Posted 2017/7/4
During the Tang Dynasty, tea drinking customs spread quickly in the north of China on the basis of development in south China. The flourishing and influences of Buddhism were important factors in promoting tea drinking customs to spread from the South to the North of China. This was fully reflected in the "What Feng heard and saw" written by Feng Yan of Tang Dynasty. During the Kaiyuan period of Tang, a devil subduing master from Lingyan Temple of Taishan Mountain subscribed to Chan (Buddhism) in a big way. Those who studied Chan or sat in meditation were required neither to sleep nor to eat food at night, but all of them could drink tea. So tea brewing and drinking could be seen every where. It gradually became a custom in the Buddhist circle because of each other's following.
Another important factor for the flourishing of tea affairs was the appearance of tribute teas for imperial court use. Tea drinking was popular in the imperial court of the Tang period and there were many forms of tea ceremonies and tea parties. The imperial court attached great importance to tea production. In the Dali fifth year of Tang (A.D. 770), Emperor Tang Daizong had Guanpei (Governmental baking) established on Guzhushan Mountain in Changxing of Zhejiang (a special production base for plucking and processing tea for imperial court use) and he instructed governors of Huzhou and Changzhou states to supervise the processing of tribute teas and to be in charge of transporting the Zisun tea, Yangxian tea and Jinsha spring water to the court. There was a saying that various herbals had no courage to bloom before the emperor could taste the Yangxian tea. Once the new tea was plucked and processed, it should be transported around the clock to the capital city Chang'an for hosting a "Qingming Banquet". It was reflected by poem of Li Ying of the Tang period that walk four thousand li, be sure to catch the Qingming Banquet.
