🌿 Core Introduction: A cup of Songluo tea represents half of the history of Huizhou tea. From its sudden emergence during the Longqing period of the Ming Dynasty, to its boundless glory when it was exported far and wide at home and abroad during the Qing Dynasty, then to its near disappearance into the dust of history in modern times, and finally to its rebirth after forty years of scientific research and verification.
📜 Emergence: How did Songluo Tea become the "top trend" in the Ming Dynasty?
🍵 Songluo Tea belongs to the green tea category among the six major tea types and is produced on Songluo Mountain, a branch of the Huangshan Mountains in Xiuning County, Huangshan City, Anhui Province.
📖 Feng Shike of the Ming Dynasty "Tea Record" recorded: "There used to be no tea in Huizhou Prefecture, but recently Songluo Tea has emerged and has become extremely fashionable. This tea was first made by the Buddhist monk Dafang, who lived on Huqiu Mountain for a long time and learned the methods of tea picking and processing. Later, he built a hermitage on Songluo Mountain in Huizhou, picked mountain teas there, and roasted them in the hermitage. People from far and near rushed to buy it, and the price soared. People therefore called it Songluo Tea, but in fact it was not produced on Songluo Mountain."
📜 According to "She County Annals" records: "The old annals state that during the Longqing period of the Ming Dynasty, the monk Dafang lived on Songluo Mountain in Xiuning. His tea-making method was extremely refined, and the prefecture and county followed his method, so the tea was named Songluo."
⏳ From the records in these two passages of literature, we can determine that the creation time of Songluo Tea was roughly during the Longqing period of the Ming Dynasty, that is, between 1567 and 1572. The creation of Songluo Tea was inseparable from the eminent monk Dafang, who brought the local tea-making techniques from Huqiu, Suzhou, Jiangsu, combined them with the fresh leaves of high-quality local tea trees on Songluo Mountain, and baked it through a delicate fixation process.
🔥 1. Technological Revolution: The Originator of the Stir-Frying Green Tea Making Method
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From Steamed Green Tea to Pan-Fried Green Tea: Before Songluo Tea, the mainstream green tea in China was steamed green tea (such as the predecessor of Enshi Yulu). Monk Dafang boldly adopted pan-frying for fixation, which made the tea leaves emit a stronger aroma, taste more mellow, and reduce the bitter taste.
📝 Wen Long of the Ming Dynasty Tea Notes recorded: "When tea is first picked, the branches, stems, and old leaves must be picked out, and only the tender leaves should be taken. The tips and stalks must also be removed, as they are prone to burning. This is the Songluo method. When frying, one person must fan from the side to dispel the heat; otherwise, the color, aroma, and taste will all diminish. I have personally tried it, and the tea fanned has a green color. Let the heat subside slightly, then knead it firmly with hands, scatter it into the pan again, fry it dry over low heat, and then bake it. Kneading causes the tea juice to rise to the surface, making the aroma and taste more easily released when brewing."
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Technological Diffusion Effect: This technique quickly spread to She County, Xuancheng, and Jing County in Anhui, and even to Wuyuan in Jiangxi, Chong'an (now Wuyishan) in Fujian, Huangzhou in Hubei, and other places. Many of the stir-fried green teas we are familiar with today can all trace their origins back to Songluo Tea, and therefore, it is also hailed as "the Ancestor of Stir-Fried Green Tea". Due to its pioneering nature, Songluo Tea is also respected by later generations as "the Ancestor of Huizhou Tea" – it laid the technological foundation for Huizhou stir-fried green tea.
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🌱 Shi Qianfeng, the pioneer of loose-shaped stir-fried green tea: Songluo tea occupies a transitional position – closer to modern loose tea than the Tang and Song dynasties' steamed green tea, compressed tea cakes, powdered tea, and the world of decoction and whisking, yet earlier than the more recent and stable high-quality green tea systems such as Longjing, Maofeng, and Maojian that are most familiar to the public today. It has very clearly demonstrated the core logic of loose-shaped stir-fried green tea: instead of making tea into cakes or grinding it into powder after steaming, it directly processes fresh tea leaves through actions such as stir-frying in a pan, rolling, and re-firing to form ready-to-brew loose tea products. It does not equal the entire starting point of modern green tea, but it is well-suited to be regarded as a crucial frontline in the map of modern green tea, and is one of the important gateways to understanding the prehistory of loose-leaf pan-fried green tea in China.
🏛️ 2. Cultural Symbol: "Songluo" once became a synonym for green tea
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📚 Scholar-officials collectively "go to the top" : Feng Shike, a literati in the Ming Dynasty "Tea Record", Xu Cishu "Tea Shu" and other tea books, Songluo tea was mentioned many times. At that time, there was even "strange taste of Coix wine; top-notch Songluo tea", which can be juxtaposed with fine wine, indicating its status.
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🌍 Exported Overseas, the "International Business Card" of Chinese Green Tea: From the mid to late Ming Dynasty to the Jiaqing and Daoguang reigns of the Qing Dynasty, Songluo Tea was an important export item on the Maritime Silk Road. According to Chronicles of the East India Company's Trade with China by Morse, in 1699, the British East India Company labeled Songluo Tea as "the best grade" in its order. Among the many green tea varieties exported to Europe at that time, Songluo Tea was officially designated as the highest grade, truly the "finest among green teas" in the eyes of European merchants.
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🚢 In 1745, the Swedish merchant ship "Götheborg" set sail from Guangzhou fully loaded with Chinese tea on its return journey, but ran aground and sank while entering the port of Göteborg. Among the tea salvaged from the sunken ship, the majority was Songluo tea. At that time, the Swedish embassy presented two samples of ancient tea to China, one of which is now housed in the China National Tea Museum, and the other in the China Songluo Tea Culture Museum in Xiuning.
Exhibition of Goods from the Götheborg at the China National Tea Museum in Hangzhou
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👑 Status of Tribute Tea in the Qing Dynasty: According to "Archives of Tribute Tea in the Qing Dynasty", Songluo Tea was once presented to the imperial court as a famous product from Huizhou and was favored by emperors such as Kangxi and Qianlong. In "Yangjizhai Conglu", it is recorded that in the second year of the Daoguang reign (1822) of the Qing Dynasty, the Anhui governor presented a list of tributes on the Dragon Boat Festival, which clearly included "one box of Songluo Tea", listed alongside "Silver Needle Tea", "Sparrow Tongue Tea", and "Meipian Tea".
👃 3. Unique Tasting: Olive Aroma and "Green Gold"
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🌸 Signature Aroma: The most distinctive quality characteristics of Songluo Tea are green color, high aroma, strong taste, and long-lasting infusion, accompanied by a rare "olive aroma" (similar to the fresh aftertaste of green olives). This aroma is extremely rare among green teas and serves as a key indicator for distinguishing genuine Songluo Tea from counterfeits.
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🏥 Tea and medicine share the same origin: Ben Jing Feng Yuan states that "Huizhou Songluo tea specializes in aiding digestion"; long-term consumption can treat chronic sores, hypertension and other ailments. Chinese Materia Medica Dictionary clearly records its "functions: eliminating food stagnation and greasiness, reducing fire, promoting qi circulation, and resolving phlegm". Even today, some veteran traditional Chinese medicine practitioners in Beijing, Tianjin, Jinan and other areas still use Songluo tea as an ingredient in prescriptions.
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🪙 The Name of "Green Gold" : It is not only because of its high value in overseas trade, but also because of its health benefits of aiding digestion, relieving greasiness, and assisting in lipid reduction – especially suitable for people with a greasy diet.
💡 Trivia: During the Ming and Qing dynasties, the northern nomadic ethnic groups, whose diet was mainly meat, highly valued the "digestion-promoting" effects of Songluo tea. It was sold in large quantities northward via the Ancient Tea Horse Road, becoming a high-end variety among "border-sale teas".
📉 From Peak to Decline: How Did an International Calling Card Become Endangered?
Any historical famous tea is hard to escape the erosion of time, and Songluo Tea is no exception. By modern times, it has almost completely disappeared from public view.
⚠️ 1. Inherent bottleneck: The production area is small, and supply falls short of demand
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🏔️ Limitations of Songluo Mountain: The core production area of genuine Songluo Tea is limited to the area around Songluo Mountain, with a small geographical area and limited tea garden area. After the Ming Dynasty, production could no longer meet the growing demand.
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💊 Side effects of "specializing in digestion" : Due to its prominent medicinal value, a large amount of tea has been purchased by pharmacies for medicinal use rather than circulated as a daily beverage, further squeezing the drinking market.
🌪️ 2. Aftermath Shock: Turmoil and Drastic Changes in Trade Patterns
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⚔️ Turbulence in the Late Qing Dynasty: The Taiping Rebellion spread to Huizhou, leaving tea plantations abandoned and tea farmers displaced. According to local records, the tea garden area in Xiuning once shrank by more than half.
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🚢 Obstruction of the Maritime Tea Route: With the rise of black tea from India and Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) in the international market, coupled with the changes in the pattern of treaty ports after China's Opium War, the export volume of Songluo Tea declined precipitously.
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🐎 Wartime Turmoil of the Republic of China and the Decline of the Ancient Tea Horse Road: During the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the Chinese Civil War, bandits roamed along the Ancient Tea Horse Road, causing transportation to come to a standstill. Songluo Tea completely lost its northern and overseas markets.
💔 3. Core Breakdown: Craft Heritage Fails to Find Successors
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🧓 Disruption of the Master-Apprentice System: The stir-frying process relies on the experience of veteran tea artisans (including heat control, techniques, and timing), which cannot be fully documented in writing. During the war-torn years, the older generation of artisans passed away one after another, and the young people were displaced and scattered.
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🏭 "Marginalization" after the founding of the People's Republic of China: From the 1950s to the 1970s, under the policy of "taking grain as the key link" and the collective planned economy, Songluo Tea, due to its small output and complex craftsmanship, was not listed as a key development category, and its production techniques continued to degrade.
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😢 Once considered "lost" : By around 1980, genuine Songluo Tea was almost nowhere to be found on the market. The tea industry generally believed that Songluo Tea only existed in ancient books.
📊 Data Comparison: During the Jiaqing period of the Qing Dynasty, the annual export volume of Songluo tea once reached tens of thousands of dan; by 1980, the number of tea artisans in Xiuning County who could fully master the traditional Songluo tea craftsmanship was fewer than 5.
🔍 Searching for Tea in the Wilderness: A Four-Year National Scientific Expedition
🧭 In 1980, Wu Yunxiang, the Chairman of the Science and Technology Association of Xiuning County, was determined to "salvage" the nearly lost Songluo Tea from history.
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📄 After three levels of submissions, the proposal was finally approved: From 1980 to 1983, he successively submitted scientific investigation proposals for the rescue of Songluo Tea to the Anhui Provincial Supply and Marketing Cooperative and the Ministry of Commerce. In 1983, the Ministry of Commerce approved the establishment of the "Songluo Tea National Scientific Expedition Team", with Wu Yunxiang as a core member.
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🔬 Two-year research and certification, process restoration: The scientific expedition team completed over 200 field investigations, confirmed that the ancient tea trees on Songluo Mountain are a locally endemic variety, and basically restored the six steps of the traditional stir-frying green tea process. In 1986, the relevant scientific research report won the Anhui Provincial Science and Technology Progress Award.
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🌱 Forty years of perseverance, the legacy takes root: After the scientific expedition team disbanded, Wu Yunxiang still climbed Songluo Mountain over 60 times, published five monographs on Songluo tea, and promoted the establishment of the Longqing Songluo Tea Research Institute and the completion of the China Songluo Museum.
🚀 Return to the Stage: From Provincial Intangible Cultural Heritage to a Brand Value of 3 Billion
📈 Scientific research achievements do not equal market success. After 1986, it took Songluo Tea nearly another two decades to truly complete the transformation of industrialization and branding.
🏅 1. "Rectifying the Name" of the Craft: Provincial Intangible Cultural Heritage and Brand Value
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2008: "Green Tea Making Technique (Songluo Tea)" was officially included in the Anhui Provincial Intangible Cultural Heritage List. This means that its craftsmanship has received official recognition and protection.
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👨🏫 Inheritance System: Currently, multiple provincial and municipal intangible cultural heritage inheritors have been recognized, and master craftsmen are passing on their skills to apprentices to ensure that the core craftsmanship is no longer interrupted.
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💰 Brand value: By 2025, the public brand value of "Xiuning Songluo" tea area will reach 3.009 billion yuan, which has exceeded many traditional "popular famous teas".
🌐 2. International Re-Launch: From "Medicinal Tea" to High-End Green Tea
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📦 Export Structure: Songluo Tea has been re-exported to the EU, Japan, Southeast Asia, and North America, particularly popular among the overseas Chinese market and the traditional Chinese medicine health preservation community.
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🎯 Unique Selling Proposition: In the homogenized competition of international green tea, "olive aroma + digestion-promoting effect" has become the differentiating label of Songluo Tea. Some export enterprises have launched "organic Songluo Tea" targeting the European and American markets, with a higher premium ability than ordinary green tea.
💡 Summary in one sentence: The revival of Songluo Tea is a systematic project spanning over forty years and multiple dimensions including scientific research, industry, culture, and brand.
🌟 Epilogue: The Forgotten and the Recovered
🍃 China has never lacked famous teas; what it lacks are the "forgotten gems" that once shone brightly in history but have long been overlooked by the mainstream. In today's era of extreme involution in the "new tea beverage" industry, historical famous teas are more than just symbols of nostalgia. They carry the essence of a region, a period of history, and a nation's ultimate pursuit of the aesthetics of tea tasting – this is the true meaning of the "green gold".
🔮 Next Episode Preview
📖 If Xiuning Songluo is the "ancestor of stir-fried green tea" in Huizhou, then Heshan's "Gulao Yinzhen" has a story of "seven centuries of miraculous fragrance in Guangdong's clouds and mists". Next time, we will visit the Lingnan tea region in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and talk about the legend of "Gulao tea predates Heshan County". Stay tuned! 🌿
📚 Reference Materials
[1] Xiuning Songluo. Baidu Lingo
[2] Wu Yunxiang: The First Person in Songluo's "Nirvana". Huangshan News Network
[3] Wang Jingfeng, Deputy County Magistrate of Xiuning County: "The Ancestor of Huizhou Tea" Sets Off on a New Journey. Hong Kong Commercial Daily
[4] <i>Research on Songluo Tea</i>, by Wu Yunxiang
[5] Annual Report on the Tea Industry in Xiuning County, 2024. Xiuning County People's Government
🍵 From a monk's hermitage to global acclaim, from near extinction to scientific revival – the enduring saga of Songluo tea.
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