MUZIChinese Matrix
Oolong Tea · FFET10389
An oolong from Anxi, Fujian, made through shaking, cloth-wrapped kneading, and roasting.
Oolong tea, made with a shaking and resting step and then fixing, also called qing cha.
Anxi Tieguanyin is an oolong from Anxi, Fujian, made through steps including sun-withering, cooling, shaking, pan-firing, cloth-wrapped kneading, and roasting. Modern Anxi styles are usually lightly oxidized and floral, while older styles were more heavily roasted. The Tieguanyin making craft entered the second batch of China's national intangible cultural heritage list in 2008; the listing recognizes the craft.
Anxi Tieguanyin is an oolong from Anxi, Fujian. Modern Anxi styles are usually lightly oxidized and floral; older styles were more heavily roasted.1,3
The craft's historical account traces tea growing in Anxi to the late Tang and places the naming of Tieguanyin in the Yongzheng–Qianlong period of the Qing dynasty. These accounts concern local tea growing and the tea's name, respectively; they do not establish the earliest written attestation of Anxi Tieguanyin.1
Anxi Tieguanyin comes from Anxi County in Quanzhou, Fujian. Anxi County submitted the Tieguanyin making craft for national intangible cultural heritage recognition.1,2
The leaves are sun-withered, cooled, shaken, and pan-fired, then rolled, kneaded in cloth, and baked, with some steps repeated. Further refining includes sieving, sorting, and roasting.1,2
The craft's description highlights green leaves with red edges and links this appearance and the aroma to steps such as shaking and rolling.1
In 2008, oolong tea making techniques (Tieguanyin making techniques) entered the second batch of China's national intangible cultural heritage list. This recognition concerns the tea making craft submitted by Anxi.1
A tale told in Anxi says that a farmer, Wei Yin, found a tea bush during the Yongzheng reign of the Qing dynasty. This is a Tieguanyin legend, not a verifiable historical account.
Told in: Told in Anxi; its dating belongs to the legend.
Another tale says that a scholar surnamed Wang presented tea to the Qianlong Emperor in the sixth year of his reign, and the emperor named it. This legend about Tieguanyin's name does not establish when the name first appeared.
Told in: A legend about the naming of Tieguanyin; no specific place of telling is identified.
