A Study On The Changes In Tea Planting Regions In The History Of China

In this paper, historical literatures, data and research achievements on tea planting regions in China were systematically collected and integrated. Then, maps of tea planting regions in different historical periods, including the time before Tang Dynasty, Tang Dynasty, Song and Yuan Dynasty, Ming Dynasty, Qing Dynasty and Period of Republic of China, and the period after the founding of the People’s Republic of China, were drawn. The aim is to integrate the data of various dynasties into time series, and reconstruct tea planting regions in the history of China in a visualized way.Before Tang Dynasty, tea was planted sporadically in Yangtze River Basin, where wild arborous tea distributed widely. In Tang Dynasty, tea planting regions were greatly expanded than before, approaching to the vast southern areas of Yellow River Basin. In Song Dynasty, tea planting regions shrank to the southern areas of Qinling Mountains-Huaihe River. In Ming Dynasty, tea planting regions kept almost the same as that of Song and Yuan Dynasty. In Qing Dynasty and the period of Republic of China, tea planting regions were expanded and distribution density was increased in comparison with that of Ming Dynasty. After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, tea planting has achieved unprecedented development, and the tea planting regions at present are the widest in history.The changes in tea planting regions in the history are resulted from a number of factors. From the point view of production, the influencing factors include natural climate conditions, labor quantity, grain crop production, planting technology, and tea production of other countries. While, from the point view of circulation, the changes are influenced by the development of tea market and transportation. The increase or decrease in domestic and overseas tea consumption may also promote or reduce its production. Furthermore, government behavior, cultural promotion and peaceful development environment are also the factors influencing the regional changes.Under the background of global warming, rapid urbanization and increasing modernization, tea cultivation is facing new opportunities and challenges. If we can draw experiences and lessons from the history, the prospects for the development of tea industry in the future would be more bright.