Title: The origin of the Da Hong Pao [Print this page] author: zhwen time: 2012-5-7 14:31:02 Title: The origin of the Da Hong Pao
Da Hong Pao tea is so called because of an interesting history. In Ming Dynasty Hongwu 18 years (1385), Fujian Juren (a provincial graduate) Ding xian went to Beijing for the imperial examinations. When passed by the Wuyi Mountains, he suddenly got an unbearable pain in the stomach. At this time, he bumped into a buddhist monk from Tianxin Yongle Temple. The monk took out if the scare Da Hong Pao tea and made a cup of tea for him. After drinking, the pain was missing. Sitting the champion, Ding xian went back to thank the monk and took the Da Hong Pao tea in tin cans back to the capital—Beijing. When he arrived at the capital, he heard the queen was ill and all the imperial doctors had no method to cure. He took out of that pot of tea to the empress. The empress kept drinking and recovered gradually. Hearing these, the emperor was very happy. He awarded a red robe to the tea tree and sent the champion back to the Kowloon ke to put the robe on the tree. After that, the emperor sent some guards to look after the trees and pluck the tea leaves. Since then, all the teas were just provided to the royal enjoy and forbidden for private use. It’s said annually the officials sent by the empire wore the red robe and took off it to put on the trees. So we now call it Red robe tea (also Da Hong Pao in Chinese).
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