China is the homeland of tea, and the history of tea cultivation is more than 4,000 years. Until now, there is still a custom of replacing gifts with tea in many places, but a long, long time ago, tea was not a drink, but a medicine.
There is such a legend about the history of the medicinal use of tea:
In ancient times, Shennong treated people, not only to personally climb the mountains and mountains to collect herbs, but also to personally experience and identify the efficacy of herbs. Once, Shennong tasted a poisonous grass, and suddenly felt dry and dizzy, so he quickly sat down with his back against a big tree and closed his eyes to rest.
At this time, a gust of wind blew, and a few green leaves fell on the tree, Shennong picked up two and put them in his mouth to chew, but he didn't expect a fragrance to arise spontaneously, and he suddenly felt that the bottom of his tongue was full of relish, and his spirit was uplifted, and the discomfort just now was swept away. Shennong felt very strange, so he collected some and brought them back. Shennong added water to burn the fire and put in the green leaf decoction, soon smelled a fragrance wafting out of the pot, Shennong approached to take a closer look, only to see the leaves floating on the water surface, the soup color in the water gradually turned yellow-green, and there was a fragrance with the steam rising and slowly emitted.
Shennong scooped some juice with a bowl and drank, only to feel that the taste was bitter, fragrant, and the aftertaste was mellow and sweet after drinking, the body was not tired, and the mind was more sober. Shennong was overjoyed, took its leaves to boil and try to take it, and found that it did have the effects of quenching thirst, refreshing the mind, diuresis and detoxification. Since then, tea has been discovered!
Although it is a legend, it is certain that tea originally existed as a medicine and had health benefits. Since the Han Dynasty, many ancient medical books have recorded discourses about the medicinal value of tea and the fitness of tea drinking.
In the Tang Dynasty, Chen Zangqi said in the "Collection of Materia Medica" that "tea is the medicine for all diseases". Su Jing et al. wrote "New Repair Materia Medica" to list tea in the wood, describing its sweet, bitter, slightly cold, non-toxic, its effects have lower qi, expectorant, heat, thirst, make people sleep less, eliminate food and lodging, facilitate urination, cure fistulas, etc. Later generations of physicians adhered to its theories and continued to explore the medicinal effects of tea.
After the emergence of Lu Yu, the tea saint of the Tang Dynasty, tea really began to transform from medicine to drink. Lu Yu collected the literature of his predecessors on tea and compiled the book "The Book of Tea". This book is not only rich in content, but also establishes the important position of tea in the entire history of China, making people realize that tea has become a part of Chinese culture while transforming from medicine to drink.
Although tea gradually changed from medicine to drink from the Tang Dynasty onwards, the understanding of the medicinal functions of tea was still dominant. In the Song Dynasty, the tea industry developed rapidly, and the use and application of traditional Chinese medicine tea therapy gradually expanded. Among them, Huai Bud Tea Formula, Shangluo Leaf Tea Formula, Honey Locust Bud Tea Formula, and Heather Bud Tea Formula no longer focus on the research on the herbal effect of tea, but turn the focus to the production process of tea and the application of drinking methods in prescriptions, which makes the development of traditional Chinese medicine tea therapy take a new step.
During the Ming Dynasty, Li Shizhen systematically summarized tea in the "Compendium of Materia Medica", pointing out: "Tea is bitter and cold, the yin in the yin, sinking also, descending, the most able to reduce fire." Fire is a hundred diseases, and fire is clear. ”
With the passage of time, people found that the tea itself had a better aroma, so they simply kneaded and boiled the tea leaves to drink, making tea truly a drink. Today, tea is not only an indispensable health drink for Chinese, but also popular all over the world and loved by people all over the world.