Friday, November 23, 2012

The legend of Huiming Tea


As the legend goes, once a merchant in Jingning was traveling south by boat, he met a shabby-dressed old monk and gave him a lot of money and pieces of goods. The monk had nothing to give in return but the white tea and tea seeds he carried along, while telling the merchant that a cup of the tea would cure acute diseases. When the merchant returned home, he preserved the white tea without thinking too much. A couple of days later, his mother suddenly lost her sight without getting any better after seeing many famous doctors. The merchant was so anxious that one day he thought of the white tea given by the monk and decided to have a try. Miraculous enough, his mother got completely healed after drinking the tea!
The merchant was so happy that he ordered to cultivate the tea seeds with all care. After the tea plants grew up and tea leaves being processed, the tea was promoted and spread to other places. Since the tea could cure blindness, it was named "Huiming Tea" (会明茶), or Brightening Tea by the merchant, which then became “惠明茶” as it was spread around.

By Explore Cultural China

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