Our country is the earliest country in the world to make tea. As early as the time of Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty, Wang Bao's "Lian Yue" contained the saying: "The tea is cooked with all the utensils, and the tea is covered and hidden." In the Tang Dynasty, tea drinking became popular. Tea was food, no different from rice and salt.

The Khitan people are a nomadic people who have lived in Northeast my country for a long time. Their customs did not drink tea at first. But in the Tang Dynasty, due to the peaceful and warlike relationship with the Khitan, the habit of drinking tea was gradually introduced to the Khitan people through foreign students sent by the Khitan to the Tang Dynasty, or through peace and vassal relations, pilgrimage, etc.

The Khitan people who love tea

The Khitan people are entrenched in northern China. Their unique habits of nomadic people are mainly meat and milk, with less fruits and vegetables. This type of food is relatively It is greasy and difficult to digest, but drinking tea can help the digestion of meat and dairy foods. It can also lower cholesterol and supplement the vitamins that nomads lack.

Therefore, after the tea drinking style was introduced into Khitan society, it gradually became popular among the entire ethnic group and became a living habit.

The mural "Tea Preparation" in Xuanhua Liao Tomb

In the 1990s, a well-preserved tomb was unearthed from the Liao Dynasty mural tomb group in Xiabali Village, Xuanhua, Hebei The mural "Tea Preparation Picture" includes a series of tasks from grinding tea to cooking tea, as well as a series of tea ceremony tools and utensils placed on the table, which completely displays the entire process of tea preparation at that time.

By the middle and late Liao Dynasty, the Liao court had formed a standardized and complete set of court etiquette such as serving tea and giving tea. An indispensable content.

For example, the "History of the Liao Dynasty" records the etiquette of the Song Dynasty envoys meeting the Queen Mother: "The Khitan people and the Han people's pavilion envoys all paid homage to her. They should sit down with the ministers and make all the deputies pay homage to her, saying "long live her life". . Please sit down and enjoy the soup and tea. ?

With the expansion of Khitan power and the widespread spread of tea-drinking customs in Khitan, the demand for tea has greatly increased. However, due to limited natural conditions, tea is not produced in northern my country, so the Khitan people Where does tea come from?

The tea sets of the Song Dynasty in Dong Zhenqing's "Tea Set Praise"

The supply channels of tea for the Khitan people

During the Five Dynasties, with the founding of Yelu Abaoji, the Khitan People's demand for tea has greatly increased. At this time, the Khitans mainly imported tea from major tea producers such as Southern Tang and Wuyue through maritime trade. According to the "Book of the Southern Tang Dynasty - Khitan Biography": Khitan Lord Yelv Deguang and his King Dongdan each sent envoys to pay tribute with sheep and horses. Don't hold 30,000 sheep and 200 horses to collect velvet, and sell Luo, Wan, tea, and medicine at their prices. The Khitan interacted with the Southern Tang Dynasty, and they benefited from southern tea, medicine, and pearls.