Cultural Analysis: What does "tea" signify when it is included in the World Cultural Heritage Site

2023-09-28

Recently, China's "Pu'er Scenery and Ancient Tea Forest Cultural Landscape" project was reviewed at the 45th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee and included in the The World Heritage List. This is China's 57th World Heritage Site, filling the gap in the world's three major non-alcoholic beverages (tea, coffee, cocoa) without a "tea" themed world cultural heritage. The "Pu'er Jingmai Mountain Ancient Tea Forest Cultural Landscape" is currently the only "tea" themed world heritage site in the world, including 5 complete ancient tea forests, with a concentrated contiguous area of 18000 acres. There are 9 traditional villages in the ancient tea forest, with over 5000 residents. The local ancestors, after thousands of years of protection and development, have created an ancient tea forest cultural landscape where forest and tea coexist and people and land are harmonious. The successful application for the World Heritage Site of "Pu'er Jingmai Mountain Ancient Tea Forest Cultural Landscape" has also successfully brought Yunnan Ancient Tea Garden into the public's view. Yunnan is the birthplace of tea trees in the world, with a tradition of planting and making tea since ancient times. It has the unparalleled contiguous ancient tea gardens in the world today. Before the Tang Dynasty, various ethnic groups in southern Yunnan planted tea trees in the forest, forming ancient forest tea gardens. This ecological wisdom created jointly in production and life practice has a long history of hundreds to even thousands of years. The ancestors of multiple ethnic groups in Yunnan, including the Jino, Bulang, Dai, and Hani, have similar understandings of the biological and ecological characteristics of tea trees, as well as the local natural environment. They planted tea trees and managed ancient tea gardens under natural forests in a nearly identical way, which has continued to this day. Their traditional practices of long-term cultivation, management, protection, and utilization of ancient tea gardens have deeply integrated into their national culture, becoming an important element in forging a strong sense of Chinese national community, and can be regarded as a model of harmonious coexistence between humans and nature. As an important component of the "Yunnan Pu'er Ancient Tea Garden and Tea Culture System", Jingmai Mountain is located in Lancang Lahu Autonomous County, Pu'er City, Yunnan Province, and is a famous producer of Pu'er tea. In September 2012, the ancient tea garden and tea culture system of Pu'er, including it, were announced by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations as a pilot project for the protection of important agricultural cultural heritage worldwide. Like other ancient Pu'er tea gardens, Jingmai Ancient Tea Garden still preserves a large-scale ancient tea forest, with towering ancient trees and hundreds of years old ancient tea trees still lush and lush. Brotherhood ethnic groups such as the Blang, Dai, Lahu, Hani, and Han who have lived in Jingmai Mountain have cultivated and managed large leaf tea trees for hundreds of years, exploring understory planting techniques for rational utilization of forest ecosystems, presenting a unique landscape of "forest from afar, tea garden from afar". Almost no fertilizers or pesticides are used, relying on the natural decomposition of dead branches and leaves to provide nutrients. The proper management and maintenance of ancient tea gardens by various ethnic groups not only give them the appearance of a forest, but also stimulate the pulse of the forest. Research on ethnic ecology shows that the number of plant species in the Jingmaishan ancient tea garden is four times that of modern intensive new tea gardens, and the biodiversity index is also much higher than that of modern monoculture tea gardens. Each ancient tea garden is a sustainable ecosystem, with the people of various ethnic groups in Jingmai Mountain, mainly the Blang and Dai, adapting their land use and village layout to local conditions. This not only protects biodiversity, but also brings stable and considerable economic income to various ethnic groups, reflecting their rational use of natural resources

Edit:Luo yu    Responsible editor:Jia jia

Source:GMW.cn

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