Wuyi Mountain is the birthplace of black tea and Oolong Tea worldwide. It can be said that the mountains are striking, graceful, and perilous, the water is clear, tranquil, and green, and naturally, the tea is also clear, fragrant, and vibrant. People come to know Wuyi tea through ancient literati's appreciation and poetic tributes, or writings about picking tea leaves, processing tea, drawing water for brewing, or the joys and pleasures of tea tasting.
The literary tradition of Wuyi tea can be traced back to the Tang Dynasty. Around the time of Emperor Xizong of Tang, Sun Qiao, a scholar in the Secretariat, mentioned Wuyi tea in his letter “Sending Tea to Jiao Xingbu,” in which he wrote:
Fifteen attendants of Late Sweetness were sent to serve in your study. These men were all picked by thunder and mixed with water. They hail from the red mountains and Blue waters of Jianyang, a product of the moon ravine and cloud niche. Please do not use them lightly.
Ancient people often brewed tea in their studies, hence Sun Qiao's reference to “servants dispatched to the study.” In this brief letter, every word was carefully chosen to depict Wuyi tea in an incredibly beautiful manner. Particularly, using the term “Late Sweetness” to metaphorically describe the characteristic quality of Wuyi tea—strong at first and then sweet and long-lasting—preserved the first definitive written record of Wuyi tea in history.
Su Dongpo, a great writer of the Northern Song Dynasty, moved by the beauty of Wuyi tea, named it “Ye Jia” and wrote “The Biography of Ye Jia.” In the text, he wrote:
Ye Jia was a man from Fujian… He loved to travel to famous mountains and upon reaching Wuyi, he was delighted and settled there… Ye Jia, with a mild and serene flavor, is lovable and pure, bearing a well-deserved reputation… He has the posture of dragons and phoenixes… His appearance is like Iron, his nature is firm and robust… His spirit is as light as floating clouds.
Su Dongpo compared Wuyi tea to a person, naming him Ye Jia, a man from Fujian who loved traveling to famous mountains. When he reached Wuyi Mountain, the scenery pleased him so much that he settled there. Ye Jia had a mild and serene flavor, lovable and pure, and bore a well-deserved reputation. He was graceful and ethereal, possessing the demeanor of dragons and phoenixes. Ye Jia's appearance resembled iron, his nature was firm and robust, and his spirit was as light as refreshing floating clouds.
Su Dongpo portrayed the beautiful characteristics of Wuyi tea vividly and accurately. Su Dongpo believed that if the Han emperor tasted Wuyi tea, he would have commented: At first, I did not think highly of Ye Jia, but after a long taste, I found him quite delightful, and my spirit became refreshingly awake. The Book says, “Open your heart and nourish mine,” referring to Ye Jia.
“Quite delightful” implies that even the emperor was particularly fond of Wuyi tea. “My spirit became refreshingly awake” means that the emperor's “spirit” could only become “refreshingly awake” with the help of Wuyi tea. “Open your heart and nourish mine, referring to Ye Jia” further clarifies that Ye Jia inspired the emperor's mind and nourished his soul. Su Dongpo's evaluation of “Ye Jia,” representing Wuyi tea, was incomparably high.
Bai Yuchan, one of the five patriarchs of Southern Daoism, had a particular fondness for Wuyi tea. To taste Wuyi tea, he traveled to and preached in Wuyi Mountain several times, and after leaving, he returned again and again, spending a total of over ten years there. He wrote many poems and articles praising Wuyi tea, such as the tea poem “Lying in the Clouds”:
The fairy's house is filled with heavenly fragrance, a zither, a sword, and a cup of tea. His robe always bears the color of smoke and mist, not tempting the world's peach and Plum blossoms.
This poem depicts the extraordinary and unsullied quality of Wuyi tea, creating a profound sense of beauty that instantly evokes a deep and infinite longing, allowing one to feel the ethereal realm beyond the beautiful scenery and the busy life.
Zhu Xi, the great synthesizer of Song Neo-Confucianism, during his time teaching in Wuyi Mountain, personally planted, picked, and processed tea, showing his deep love for Wuyi tea. In 1183, when the Wuyi Academy was completed, Zhu Xi, on the banks of the Nine-Bend Stream near the Fifth Bend, taught students, wrote books, and enjoyed tea, feeling particularly good, and thus wrote the popular tea poem “Spring Valley”:
High above in Wuyi lies Penglai, where I planted spiritual roots with my own hands. In a secluded place, the beauty remains forever, while the valley is still cold and bees and butterflies have not yet fully arrived. The red dress seems to want to make people drunk, and the brocade screen should be opened for guests. Where does one's refreshed heart go after drinking? Far mountains pile up in layers of verdant green.
The general meaning of this poem by Zhu Xi is: High above in Wuyi Mountain, the scenery is as beautiful as the mythical Penglai. There, I planted tea trees. This place is secluded and remote, free from external disturbances, and its beauty lingers constantly. The spring chill is biting, and in the beautiful valley, bees and butterflies have not yet swarmed in large numbers. The red dress woven by the fairies of the Cloth Spreading Rock makes one linger with drunken delight. The Hidden Screen Peak, like the brocade screen of this beautiful valley, is gradually opening for arriving guests. In such a bright early spring, in such a mesmerizing valley, savoring such wonderful tea, the clear and bright mood rises into the air, not knowing where to fly, seeing only far-off mountains piled up in layers of verdant green, stretching to the distant horizon.
Zhu Xi was thus intoxicated by the beautiful scenery of Wuyi, using tea as a means to invigorate the spirit, dispel drowsiness, and awaken the mind. He drank tea continuously throughout his life. Planting, picking, processing, and enjoying tea served as a form of adjustment for his writing and teaching, demonstrating the greatness of a humble and approachable person and his boundless love for life. At the same time, Wuyi tea gained fame due to Zhu Xi's affection and continued to be widely loved and sought after by later literati.
Xu Youren, a grand scholar of the Yuan Dynasty, wrote a tea poem titled “Praising Wine and Orchid Wax Following the Rhyme of Shuzhai”:
Even ugly women in empty houses seek it, seven bowls are not as good as a cup. Chaos and clouds of yellow milk are in disarray, wax fragrance floats on top of the spotted tea. It does not allow J