in the world to drink, produce and cultivate tea. History of tea learn about tea history coffee tea warehouse. Regardless, it is nonetheless one of the most accepted explanations available, and thus remains prominent in almost all tea history books as well as chinese tradition. The erya, a chinese dictionary dated to the 3rd century bce, records that an infusion of some kind of leaf was used as early as the zhou dynasty 1046256 bce while historically the origin of tea as a medicinal herb useful for staying awake is unclear, china is considered to have the earliest records of tea drinking, with recorded tea use in its history dating back to the first millennium. The heat of the fire brought some of the leaves of the long branches of the tree to dry out. Mar 22, 2017 shennong, which means god farmer or god peasant, is a deity in chinese religion.
Legendary emperor shen nung is said to have discovered many medicinal properties of plants. The story goes that one day, while resting under a tree, shen nung, who always boiled his water, saw a few leaves fall into the. Learn how tea drinking originated and its cultural importance, with our complete. Under his various names, shennong is the patron deity of farmers, rice traders, and practitioners of traditional chinese medicine tcm.
Widely considered the father of chinese medicine, he catalogued over 365 species of medicinal plants which he personally tasted. History of tea in ancient china, shen nong, shi ji, and. It focused on grasses and roots, documenting 365 herbs. According to legend, in 2737 bc, the chinese emperor shen nung was sitting beneath a tree while his servant boiled drinking water, when some leaves from the tree blew into the water. The chinese have dramatized the advent of tea by ascribing it to the reign of legendary emperor shen nung, who lived during 2737 bc. Later tea spread to japan, when a buddhist priest by the name eisai returned from a trip to china with tea seeds and set about growing and drinking green tea. This book outlined everything tea, how to cultivate, pick, brew etc. He is a mythical sage healer and ruler of prehistoric china.
Nov 30, 20 regardless, it is nonetheless one of the most accepted explanations available, and thus remains prominent in almost all tea history books as well as chinese tradition. A tea leaf accidentally fell into his bowl of hot water, and the rest is history. A medicine book shen nong ben chao stated that shen. Legend tea is nearly 5,000 years old and was discovered, as legend has it, in 2737 b. In chinese legend, shen nung died in tea hill cha lin county of hunan province. He was immediately interested in the pleasant scent of the resulting brew, and drank some. Legend has it that the beverage was discovered by chinese emperor shen nung around 2800 b. The history of tea in china is long and complex, for the chinese have enjoyed tea for millennia. Health benefits of tea herbal medicine ncbi bookshelf. His chance discovery of tea is placed in the precise yet historically unfounded year of 2737 bc. We know that the chinese have been drinking tea for a long time, first brewing it with leaves from tea trees growing in the wild. The practice of drinking tea has a long history in china. The popular legend says tea was discovered by emperor shennong in ancient china.
The chinese have been drinking tea for 5,000 years. Tel asiado is a writer, author, content producer, and business consultant. It all began, the legend goes, one evening in the year2737 b. According to legend, the shen nong or shen nung, an early emperor was a skilled ruler, creative scientist and patron of the arts. Tea has a history of more than 2000 years in china since its discovery by shennong, through the development during tang and song, and innovations in ming and qing. The history of ginseng in the management of erectile. Camellia sinensis is the same tea plant we use today for daily green tea, black tea, white tea, and oolong tea for five billion people. According to a chinese legend, tea was discovered accidentally by emperor shennung, approximately 2737 years before christ.
Legend says the emperor described a warm feeling as. We offer a selection of well written and highly recommended books that cover the various aspects of teas history, if you would like to explore it further. Shennong, which means god farmer or god peasant, is a deity in chinese religion. Shennong, also called yandi, was one of the three emperors in the ancient time who was believed to be living in the shennong period about 2700 year ago. Rooibos is an herbal tea made from a plant that grows in south africa. Oct 23, 2017 lets find out where and how tea came to be a drink so many of us enjoy. However, some scholars of ancient china now believe shen nong might in fact. The best known myth about the first cup of tea ever brewed is almost 5000 years old. The history of tea tea history, tea etiquette, tea facts. Worshipped as a god for the many gifts he gave to china, the discovery of tea is attributed to him and even dated to 2737 b. The history of tea is complex, spanning over centuries. Tea leaves are dried and processed before being made into a pot of tea.
Shennong, shennong, which can be variously translated as divine farmer or divine peasant, agriculture god, also known as the wugushen five grains or five cereals god, wuguxiandi. Tea is produced from processing the leaves and leaf buds of the tea bush, camellia sinensis. Image by xu jetian scanned by szilas from the book kinai kolteszet. The history of tea with images tea history, tea etiquette. The history of tea dates back to ancient china, almost 5,000 years ago. Traditional chinese history describes shennong as a real person of. The history of tea the tea republic lets find out where and how tea came to be a drink so many of us enjoy. This book advocates the benefits of tea drinking and systematically describes the. Ancient china shen nung, the divine cultivator, was a renowned herbalist and believed to be the father of ancient chinese agriculture. He is thought to have taught the chinese how to practice agriculture, the use of herbal drugs, the application of plantbased medicine. The insatiable quest for origin of tea everything tea.
The second emperor of china, shen nung, is believed to have discovered tea when the leaf of the plant camellia sinensis blew into his cup of hot water 2737 bce. More important, the earliest version of shen nung s book was not written until the second or third century ad, and its references to tea date from that era, not from the dawn of chinese history, when shen nung lived. The emperor was so pleased by the aroma and flavor, the tea drinking tradition was founded. The origin of the chinese pharmacological book the herbal also known by various other names has been lost in history and is now the subject of numerous myths and legends.
The ancient chinese long ago discovered the healing properties of tea. Another legend, from india, attributes the discovery of tea to a buddhist monk named daruma, or bodhidharma, who later became the founder of zen buddhism. The medicine book entitled shennong ben cao jing stated that shennong tasted hundreds of herbs, he encountered seventy two. The first story said that shennong often went to the mountains to collect herbs in order to treat peoples diseases. Its leaves look like needles and are fermented like regular tea leaves. Emperor shen nung was a ma with advanced theories of hygiene. Tea at this time was taken as a medicinal drink and its origin lies in the old valley of assam, between china and india, on the banks of the river brahmaputra.
According to legend, some 5,000 years ago, emperor shen nung who was travelling around the chinese countryside had asked for his water to be boiled as it was foul and unfit for drinking. According to the history of tea, shennong was the first one who used tea. Legend has it that tea was discovered by chinese emperor shen nung in 2737 bce. Shen nong shen nung, or shennong is given the credit for discovering the health benefits of tea from the tea plant camellia sinensis in the year 2737 b.
1101 551 1271 632 167 1303 1350 1339 874 634 1009 1197 1340 1426 1465 816 1060 431 774 976 1240 1429 205 1624 359 658 1364 161 411 165 1203 815 643 1213 476