Over 1,200 years ago, poet Li He experienced a dream of space travel and wrote “Dreaming of the Heavens”: “Gazing afar, nine dots of smoke from Qi Prefecture, a cup of seawater poured out.” From the sky, the nine provinces looked like tiny dots, and even the ocean was no more than a cup of water; over a thousand years later, images sent back by the Voyager 1 interstellar probe from over six billion kilometers away showed Earth as just a speck of light. Seen from such a perspective, Mount Mengding in Sichuan's Ya'an would appear like a needlepoint…
Yet, at this “Sacred Mountain of World Tea culture,” the stories of influential figures and the lives of ordinary people unfold right beside it. The Buddhist scriptures say: “A mustard seed can contain a mountain.” How can something as small as a mustard seed contain an entire mountain? If we were to descend from outer space toward Earth, would the vast world within that speck of light or needlepoint gradually reveal its wonders?
Today, we journey through history to get as close as possible to the legend of this “Sacred Mountain of World Tea Culture.”
1. The Geographic Legend of Mount Mengding
Mount Mengding may not be as famous as Mount Tai or Mount Huang, but when it comes to Chinese Tea, one cannot overlook Mount Mengding. The widely known and highly acclaimed couplet “Yangtze River water in the heart, Mengding Mountain tea on the peak” elevates Mount Mengding to the pinnacle of tea culture.
When I stood at the foot of Mount Mengding and gazed up, geology told me that during the collision of the South Asian subcontinent and the Eurasian plate, which caused the Himalayan orogeny, Mount Mengding was born in the transitional zone between the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and the Sichuan Basin. Stretching ten kilometers from northeast to southwest, Mount Mengding guards the city of Ya'an in its embrace. It descends from the high altitude of over 5,700 meters at the edge of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau to the basin's edge with the sharpness of a downhill skier.
This thrilling and smooth descent has brought three major benefits to Ya'an: first, abundant rainfall. Backed by the cold high-pressure system of the plateau and facing the warm and humid southeast monsoon, the air currents intersect to bring an annual rainfall of 2,000 millimeters. At this latitude, Ya'an is China's rainiest city, historically known as “Rainy Heaven of Western Shu” and today called “Rain City” Ya'an. Tang Dynasty astronomer Yuan Tian-gang described this as a feng shui treasure land of “the natural cycle, the great gathering of water, and the great convergence of qi.”
Second, the elegance of Mount Mengding. The “rainy fog-covered” Mount Mengding is beautiful and refined, creating a scenic spot for Ya'an. Five peaks encircle the summit, with Shangqing in the center, Lingjiao to the left, Lingquan to the rear, Ganlu to the right, and Piluo to the front. Shangqing Peak is the highest, reaching 1,456 meters in elevation, with the other four peaks surrounding it like a lotus. Looking down from the mountain, the undulating hills and crisscrossing streams present a picturesque scene; looking far into the distance, the shadows of Mount Emei and the snow-capped Mount Min come into view. It is known for its reputation as “Elegant Mount Mengding of the World.”
Third, a transportation hub and cultural nexus. Ya'an is the gateway and necessary passage of the ancient Southern Silk Road, a hub where multiple ethnic cultures converge, and a harmonious and livable place combining modern cities with pristine ecology. The names “Rain City,” “Throat of Western Sichuan,” “Gateway to Tibet,” “Ethnic Corridor,” “Lungs of the Land of Abundance,” and “Hometown of Pandas” vividly depict a unique Ya'an from multiple dimensions.
2. The Personal Legend of Wu Lizhen
The reason Mount Mengding is considered a “Sacred Mountain of World Tea Culture” is not only due to its natural beauty and the favor of nature but also closely linked to “Wu Lizhen, the ancestor of artificial tea cultivation.” In Ya'an, the power of nature complements human endeavor perfectly.
As the country of origin for tea, over 20 provinces in China produce tea, with countless renowned tea mountains. Why does Mount Mengding stand above them all and become the “Sacred Mountain of World Tea Culture”?
According to historical records and archaeological evidence, in 53 BCE (the first year of the reign of Emperor Xuan of Han, Ganyu era), Wu Lizhen of Ya'an domesticated seven wild tea plants among the five peaks of Mount Mengding. These “divine tea plants” were planted “among the five peaks, growing no taller than a foot, neither dying nor diminishing, distinct from the ordinary,” making Wu Lizhen the first person in recorded history to cultivate tea artificially. Mount Mengding became the birthplace of artificial tea cultivation, filling an important gap in the history of Chinese tea planting. The subsequent development of the tea industry as part of human agricultural civilization and the emergence of tea culture as a splendid chapter in human culture began here. This is the fundamental reason for Wu Lizhen's extraordinary contribution and his place in history.
Why are there so few historical records about such an important figure? Wu Lizhen lived two thousand years ago as an ordinary citizen, and at that time, the prevalence and importance of tea were far less significant than they are today. Even in a country like China, which values the writing of history and the preservation of tradition and has a continuous series of dynastic histories, the scant records left about Wu Lizhen are fortunate for Chinese tea culture. We should cherish what little we have without being too critical of our ancestors. Because of the scarcity of historical records, debates about Wu Lizhen naturally arise: Was he a monk or a Taoist? Where did he come from? Why did he start cultivating tea plants artificially?… These questions may never find definitive answers, but they do not hinder us from exploring the historical logic behind Wu Lizhen's “birth” within the broader sweep of history.
Based on historical records, Wu Lizhen likely lived during the reigns of Emperors Zhao, Xuan, and Yuan of the Western Han dynasty. Just before Emperor Zhao, the “Silk Road” had been established, and Ya'an, as a key point on the Southern Silk Road, was experiencing a peak period of ethnic integration, commercial route expansion, and economic development. According to the Records of the Grand Historian, Zhang Qian saw bamboo walking sticks from Qiong and Sichuanese textiles in Daya (today's Afghanistan) during his first mission to the Western Regions. Although Ya'an and Central Asia were separated by thousands of miles, the presence of Sichuanese products in Central Asian markets indicates that private trade was already thriving, providing important confidence and impetus for Emperor Wu's historical decision and Zhang Qian's opening of the Western Regions. In such a historical context, Wu Lizhen's pioneering work in domesticating and cultivating tea plants in Ya'an was fitting for the place and the times.
Whether Wu Lizhen was a monk or a Taoist is actually unimportant. What matters is that both identities embody a spirit of pioneering dedication, which converged on Mount Mengding, establishing it as the cradle of Chinese tea civilization and a revered site of world tea culture.
Historically, both Daoism and Buddhism have shared a spirit of self-sacrifice for the benefit of all beings, a commitment to arduous beginnings, and a long-term vision for future generations. This is exemplified by figures such as Faxian, the Eastern Jin monk who was the first to seek Buddhist scriptures abroad, Xuanzang, the Tang monk who endured hardships and never wavered in his quest, Haitong, the Tang monk who vowed to carve the Leshan Giant Buddha to calm the waters and protect the people, and Jingwan, the Sui monk who initiated and continued the project of carving Buddhist scriptures into stone at Yunju Temple, which lasted over a thousand years. These individuals are spiritual flowers and rays of light emanating from the flesh and blood of the Chinese nation, nourished by religious beliefs and a sense of serving the world.
Is not the legend of Wu Lizhen and Mount Mengding a reasonable outcome of the transmission of our national spirit and cultural temperament?
3. The Legendary Relationship Between Mengding Mountain Tea and Yangtze River Water
Standing in front of the couplet “Yangtze River water in the heart, Mengding Mountain tea on the peak” at Tianshifu Temple after climbing over 1,400 steps to the top of Mount Mengding, I wondered: There are so many tea mountains in the world, why does Mount Mengding stand alone at the pinnacle, immune to challenge?
Considering the tonal and rhythmic balance of the couple