The techniques for making Puer Tea and tribute tea, as shining gems in the list of China's traditional tea-making intangible cultural heritage, not only carry profound historical tea culture but are also a vital force driving local economic and cultural development.
The Yunnan province's Ning'er county, known for its intangible cultural heritage, has been dedicated to the inheritance, protection, and Innovation of these techniques. Through systematic work and meticulous efforts, it actively promotes the diversity and exchange of tea culture, infusing new vitality into the sustainable development of the tea industry.
It is currently the season of tea harvest, and in Ning'er's vast tea gardens, tea farmers move through the emerald green tea bushes, skillfully gathering the tender leaves filled with the essence of spring into their baskets.
In the organic tea garden of Wulushan in Puyi Township, Ning'er County, the spring breeze blows gently, bringing vibrant life. Zhou Ming, the production workshop director of the tea factory, leads the tea farmers in their busy work. They strictly adhere to standards while picking spring tea, with each leaf carrying their Respect for and commitment to traditional techniques. Under the harmonious cooperation between Zhou Ming and his technical partners, the tea-making processes of withering, fixation, kneading, and steaming and pressing proceed in an orderly manner.
The spring tea-picking season is not only a time of harvest but also tests the inheritance of tea-making skills and product innovation. Following the relevant procedures of Puer tea and tribute tea making techniques, tea makers need to repeatedly stir-fry the tea over high heat, apply even pressure when kneading, and focus intently when pressing the tea into shape. Each step is tightly organized, requiring full dedication from the tea makers without any room for slack.
“To me, inheriting these ancestral techniques is very meaningful. Puer tea is not just a beverage; it is also a cultural inheritance,” says Zhou Ming. Throughout the process, they must concentrate on every detail and supervise every step, allowing more people to understand and appreciate the unique charm of Puer tea.
The techniques for making Puer tea and tribute tea, which have been relatively fixed patterns formed by generations of Puer tea makers through practice, have been refined and organized by the “Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Department” of the Ning'er County Cultural Center. These techniques are generally divided into worshiping the tea deity, selecting raw materials, fixation and drying, and steaming and shaping.
In June 2008, this technique was listed as part of the second batch of national-level representative projects of intangible cultural heritage, and in November 2022, it was included in the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
These two honors not only highlight the unique value of the techniques for making Puer tea and tribute tea but also establish Ning'er County as the origin and distribution center of Puer tea, as well as the starting point of the ancient tea-horse road.
With the backing of the “national intangible cultural heritage” Brand, the techniques for making Puer tea and tribute tea have received wider publicity and promotion. Tea makers from surrounding areas of Puer have moved closer to the “intangible cultural heritage circle,” interacting and exchanging skills with inheritors to jointly expand their development space.
Ning'er County now has many representative inheritors dedicated to the inheritance and innovation of the techniques for making Puer tea and tribute tea. They not only safeguard the essence of traditional techniques but also innovate in the process of inheritance, integrating traditional culture better into modern life. Their efforts have enabled Puer tea culture to spread widely, providing people with more cultural enjoyment and spiritual nourishment.
To better inherit and protect the techniques for making Puer tea and tribute tea, relevant departments of the Ning'er County Culture, Tourism, and Sports Bureau have taken a series of measures. By comprehensively integrating and investigating the development process of tea makers and the tea industry across the county, they have established an intangible cultural heritage archive and database, recording and organizing the intangible techniques in detail. Additionally, various associations have organized training classes and exchanges to promote the inheritance and innovation of techniques.
Moreover, in the application process for intangible cultural heritage inheritors, besides the knowledge and operation of the techniques being hard criteria, emphasis is placed on the social role played as an evaluation condition to encourage more artisans to fully leverage the social value of using techniques for making Puer tea and tribute tea, generating more economic benefits.
“Technique inheritance is key to the sustained development of the Puer tea industry. In tea making and product development, we must fully leverage the value of intangible cultural heritage to drive the prosperity of the tea industry,” says Zhang Shikun, associate researcher at the Ning'er County Cultural Center.
“Tea merchants focus on core technologies in product development, breaking down and refining different types of products, identifying their respective production differences, and continuously innovating based on more precise reference criteria,” says Zhang Shikun. Some other tea merchants, under the assistance of intangible cultural heritage inheritor status, attempt to “recreate” products as historical achievements, enriching brand cultural connotations and enhancing market competitiveness.
Wang Tian, a municipal representative inheritor of the national intangible cultural heritage for Puer tea and tribute tea making techniques in Ning'er County, says that as an inheritor, he must uphold the use of Ning'er's raw materials, processing methods, and packaging, integrating the techniques for making tribute tea into every product's selection, picking, and pressing. “We must promote the Puer tea brand to the world and allow more people to understand and appreciate this cultural treasure.”
A relevant official from Ning'er County states that on the path of intangible cultural heritage inheritance and protection, they will continue to work meticulously and constantly push forward the inheritance and development of the techniques for making Puer tea and tribute tea. Through strengthening education in intangible cultural heritage inheritance, expanding the influence of intangible cultural heritage culture, and promoting the integrated development of intangible cultural heritage and tourism industries, they aim to rejuvenate this intangible technique in a new era with even more brilliance. At the same time, they will actively explore the intersection between intangible cultural heritage culture and modern industries to inject new momentum into the prosperity and development of the local economy.
Contribution by Ning'er County's New Media Fusion Center, Yang Mei, Zhu Weiguo