Throughout the Qing dynasty, the Six Great Tea Mountains were a melting pot of various groups, including local officials, merchants, and indigenous peoples, all of whom relied on the tea mountains for their livelihood. These diverse communities, like vibrant musical notes, collectively composed the symphony of Pu'er tea's destiny.
Old Yibang Street
After the establishment of the Puer Prefecture through the replacement of hereditary native officials with centrally appointed officials (the “substitution of natives with officials”), barriers between the Six Great Tea Mountains and the outside world were broken down. Merchants from other regions continuously poured into the tea mountains, where they interacted with the local inhabitants. While there were conflicts, there was also mutual benefit, and over time, these interactions led to a blending of cultures, painting a colorful picture of life in the tea mountains.
After the establishment of the Puer Prefecture, the Qing court formally appointed the local officials Wu Zhaohu of Yiwu, Cao Dangzai of Yibang, as well as Ba Longfu and La Zha Bian of Youle. The indigenous residents of the Six Great Tea Mountains at that time were primarily the Woni and Pu Man peoples. There were also some leaders among them known as heads. The incoming merchants had their own leaders, referred to as presidents, heads, leaders of guests, and chiefs of guests, who served as liaisons between the different groups.
Lion Statues of the Shiping Guild Hall (Yibang)
In 1741 during the reign of the Qianlong Emperor, the Manzhuan Guild Hall was constructed in Manzhuan Village under the jurisdiction of the Yibang local official. The construction was overseen by President Gao Banzhu and Yan Zhen. It is likely that they invited the Shiping-native official Zhang Han to inscribe the memorial stone and the Shiping-native official Luo Fengcai to write the inscription. The first name listed among the contributors was “Cao Dangzai, the local official in charge of the tea mountain, contributed four taels.” Immediately following was “Feng Dayi, a scholar, contributed thirty-three taels.” There were also numerous surnames such as Wei and Quan, which indirectly confirms the local saying that “three Fengs, four Weis, and one Quan” dominated the area. The Feng and Quan families were Jiangxi merchants, while the Wei family and others were Shiping merchants. Some names appeared to belong to indigenous people. It seems that the relationship between the local officials and the merchants was relatively harmonious, with both parties contributing to public projects in the tea mountains.
Qianlong “Manzhuan Guild Hall Merit Stone” (Manzhuan Village)
In 1747, the Viceroy of Yunnan and Guizhou, Zhang Yun sui, issued administrative orders regarding tea policies. The following year, Cao Dangzai, the local official in charge of the tea mountain, instructed the heads of the four mountains to engrave the orders on a stone stele. The main content of the stele prohibited three major issues: officials and local officials selling private tea, soldiers causing disturbances in the mountains, and unscrupulous merchants exploiting the locals. The inscription painted a bleak social landscape, with the indigenous people living in dire conditions. One of the issues was the conflict caused by merchants lending money at high interest rates, a chronic problem between merchants and indigenous people during the Qing Dynasty. This time, Cao Dangzai and the heads of the four mountains stood up for the rights of the indigenous people.
In 1759, the dispute over land between the Longde local official and the head of Zhengdong was resolved in favor of the Longde local official Ni Zhe. He led his subordinates, the heads of Longpi, Longde, and Fengla villages—Ke Le, Ban Duan, and Bo Te—to engrave the judgment on a stone stele. From the names, it appears that the Longde local official was still an indigenous person at that time.
In 1766, Ye Yaodian, who was familiar with the indigenous customs, was appointed as a local official, and his descendants succeeded him. Just from his name, Ye Yaodian appears to have been closer to Han culture.
In 1786 and 1789, the Yiwu local official and the Cheli Xuanwei Office issued documents twice. Based on the content of the documents, they addressed the same issue. At the time, there were few indigenous people in Mansa, and there was no one to handle the tribute tea, taxes, and labor services that should have been paid by the indigenous people. As a result, these responsibilities were transferred to the resident households, who then requested confirmation of their land rights. The deceased head of Mansa was named Lu Pei and Lu Hao, and the successor of Mansa Village was named Zhe Xijing. The leader of the Mansa and Manbie resident households was named Shang Wenhui, and the certificate was issued to Shang Wenhui and others. As a result, the Han and indigenous people were organized into ten households, responsible for handling the tribute tea, paying taxes, supplying horses and labor, and other duties. This meant that the resident households replaced the indigenous people as the main population of Mansa, and the responsibility for handling tribute tea, taxes, and labor services shifted from the indigenous heads of Mansa Village to the chief of the resident households.
Qianlong “Mansa Resident Household Temporary Certificate Stele” (Yiwu Tea Culture Museum)
In 1822, the Yiwu local official Wu Rong settled a dispute between Yiwu and Yibi. According to the contract signed by both sides the previous year, the two villages were merged into one village for management. Taxes and contributions were distributed according to the number of households, and tea gardens were allocated based on acreage. Both villages were encouraged to work hard and earn more, allowing those with the ability to cultivate tea gardens and bear the corresponding taxes. The document mentioned several head leaders of the mountains, with Yiwu and Yibi having their own leaders.
In 1823, Yiwu and Yibi jointly agreed to share the expenses for religious offerings and Silver fertilizers equally among the households. Matters involving Yibi, both official and civilian, would be handled by the president of Yibi according to household contributions, without any evasion.
As the guest people settled in the tea mountains, the tribute tea, taxes, and labor services assigned by the government became standard, and they also had to bear the costs of public matters such as folk rituals.
In 1836, the Yong'an Bridge, which spanned the Mozhe River between Yiwu and Yibang, was completed. Among the donors, there were officials such as Cheng Bin, the co-intendant of Simao Hall; Dao Zhengzong, the Cheli Xuanwei Office; Zhao Liangxiang, a scholar of Simao; Cao Ming, the local official of Yibang; and Cao Huiting, the assistant local official of Yibang. Additionally, there were the heads of Yibang and four prominent individuals from Shiping. It can be seen that the heads of Yibang were also actively involved in social public affairs.
In 1838, Zhang Yingzhao won a lawsuit against the local official Wu Rong and his subordinates of Yiwu. The reasons for the case and the judgment were engraved on a stone stele. From this, we can see that since the Qianlong period, the Shiping guest people had already settled in Yiwu, sharing the responsibility for tribute tea, taxes, and labor services. In addition, they faced additional levies, goods, tea, and manpower imposed by the local official Wu Rong and his subordinates, as well as extortion and forced loans. They even faced illegal use of torture and imprisonment. Facing the tyrannical local official and his henchmen, Zhang Yingzhao and other Shiping guest people rose up in rebellion.