茶文化向边疆各族的传播

20　茶文化向边疆各族的传播　Tea Spreads to the Ethnic Nationality Borderland Areas

During Chinese tea history，tea spread from inland regions to borderland areas where ethnic groups resided.

Tibetans eat lots of meat every day，so tea helps them to digest the meat.Thus according to historical records，tea came to the Tibetan region in the Tang Dynasty.In 641 Princess Wencheng(文成公主)went to Tibet where she married the Tubo King，Songtsan Gampo(吐蕃松赞干布).Tea was one of her dowry items.

During mid-Tang Dynasty，when imperial court envoys visited the Tibetan Kings，they often saw in local Tibetan chieftains'houses some well known kinds of tea grown and processed in ancient inland China.Following the mid-Tang Dynasty，the tea-horse trade further promoted the relationships between the Tibetan regime and Central Plains.

During the Tang Dynasty a nomadic ethnic nationality called Huihe(回纥)lived in ancient Northwest China.More than a thousand Huihe businessmen resided in Chang'an(长安)，the Tang Dynasty capital，where they studied or did business.

According to historical records，Huihe businessmen would drive horses to markets to barter for tea.After purchasing tea，they kept some for their own consumption and then traded the rest with Turks and Arabs for profit.

The Western Xia Regime(西夏，1038—1227) appeared in ancient Northwest China during the early Song Dynasty.This regime was mainly composed of the Dangxiang people(党项族)that grew out of a branch of the Qiang ethnic nationality.They raised horses，sheep，and camels and also engaged in trade.During the early Song Dynasty the Dangxiang people sold their horses to the Song businessmen who purchased them with copper coins.The Dangxiang people used these coins to cast weapons.In 983 the Song government issued a ban against the use of copper coins to purchase horses.Instead of coins，people started to barter for horses with tea and other products.

During the early years of the Western Xia state，the Song imperial court often presented its rulers with gifts of silver，silk，cloth，tea，and the like.The volume of tea reached thousands of jin(斤).In 1038 Yuan Hao(元昊)proclaimed himself the Western Xia Emperor.He launched wars against the Song Dynasty，leading to great losses on both sides.The Western Xia Regime and the Song court later agreed to cease fighting and afterwards peacefully coexisted.Although Yuan Hao submitted to the Song，the Song court was forced to pay a costly annual tribute of silver，silk，and tea.The volume of tea went up to several tens of thousands of jin，and at times even exceeded that amount.

The Nüzhens，or Jurchens(女真族)，were an ancient ethnic nationality that was based farther north in ancient northeastern China and swallowed up the Liao Regime(辽国，907—1125).In1126they overwhelmed the Song capital at Kaifeng.With their own capital near Beijing，they set up a dynasty known as the Jin(金)，meaning“gold.”A treaty was drawn up with the Southern Song，and the Jin Dynasty asserted seniority over the Southern Song，demanding the payment of tribute，which was handed over in the form of silk，tea，and silver.

Gradually，the Jin people learned the art of tea drinking from the Song.Day after day，tea-drinking became more popular among the Jin people，including court members，scholars，and common people.Many teahouses appeared in towns and cities，and scholars considered tea equal to wine.

When tea consumption got out of control，the Jin court issued a ban several times against tea-drinking.The court feared that such consumption might weaken the dynasty's economy and military defence.Although the ban was very strict，tea-drinking continued in nongovernmental communities.

Notes: 1)dowry 嫁妆 2)envoy 特使 3)nomadic 游牧的 4)consumption 消耗 5)be composed of 由……组成 6)coexist 共存 7)exceed 超过 8)assert 声称