A History of Tea & Trade from 2700 BCE to 19th Century CE
ORIGIN OF TEA
The exact origin of tea (Camellia sinensis) is
somewhere east of the Himalayans, probably in
present day China or India (1)
Some suggest tea was consumed by Homo Erectus as
early as 500,000 years ago (2)
The most popular legend regarding the origin of tea
dates to about 2700BCE in China (2)(3)
Shen Nung, the second emperor of China and
known as the father of traditional Chinese
medicine, was boiling water when a wind blew
some tea leaves into the kettle
Shen Nung tried the drink and found it to make
him cheerful and energetic
He gathered more leaves, brought them home and
tea spread from there (where is there?)
Shen Nung at the mouth of a cave. (Wikimedia
Commons, Wellcome Images,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wat
ercolour;_Shen_Nung_Wellcome_V0018486.j
pg).
EARLY REFERENCES
TO TEA
Difficult to determine first reference to tea, as different
Chinese characters may have been used to refer to tea (4)
One reference comes from Shijing (Book of Odes), edited by
Confucius (c. 550-478BCE) (2)
Ode Ten used the character t’u, which likely referred to not
only tea, but other medicinal plants as well
By the 3rd Century CE, references to tea are more credible
and common (2)
Oolong tea leaves showing the Chinese
character for tea. (Wikimedia Commons, Toby
Oxborrow,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ool
ong_tea_leaves__character_for_tea_in_Chinese.jpg).
SPREAD OF TEA
1st Century CE to 6th Century CE
Knowledge and consumption of tea spreads along the Yangtze and Mekong rivers
throughout these centuries, first being traded in Sichuan (4) (5) (6)
Monks spurred the cultivation and spread of tea, where it was embraced by
Taoists and Buddhists alike (1) (5)
Tea is first cultivated in China during the time of the Northern Wei Dynasty (386-535
CE) (2)
Tea is used mainly for medicinal purposes in China through the 5th Century (2)
Knowledge and consumption of tea spreads along the Yangtze river valley throughout
these centuries (4)
By the time of the Southern Dynasty (420-478 CE) peasants are required to pay a
“tea tribute” to the imperial court (2)
China is trading tea with Tibet by the end of the 5th Century and with Japan by the
end of the 6th Century (6)
TEA HORSE ROAD
The Tea Horse Road is a network of roads, sometimes called
the Southwest Silk Road (5)
The network links Yunnan, Sichuan, Tibet, Southeast Asia,
India and Nepal
A variety of goods were traded along the network, but the
name comes from the exchange of tea from China (desired
by Tibetans) for horses from Tibet (desired by the Chinese
Imperial Army)
Tea Horse Road Map, from Tea Horse Road: China's Ancient Trade Road to Tibet.
QUICK WRITE
Respond to the following questions on a piece of paper:
• Describe the physical geography through which Tea Horse
Road’s 3,000 miles winds. Include a description of physical
features, climate and ecosystem in your response.
• How might physical geography have been a help or a
hindrance to the transport of tea? Support your answer,
making specific references to the area’s physical geography.
SPREAD OF TEA
7th Century CE to 11th Century CE
By the time of the Tang dynasty (609-907AD), tea
is China’s most desired beverage (4)
Lu Yu (733-804) writes The Classic of Tea during
the Tang period and is remembered as “the sage
of tea”, “the father of tea” and even the “deity of
tea” (2) (7)
The subsequent Song dynasty (960-1126AD)
imposes a monopoly on tea trade and establishes
the Tea and Horse Agency with the intent of using
Sichuan tea to purchase Tibetan war horses (4)
Under the Song dynasty, tea production moves
from interior Sichuan to Fujian, on China’s
southeast coast (4)
A portrait of Lu Yu.
(Wikimedia Commons,
http://tinyurl.com/obfuf7r).
SPREAD OF TEA
12th Century CE to 16th Century CE
By the 12th Century, 1/3 of China’s
prefectures are growing tea (4)
The Tea Horse Road allows China to
trade over land with Tibet,
Mongolia, Central Asia, Iran and
eventually Russia (4)
Although tea had been brought to
Japan from China via ship in
804AD, it was not until the 12th
Century that tea drinking and tea
culture begin to flourish (4)
Tang Dynasty painting showing 12 noble
ladies drinking tea together. (Wikimedia
Commons, Huizong of Song,)
http://tinyurl.com/ncdn6nt).
SPREAD OF TEA
17th Century CE
Tea first makes its way to
Europe in the early 17th
Century and eventually from
there around the world by
sea (8)
Records point to tea arriving
first in Amsterdam in 1610,
via Japan, then spreading to
France in the 1630s and
Britain in 1657 (1)
1669 engraving of Dejima Island, Nagasaki, Japan, the sole
location of foreign trade during Japan’s Edo Period.
(Wikimedia Commons, Arnold Montanus,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Dejima#/me
dia/File:Dejima_arnoldus_montanus_1669.jpg).
SPREAD OF TEA
17th Century CE to 19th Century CE
Read “Tea Consumers, Tea
Trade, and Colonial
Cultivation” and complete
the accompanying Key Word
Notes assignment
Porters in Sichuan, China, in 1908 carry loads of tea.
(Wikimedia Commons, Ernest Henry Wilson,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Men_Lade
n_With_Tea,_Sichuan_Sheng,_China_1908_Ernest_
H._Wilson_RESTORED.jpg).
RESOURCES
(1) Macfarlane, Alan, and Iris Macfarlane. The Empire of Tea: The Remarkable History of the Plant That Took over
the World. New York: Overlook, 2004. Print.
(2) Martin, Laura C. Tea: The Drink That Changed the World. Tokyo: Tuttle Pub., 2007. Print.
(3) Hohenegger, Beatrice. Liquid Jade: The Story of Tea from East to West. New York: St. Martin's, 2006. Print.
(4) Mair, Victor H., and Erling Hoh. The True History of Tea. New York: Thames & Hudson, 2009. Print.
(5) Freeman, Michael, and Selena Ahmed. Tea Horse Road: China's Ancient Trade Road to Tibet. Bangkok: River,
2011. Print.
(6) "Tea Trades Worldwide." Tea Trades Worldwide. Web. 25 June 2015.
<http://www.lcsd.gov.hk/ce/Museum/Arts/7thingsabouttea/en/ch4_1_0.htm>.
(7) Yun, Ling. Chinese Tea. New York: Better Link, 2010. Print.
(8) Breed, Thomas. "Tea Consumers, Tea Trade, and Colonial Cultivation | University of Minnesota Libraries." Tea
Consumers, Tea Trade, and Colonial Cultivation | University of Minnesota Libraries. Web. 21 Mar. 2015.
<https://www.lib.umn.edu/bell/tradeproducts/tea>.