Study On The Cultural And Ecological History Of Anhua Dark Tea

The formation of tea industry is the result of the interaction between ethnic culture and ecological environment in a long historical period.To study Anhua dark tea is to explore the process of mutual adaptation and adjustment between culture and ecological environment in the transformation of Anhua dark tea from common plant species to the development of tea industry.Taking Anhua dark tea as the research object,this paper tries to make a comprehensive historical review of the development of Anhua dark tea with the help of interdisciplinary comprehensive analysis method from the perspective of cultural ecology.On the level,it can be divided into two aspects: first,the close relationship between Anhua dark tea and the cultural ecological environment in the historical process of commercialization;second,the social function and social status change of Anhua dark tea industry.Anhua dark tea as an very important industry,the influenced and promoted formation factors is not a pure economic factor,nor a pure cultural factor or the product of a ethnic innovation,but the local people's constant adaptation both to the natural environment and social ecological environment for their members' survival and reproduction.It can be said that the development history of Anhua dark tea is a cultural and ecological history of tea.Therefore,to clarify this relationship,this paper is mainly divided into the following five parts to elaborate.The first part is the third chapter of this thesis.Anhua County is located in the natural and ecological system,as well as soil,climate,geographical location and other natural ecological conditions are most suitable for the growth of tea trees in one of the areas,which has become the basic premise of the development of Anhua dark tea industry.From ancient times to the northern Song Dynasty,with the formation of Meishan Culture,a large number of Han people began to settle here,integrate into the local culture,and participate in the tea business of the local people.The interweaving,interaction and adjustment of multi-ethnic cultures have made the cultivation,processing and production techniques of Anhua dark tea become mature and integrate with the market,thus starting the commercialization process.The second part is the fourth chapter of the thesis.This part mainly uses the theory of cultural ecology to analyze the influence of tea politics change on the development of Anhua dark tea industry.During the reign of emperor Dezong of the Tang Dynasty(780-805),tea tax was introduced,and tea was incorporated into theunified tax administration system.In the northwest frontier of the Song Dynasty,the government initiated the policy of “Tea and Horse Trading”,and “Tea and Horse Trading” in the northwest frontier area continued until the middle of the Qing Dynasty.Anhua dark tea,with its excellent quality and preferential price,gradually turned from abnormal channels to normal channels and officially entered the “Tea and Horse Trading” and made profits from it.In the Ming Dynasty,Anhua area was identified as the main implementation area of the policy of “Salt &Tea Kaizhong System”(The state used its monopoly of salt and tea to attract merchants to the border,and the government gave them the salt and tea transportation and marketing licence certificate to sell it in limited places).After the reign of emperor Daoguang of the Qing Dynasty(1821-1850),in order to quell the Taiping Rebellion,the local armed forces,such as the Xiang Army and the Huai Army,turned to control the sale of channels of tea and expand their political influence.The Qing Court was forced to abandon the former system of tea transportation and marketing licence certificate and change to the system of “Tea Trade Bill”.This measure not only solved the problem of huge expenditure and increased fiscal revenue,but also promoted the further development of Anhua dark tea industry.Anhua dark tea thus ranks the world's famous tea brands.It can be said that the dark tea industry in Anhua was developed under the system of salt & tea monopoly in the feudal dynasties.It is the result of the intervention of social system and ethnic culture that Anhua dark tea has developed from the ordinary commodity trade to the ethnic monopoly goods.Anhua dark tea has undergone a qualitative change in its status,which has laid a solid foundation for it to become a world-class prosperous industry.The third part is the fifth chapter of the thesis.This part mainly discusses the border trade and export trade of Anhua dark tea.Due to the special natural and ecological environment in northwest China,north Asia,Russia and other places,people have gradually formed a nomadic way of living by water and grass.Tea can not only provide them with the missing carbohydrates,vitamin C and other nutrients,but also serve as a substitute for vegetables,thus the lifestyle of drinking tea has become an important source of essential nutrients.Anhua dark tea,a kind of tea with high quality and low price,was quickly accepted and widely spread by the local people.To some extent,this promoted the rapid development of Anhua dark tea industry.At the same time,in the process of local political,economic,cultural,religious and other social exchanges,dark tea has been endowed with multiple cultural significance by the people in the northwest,Mongolia and even Russia.Darktea is not only a simple commodity,but also a cultural product adjusted by foreign cultures.It has the property of a social life substance,and has been fully integrated into the daily life of the local people.It is indispensable.The fourth part is the sixth chapter of this paper.This part just uses the theory of Cultural Ecology to explain that the formation,development and evolution of Anhua dark tea production technology are closely related to the social environment such as politics,economy and national culture,as well as the natural environment such as climate and geography.The technical system of breeding,planting,picking and making of Anhua dark tea is obviously with strong local characteristics,which is also the product of the interaction between culture and ecology.The fifth part is the seventh chapter of this paper.Through an in-depth analysis of the inscription left by the local people,this part proves that the dark tea industry in Anhua occupies an important position in the local and economic life,and almost the whole society revolves around the cultural issue of dark tea.This fully shows the tea market in the process of construction,due to the intervention of state coercive power,and contribute to the formation of a variety of system and the market mechanism,the interaction in different time and space under the condition of different stakeholders,as well as a variety of claims,profit distribution,social interaction and influence of cultural resources,and makes corresponding tea growing and business norms and constraints of rules arises at the historic moment.Relying on tea regulations and centering on the cultivation,transportation and marketing of tea,the local society in Anhua has gradually developed a set of operational mechanisms and a new order to meet the needs of the market.The eighth chapter analyzes and summarizes the changes of social function and social status of Anhua tea industry.Throughout the development course of Anhua dark tea industry in traditional society,from ancient times to the Qing Dynasty,Anhua dark tea rose from common plant species to a world-class industry,and its political and military functions in the society have been accompanied.However,with the great changes in domestic and international patterns and the advent of global economic integration,the social environment for the development of Anhua dark tea industry has undergone earth-shaking changes.With the change of the national system,the adjustment of the national polices and the establishment of the market economy system,the political and military functions that the dark tea industry has been playing have gradually weakened,or even retired from the historical stage,resulting in the slow decline of the dark tea industry in a long period of time,and the emergence ofpoverty in the original rich areas.Temporary decline,must not deny the thousands of years' prosperity for tea industry and its historical contributions.Under the background of the new era,the ecological value,cultural value and economic value of the tea industry meet the development needs of the contemporary society and can still play an important role.For the revival of Anhua dark tea,people should change a new way of thinking,detach it from the shackles of the old social system,put it into the new social system,endue it with new cultural ecological value and vitality,and reform it instead of revolution.Only by summing up and reflecting on such historical experience can propose effective measures to promote the revival and sustainable development of the dark tea industry in Anhua,which is not only conducive to the construction of ecological civilization at present,but also can provide effective reference and path choice for the sustainable poverty alleviation in similar regions.