Herbal tea

Name of Chinese national intangible cultural heritage: Herbal Tea

Applicant: Home Affairs Bureau of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region

Item No.: 439

Project No.: VIII - 89

Time of publication: 2006 (the first batch)

Category: traditional art

Region: Hong Kong

Type: new item

Applicant: Home Affairs Bureau of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region

Protection unit: Home Affairs Bureau of the government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region

Introduction to herbal tea

Applicant: Home Affairs Bureau of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region

Herbal tea is a kind of beverage that people in Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao, according to the local climate, water and soil characteristics, in the process of long-term disease prevention and health care, guided by the theory of health preservation of traditional Chinese medicine and using Chinese herbal medicine as raw materials, eat and summarize. It has the functions of clearing heat and detoxification, generating body fluid to quench thirst, dispelling fire and dehumidification, and accompanies people's daily life. It has specific terms to guide people's daily drinking, and there is no dose limit or doctor's guidance.

In 306 ad, GE Hongnan, a Daoist pharmacist of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, came to Lingnan. Because of the epidemic of malaria at that time, he was able to study various kinds of warm disease medicine in Lingnan. The medical monographs left by Ge Hong and the later doctors of Lingnan Wenpai summarized the rich experience of working people in the process of long-term prevention and treatment of diseases, and formed the herbal tea with profound Lingnan culture. Its formula and terminology passed down from generation to generation. The historical allusions and folk legends about herbal tea are widely spread in Lingnan and overseas, and have been enduring. For hundreds of years, herbal tea shops in Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao have formed a unique landscape of Lingnan culture.

Herbal tea preparation technology has been inherited by the family for hundreds of years. During the "Cultural Revolution", the culture of herbal tea was seriously damaged. Not only the shops of herbal tea were closed, but also there were few cultural relics, such as utensils, relics, historical materials, photos and so on. The 54 formulas of 16 herbal tea brands, including Wang Laoji, shangqingyin, jianshengtang, Deng Lao, Baiyunshan, Huang Zhenlong, Xu Qixiu, CHUNHETANG, Jinhu, Xingqun, runxintang, Shaxi, Li, qingxintang, xinglinchun and baoqingtang, and their herbal tea culture have been widely recognized by the public.

The long history of herbal tea culture and its extensive folk nature, recognized effectiveness, strict inheritance and huge late effect make it a "dark horse" in the world. At present, the output of herbal tea has reached 2 million tons (including Hong Kong and Macao), and the sales scope has covered the whole country and nearly 20 countries such as the United States, Canada, France, Britain, Italy, Germany, Australia and New Zealand. Today, with the rapid development of industry, as a part of Chinese food culture, it is of practical significance to protect and carry forward herbal tea culture.