Ep. 140-2 | Tea, A Bitter Brew in Bronze Age China

Tea might not have tasted so great in Shen Nong's time and for a thousand years thereafter. But progress was being made and tea's evolution starts to make some headway in China's Bronze Age that began around 2000 BC. But tea remained one bitter brew during these earliest centuries. It remained a work in progress but showed tremendous promise (as we'll see in future episodes)

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Terms in Episode

Pinyin/Term	Chinese	English/Meaning
Zhōu Dynasty	周朝	Dynasty that followed the Shang. Lasted from 1046 to 256 BC
Xià Dynasty	夏朝	Mythical dynasty that lasted approxumately 2070-1600 BC
Shāng	商朝	Dynasty that preceded the Zhou, lasted 1600-1046 BC
Lǎozǐ	老子	Also known as Lao Tzu, founder of Daoism
Kings Wén and Wǔ	周文王/周武王	Kings Wen and his son King Wu, the first two Zhou kings
Duke of Zhōu	周公	Son of King Wen, brother of King Wu, a very revered figure in ancient Chinese history
Hán Fēizǐ	韩非子	Name of the Legalist philospher and the book of his writings
Mèngzǐ	孟子	Also known as Mencius, a great philospher from the Ru School
Guǎn Zhòng	管仲	720-645 BC, chancellor to Duke Huan of Qi, revered philospher and official
Duke Huán of Qí	齐桓公	Ruler of Qi State from 685-643 BC
Qín Shǐhuáng	秦始皇	The first emperor of China and founder of the Qin Dyansty
Eastern Zhōu	东周	The Eastern Zhou Dynasty, divided up into The Spring & Autumn anbd Warring States Periods
Warring States Period	战国时代	The Warring States Period 476-221 BC
Yīn Xū	殷墟	The Ruins of Yin where the Shang Dynasty had one of its capitals. Ther famous Oracle Bones of China were found here
Ānyáng	安阳	City in Northern Henan where the Ruins of Yin were located
Hénán	河南	Province in central China north of Hubei and south of Henan
Huáxià	华夏	A term for the many tribes that clustered around the Yellow River and are considereds the most ancient ancestors of the Han Chinese.
Chán Buddhism	禅	Chan Buddhism, also known as Zen in Japan
Yúnnán	云南	Province in southwest China
Zhòu Xīn	紂辛	The last Shang king, known also as King Di Xin
Chéngdū	成都	Capital of Sichuan province and site of the ancient Shu State
Fúzhōu	福州	Capital of Fujian Province
Wú Lǐzhēn	吴理真	Buddhist Monk credited with the cultivation of tea on Mengding Shan
Emperor Xuān	汉宣帝	Han Emperor from 74-48 BC
Méngdīng Shān	蒙顶山	Méngdīng Mountain
Méngdīng Gān Lù Cha	蒙顶甘露茶	A type of tea that comes from Mount Mengding in Sichuan
Xiān Cha	仙茶	the tea of the immortals, another name for Ganlu Tea
Yǎ’ān	雅安	Ya'an, a city not too far from Chengdu
Qiónglái	邛崃	Qionglai, a city not far from Chengdu
Sānguó Zhì	三國志	Records of the Three Kingdoms
Sūn Hào	孙皓	grandson of Sūn Quán 孙权, former king of Eastern Wú who loved to drink
Wéi Yào	韦曜	Eastern Wu official and literary figure who was a teetotaler
yǐ chá dài jiǔ	以茶代酒	to substitute drinking tea instead of wine.
Sīmǎ Yán	司马炎	Jin Dyansty founder, known as Jin Wu Di 晋武帝
Jìn Dynasty	晋朝	The Jin Dynasty, 266-420
tú	荼	The character for tea before it was called cha 茶
Sìchuān	四川	Province in southwest China
Luòyáng	洛阳	One of the ancient capitals of China, located in Henan province
Cháng’ān	长安	Located in present day Xian, Shaanxi Province, capital of the Western Han and Tang Dynasties (among other dynasties)
Ěr Yǎ	尔雅	The first surviving Chinese dictionary
Jiǎ	槚	Another ancient name for tea
míng	茗	Another ancient name for tea
chuǎn	荈	Another ancient name for tea
kǔ tú	苦荼	Bitter Tu, or bitter tea
Bā Shǔ	巴蜀	The states of Ba and Shu
Chóngqìng	重庆	Formerly part of Sichuan, now an independant municipality
Shǔ Guó	蜀国	The state of Shu, located in modern Sichuan
Yíng Zhèng	嬴政	Personal name of the first Qin Emperor
Ānhuī	安徽	Province in eastern China
Fújiàn	福建	Coastal province south of Zhejiang
Zhèjiāng	浙江	Coastal Province north of Fujian
Jiāngxī	江西	Province in eastern China
Jiāngsū	江苏	Coastal Province north of Zhejiang
shè	蔎	Another ancient name for tea
Guǎngyǎ	广雅	Chinese dictionary written during the 3rd century
Húběi	湖北	Province in central China
Hàn Wǔdì	汉武帝	Western Han emperor
Liú Sòng	刘宋	Liu Song Dynasty 420-479 the first of the southern dynasties during the Southern and Northern Dynasties Period, 420-589 that preceded the Suí
Wùchéng	婺城	A city in Zhejinag "which grows the tea reserved for the emperor as tribute tea.”
Zhūgě Liàng	诸葛亮	Great strategist and statesman of the 3 Kingdoms period
Yáng Jiān	杨坚	Second Sui emperor and grandson of founder Wendi
Suí Wéndì	隋文帝	Founder of the Sui Dynasty
Táng Dynasty	唐朝	Dynasty that followed the Sui, 618-907

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