Yueyang has a long history of tea production and a profound tea culture. It is not only an important producing area of Hunan tea, but also a representative producing area of China yellow tea, especially Junshan Yinzhen and Beigang Maojian, which are the best yellow tea in China.
According to legend, more than 4000 years ago, when Shun Di was on a southern tour, E Huang and Nv Ying rushed to Junshan to find their husbands. When they heard the news of Shun Di's death, they caressed bamboo and wept bitterly, and planted tea seeds in Junshan to express their grief and gratitude to the people. After careful cultivation, this kind of tea seeds grew three bags of strong tea seedlings in Baihe Temple of Junshan, which became the mother book of Junshan tea and the source of yellow tea.
According to Yao experts' research, during the Yanhuang period, the Chiyou Tribal Alliance (Chiyou is called by Miao people, especially Yao people) fought with the Yanhuang Tribal Alliance in Zhuolu, and moved south after defeat 1. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period (770 BC-22 BC1year), Yao and Miao formed an alliance and established the kingdom of Sanmiao, with Dongting on the left and right. Some Yao people entered Longjiao Mountain in the north of Linxiang to grow tea. Today, there are still abandoned ancient village sites, hanging houses, stone ladders, stone gates, ancient tea gardens and other sites in Longjiao Mountain, as well as tea sets for making tea and pounding tea-stone pots, pots and cups.
According to folklore, Li Siyuan, the second emperor in the late Tang Dynasty, once held a cup of tea for him when he first went to court. When boiling water was poured into the cup, he immediately saw a white mist rising and a white crane slowly appeared. The crane nodded to Mingzong three times, and then flew into the blue sky. Looking into the cup again, the tea leaves are hanging upright, just like a group of bamboo shoots that have broken through the ground. After a while, it sinks slowly, just like snowflakes falling. Mingzong felt very strange and asked the courtiers what the reason was. The courtiers replied: "This is because Baihequan (that is, Liu Yijing) in Junshan was soaked with yellow feathers." Mingzong was very happy and immediately decided to make Baihe tea into "tribute tea". Amin Zhang Gande continued to write Lu Yu's Tea Classic and supplemented Yuezhou Huangyu Tea. This is the beginning of Junshan Yinzhen tea.
_ Lake contains ointment, which is a famous tea in Tang Dynasty. _ Lake is now the South Lake in Yueyang City, and _ Lake tribute tea is the predecessor of Yueyang Huangcha Beigang Maojian. Tang Shi Supplement written by Li Zhao in Tang Dynasty (about 758 AD) said: "Custom is precious to tea, and famous tea products are beneficial to many people. There are Hengshan Mountain in Hunan and _ Lake in Yuezhou. " At the same time, it is said that Princess Wencheng brought _ Lake Tea when she got married in Tibet. At the end of the Tang Dynasty, Miracle, a poet and monk, said, "_ Lake is only a tribute, so why should it benefit ordinary people?"
In the late Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties, Ma Yin rewarded agriculture and mulberry, advocated textiles, developed tea and traded with the Central Plains. Linxiang, which originally belonged to Baling, set up an independent county for tea, which shows that the tea industry was in full swing at that time. In addition, the tea bowls in Yuezhou are mentioned in Lu Yu's Tea Classic, and Yuezhou porcelain ranks with Yuezhou, Dingzhou, Wuzhou, Shouzhou and Hongzhou. In fact, these places are important producing areas of famous tea in Tang Dynasty.
In the Northern Song Dynasty, Fan Zhiming's "Yueyang Local Records" contained: "_ Old Lake Mountain produces tea, which is called _ lake tea. What Li Zhao called Yuezhou Lake contains paste, which was extremely heavy in the Tang Dynasty. According to the article, people don't plant much now, but there are more than a thousand white crane monk gardens, and the land is quite similar to this garden. The tea produced is only one year, but it is one or two hundred and twenty. The locals call it Lily Tea, which is very sweet and fragrant. Compared with grass tea in other places, the color of the tea garden is similar, but the natives don't grow it very much. "
There are 99 modern tea names listed in The Story of Zhu Zhu by Huang Yizheng in Ming Dynasty, including ancient tea names 10 1 a, among which "Huanglingmao" and "Frost Cold" from Yuezhou belong to ancient tea names. Zhang Qiande's Tea Classic in the Ming Dynasty also recorded "Yuezhou Huangyu, containing cream cold" tea. By the Ming Dynasty, the planting area of Yueyang tea had expanded from Baling (now Yueyang County) to Linxiang and Pingjiang. According to "Longqing Yuezhou County Records", "Linxiang County tribute, tea buds 16 kg. Wu Fang, tea (from Longjiao Mountain, thicker than Baling, aged 16 kg), Baling County, Wu Fang, tea (Sidu, Wudu). " At that time, Hunan tribute tea was 70 kg, of which Longjing tea 16 kg, indicating that Hunan tribute tea was mainly Longjing tea with good quality.
There is a record of milk tea produced in Yuezhou Lake in "The Wonderful Book of Getting Rich" in Qing Dynasty. In the Qing Dynasty, Huang Benji's "Wu Fangzhi, Hunan" recorded that "Yue Zhou Huang Yu, Yue Yang Shuang, Tang and Song Dynasties produced tea names". At this time, Junshan tea is an indispensable tribute to the royal family. "Baling County Records" contains: "Junshan tribute tea, from the forty-sixth year of the state dynasty Qianlong, paid 18 kilograms a year." At the same time, the Qing Dynasty was also the heyday of Yueyang tea industry. Tea in Xiangyin, Linxiang, Pingjiang, Baling and Huarong counties developed one after another. During Guangxu period, Yueyang tea area reached more than 300,000 mu, and the output was more than 200,000 tons.
Yueyang yellow tea, planting tea seeds in Junshan Island, Yueyang brought this tea to Tibet from E Huang and Nv Ying by Princess Wencheng; The long history, culture and legendary quality of Yueyang yellow tea are explained from the record in Baling County Records that "Junshan tribute tea has been 18 Jin per year since Qing Dynasty" to becoming a national gift tea.
Nowadays, yellow tea industry has become the dominant industry, characteristic industry and pillar industry in Yueyang City, and has become a business card of charming Hunan tea.
The origin of Yueyang yellow tea is the administrative area under the jurisdiction of Yueyang City, Hunan Province.