White tea legend

Chapter 231 Panhu
In the Li Dynasty, the She people were not called She people, and ethnic minorities including the She people were generally called "Man", "Man Liao", "Dong Man" or "Tong Liao".

These titles reflected the general and discriminatory titles given to the border peoples by the central dynasty led by the saints.

The She people use their own language, the She language, which belongs to the Miao-Yao group of the Sino-Tibetan language family.

Their She language is quite close to the Hakka dialect of Chinese, but there are some differences.

In daily life, the She people in various places are also familiar with the local Chinese dialect.

The ancestors of the She people are considered to be a branch of the ancient Yue people. Their history is long and can be traced back to the ancient Yue people. These ancestors once thrived in the southeastern coastal areas, but with historical changes, they gradually migrated to the mountainous areas in the south, forming today's distribution pattern. In this process, the She people have experienced many hardships and obstacles, exchanged and integrated with other ethnic groups, absorbed the advanced culture and technology of the Han and other ethnic groups, and promoted their own development.

The She people live in relatively remote mountainous areas and maintain their own unique language and culture. At the same time, they also reflect exchanges and integration with surrounding Han and other ethnic groups in their agricultural production methods and daily life.

The She people belong to the nomadic farming people in the south. They mainly engage in farming and adopt the slash-and-burn method. This farming method is called "She" in their language, which means cultivating the land with fire. Their living areas are mainly distributed in mountainous areas, maintaining their own unique language and culture. At the same time, their agricultural production methods and daily life also reflect the exchange and integration with surrounding Han and other ethnic groups.

Because Zi Yao won the singing competition in the She Nationality Niu Xie Festival, she was rewarded with a set of beautiful clothes, which is the phoenix costume, the traditional dress of She nationality women.

The Phoenix costume takes the phoenix as the theme and runs through the entire design, including headwear, tops, skirts, accessories and other parts. The headdress of the phoenix costume is called the "Phoenix Crown", which shows the overall outline of the phoenix. There is a bun on the back of the head, black crepe around the hair and feet, and a bamboo tube covered with silver foil on the top of the head, forming an obtuse triangle, symbolizing the head of the phoenix.

The top is a large cardigan with embroidered lace on the collar, cuffs and placket, with bright colors and various patterns. The neckline is often heavily decorated, and is also decorated with embroidery patterns such as flowers or birds and animals.

If the skirt matches the top, an apron is tied around the waist, which is called a "waistband". It is a piece of linen one foot long and one foot and a half wide, dyed cyan or blue, trimmed with red cloth, and nailed with colorful ribbons.

The phoenix costume also includes six kinds of accessories such as phoenix crown, ear buds, flat buckles, bracelets, anklets and rings. These accessories further add to the gorgeousness and uniqueness of the phoenix costume.

The design and production process of Phoenix costume incorporates many traditional crafts, such as embroidery, weaving, etc. It is not only worn during festivals or special occasions, but also as a wedding dress for She women.

Zi Yao got the phoenix costume and couldn't wait to put it on. She looked like a beautiful bride, which made Coral's eyes widen.

Coral still has that longing for Zi Yao in his heart, but he knows that he and Zi Yao are destined not to be a couple like Lu Yu and Bai Cha, because they still have the task of waiting for the "Compendium of Materia Medica" to reappear in the world. As long as Li Yi The God of Medicine appears in his reincarnation hundreds of years later. He, Zi Yao, and Gualou are about to join the herb fairies in the Baicao Garden.

Although Coral was regretful, her eyes showed love when she saw Zi Yao, who was as beautiful as a bride in a She ethnic phoenix costume.

At this moment, Zi Yao is his bride.

Zi Yao found that the elements of the phoenix suit were very unique, and the design of the phoenix suit contained commemoration and reverence for the ancestors.

This ancestor is Panhu.

During the time of Emperor Gaoxin in ancient times, General Rong Wu launched a rebellion, which threatened the stability of the country and the safety of the people.

At this critical moment, Emperor Gao Xin issued a call to the whole country, promising that whoever could behead Rong Wu would receive his reward and eternal honor. Under this call, an unexpected hero stepped forward - a colorful dog named Panhu. This dog is different from ordinary ones. He has colorful fur, and each hair shines with different colors, as if it contains magical power.

Panhu accepted this task and embarked on a dangerous journey, crossing steep mountains and endless wilderness. In repeated confrontations with the enemy, Panhu showed extraordinary courage and wisdom. Not only did he successfully defeat General Wu's pursuers, he also skillfully sneaked into the enemy's camp.

In the decisive battle, Panhu relied on his unique talent and unparalleled bravery to finally behead Rong Wu. This feat shocked the entire country, and people rejoiced for this hero's feat. When Panhu returned to Emperor Gao Xin with Rong Wu's head, everyone was full of respect for him.

Emperor Gao Xin deeply felt Panhu's bravery and loyalty. He decided to fulfill his promise and bestow Panhu with the highest honor. Therefore, Panhu was named the patron saint of the country and became the symbol and protector of the nation. In people's hearts, Panhu is not only a dog, but also a fearless and loyal hero.

The headdress design in the phoenix costume shows the overall outline of the phoenix, precisely because their ancestor King Panhu has an indissoluble bond with the Phoenix Mountain.

King Panhu once led his tribe to thrive in Fenghuang Mountain on Lingnan Road, and used the phoenix as a totem.

King Panhu married the third princess because of his meritorious service, and was granted the title of Fenghuang Mountain on Lingnan Road by Emperor Gao Xin, and was exempted from corvee service. His tomb is also located in Fenghuang Mountain. Fenghuang Mountain is also considered the birthplace of the ancestors of the She people. The She people have preserved many ancestral maps and genealogies, all of which record the legend of their ancestor Panhu and the ancestral tomb of King Pan in Fenghuang Mountain.

After King Panhu and the third princess moved to Fenghuang Mountain, they used the phoenix as their totem to open up wasteland, cultivate land, and live and multiply.

When foreign enemies invaded Phoenix Mountain, King Panhu was unfortunately shot by a poisonous arrow and died. The third princess followed the previous advice and led the tribe to escape to the land where the rooster crows, where they opened up wasteland and cultivated land to continue their lives.

During his lifetime, King Panhu was sent to Kuaiji Mountain to become the king, and he was known as King Panhu. He and the third princess had six boys and six girls. Emperor Gao Xin gave them different surnames, becoming the earliest twelve surnames of the Yao people. Although he has become a king, King Panhu still maintains a hard-working and simple lifestyle, educating his children in hunting and labor.

It turns out that the She people are just like them, coming from ancient times.

On the way back from Ruiyun Temple, Bai Cha and his party felt a lot of affinity towards the She people.

The mountains are high and the roads are far away. The She people like to live in the mountains, so they also call themselves "Shanha". After coming down from Ruiyun Temple, I couldn't help but sigh. The mountains are high and the roads are far away. No wonder the She people call themselves "Shanha". They are indeed people living in the mountains.

……

Because Baihao Yinzhen became the new tea king, Lu Yu also had a new identity: the president of the Changxi County Tea Merchant Association.

Under the leadership of Chairman Lu, the tea industry in Changxi County began a series of changes.

When Lu Yu first took office, he summoned all tea merchants and held a grand tea culture seminar. He invited tea scholars, tea making masters, and even famous poets from all over the world to discuss the essence of tea culture and its future development. At the meeting, Lu Yu expounded his vision in poetic language: "We not only want to grow tea and sell tea, but also promote tea culture and let people all over the world enjoy the charm of tea."

In order to improve the quality of tea, Lu Yu advocated tea farmers to adopt more sophisticated tea-making techniques, and personally wrote the book "White Tea Classic", which detailed the techniques of planting, picking and making Changxi white tea. This book quickly spread among tea farmers in Changxi County and became their "Bible" for growing tea.

Under the leadership of Lu Yu, tea merchants in Changxi County began to try cross-border cooperation. They teamed up with local literati and artists to create a series of tea-themed poems, paintings and music works. These works not only show the charm of tea culture, but also make more people pay attention to and love tea art.

Lu Yu also attaches great importance to the dissemination and promotion of tea culture. He often holds tea art performances on various occasions to popularize tea knowledge and tea ceremony skills to people. He also organized some tea culture exhibitions and exchange activities, attracting many foreign tourists to visit and learn.

Under Lu Yu's leadership, the tea industry in Changxi County has flourished, the quality of tea has been greatly improved, and sales have also been rising. His actions not only brought tangible benefits to the tea merchants in Changxi County, but more importantly, he allowed the traditional tea culture to be passed on and developed.

Changxi White Tea has grown rapidly due to Chairman Lu Yu's relationship, but tea merchants who once focused on Changxi's popular black tea and green tea are quite complaining.

In Changxi County, President Lu Yu spared no effort to promote white tea, and his reputation and influence expanded with the spread of white tea. However, this new trend has caused dissatisfaction among those businesses who make a living by selling black tea and green tea. In the corner of the tea market, they complained privately about Lu Yu's actions, believing that his reforms had broken the balance of the Changxi tea industry and threatened their livelihoods.

"Lu Yu's move is extremely biased!" A black tea merchant named Pei Hong said angrily, "He blindly promotes white tea. Has he forgotten that our black tea and green tea are the foundation of Changxi?"

"Yes, he only cares about his own preferences and promotes white tea to the sky, but does not care about our interests." Chen Xiang, another green tea businessman, said, "We have worked hard over the years to gain the reputation of Changxi Tea, but now it is not To be subverted by him.”

"Hmph, Lu Yu can do whatever he wants just because he is the president." A trace of evil flashed in Pei Hong's eyes, "We can't just sit back and wait, we must find a way to let him know that the Changxi Tea Industry is not his alone. ”

Chen Xiang pondered for a moment and said in a low voice: "I heard that Lu Yu will hold another tea party recently and invite guests from all over to taste the newly made white tea. We can take this opportunity to disgrace his white tea."

"Oh? What's your clever plan?" Pei Hong asked curiously.

"We can secretly replace his white tea at the tea party and let the guests taste inferior tea." Chen Xiang's eyes flashed with a cunning light, "In this way, Lu Yu's white tea reputation will be greatly affected."

"Good strategy!" Pei Hong laughed, "However, we need to find the right person to complete this plan without anyone noticing."

"This matter is not difficult." Chen Xiang said confidently, "I have a few confidants who are good at this and will definitely succeed."

The two of them had made a decision and began to arrange it secretly. They found a few reliable subordinates and asked them to be responsible for serving tea and water at the tea party. They took the opportunity to replace the white tea with ordinary tea leaves.

On the day of the tea party, Lu Yu didn't know anything about it, but still entertained the guests enthusiastically. When it was the white tea's turn, he discovered something was wrong - after tasting it, the expressions on the faces of the guests seemed not to be as satisfied as expected.

Lu Yu was shocked and hurriedly tasted it for himself. Sure enough, he found that this was not the white tea he carefully made. His expression suddenly turned ugly, and the guests present also began to whisper and discuss.

At this time, Pei Hong and Shen Xiang looked at each other and smiled, feeling secretly proud in their hearts.

After the tea party, Lu Yu immediately summoned all the servants to investigate the matter. At Lady White Tea's reminder, the men who were secretly causing harm were found out, and their masterminds behind the scenes, Pei Hong and Shen Xiang, were quickly exposed.

Faced with the accusations from everyone, Pei Hong and Shen Xiang were speechless and had to admit their wrongdoings. Lu Yu sighed deeply and said to them: "What you do not only damages my reputation, but also harms the Changxi Tea Industry. We should unite and jointly safeguard the reputation of Changxi Tea, and It’s not mutual conflict. Why do you think I want to vigorously develop Changxi White Tea?”

The reason why Lu Yu worked day and night to develop white tea making techniques was not because the tea varieties in Changxi County were not competitive with other representative teas of the Li Dynasty's green tea and black tea categories when making green tea, black tea and other categories.

In the Li Dynasty, Changxi County was named after tea, with many varieties of tea, each with its own characteristics. However, when it came to making mainstream tea products such as green tea and black tea, the tea produced in Changxi could not compete with the famous tea varieties from other counties at the time. For example, when it comes to black tea, the Sichuan red from Shu County has a rich and strong fragrance, and the lake red from Dongting Mountain is bright and translucent; when it comes to green tea, Biluochun has an elegant fragrance, and Longjing has a green color, beautiful shape, and long-lasting flavor. These teas all have unique flavors and profound cultural heritage, and have been loved by the world for a long time.

Lu Yu, as the new president of the Changxi County Tea Merchant Association, is well aware of this current situation. He is well versed in tea art. Faced with the disadvantage of Changxi tea varieties in the competition of traditional tea products, Lu Yu is unwilling to settle for mediocrity and is determined to find a new way to find the unique way of Changxi tea.

Therefore, Lu Yu studied tea art day and night and explored more possibilities of Changxi tea varieties. He went deep into the tea mountains, personally picked fresh tea leaves, repeatedly tested different fermentation and baking methods, and finally developed a brand new tea product - white tea. This kind of tea does not require complicated craftsmanship and retains the most natural taste and aroma of tea. Its color is as silver as snow, the soup is clear, and the taste is light and sweet.

Due to its unique production techniques and excellent flavor, Changxi County's white tea quickly became famous and won the title of Tea King, becoming the new favorite in the tea industry.

If Changxi tea wants to have a place in Li Dynasty, it must vigorously promote Changxi white tea!