The Anshi Rebellion in the Tang Dynasty was a turbulent period in history, but most people attributed the credit for the pacification of Anshi Rebellion to the buffer region, but the economic impact on the war should not be underestimated. In fact, fighting is to fight the economy. In the absence of money and food, it is like a clever woman can't cook without rice, and the Tang Dynasty was able to tide over this difficulty by relying on an agricultural product. This agricultural product has influenced China for thousands of years, and it still appears in people's daily life until now. This is tea. Ancient people's understanding of tea has a long history, but they still benefited from Cha Sheng Lu Yu.

Lu Yu is a key figure in the development of tea ceremony.

Lu Yu is known as Cha Sheng, which makes sense. Lu Yu thinks that his previous way of drinking tea belongs to sudden death, not drinking tea. In the past, tea was not a drink, but more like a meal replacement. Tea has existed since ancient times, but it was first used as a sacrifice and was really eaten in the Spring and Autumn Period. But at this time, tea was still a vegetable, and it was not until the Han Dynasty that it was discovered that it could be made into tea to drink. However, drinking here is different from now. In the past, the way of drinking tea was quite special, and at that time, tea was mostly used as medicine, not a daily drink. It was not until the Western Han Dynasty that tea really moved into the court as a royal drink. There is a record in Zhao Chuan: "Play the emperor from left to right, and then serve the emperor until the day. It is not advisable to drink this tea." ; This also fully shows that tea at that time had become a palace drink and penetrated into the daily life of the emperor.

But what does all this have to do with the Anshi Rebellion? In fact, there is a great connection.

First, let's learn a legend. In the Tianbao period of Tang Dynasty, a scholar named Feng recorded the experience of a monk in Mount Taishan Lingyan Temple in his notes. Monks strictly follow the standards of Buddhist rites when studying, and don't eat after noon. But food is the source of energy, how can it last? Strangely, instead of being depressed, the monk became more and more energetic. Only after revealing the secret did I know that monks had the habit of drinking tea. Lu Yu was also interested in this, so he did some research.

Lu Yu, Cha Sheng

But the ancients didn't understand science. Although they know that tea has a refreshing effect, they don't know the source. Fortunately, the scientific research spirit of the ancients came from practice, so Lu Yu proposed a new way of drinking tea. Coincidentally, Lu Yu himself has a deep relationship with Buddhism, which is also reflected in the Book of Tea. Lu Yu mentioned many times that monks drink tea, and the commonality between Zen Buddhism and tea makes tea no different. But what I want to talk about now is the economic value of tea and its influence on the Tang Dynasty. Lu Yu lived in an Anshi Rebellion. The outbreak of An Shi Rebellion made the once glorious Tang Dynasty gloomy, and the premise of regaining the rebels was to have enough military forces. When the rebels were put down, there were not only local China soldiers, but also some mercenaries. Where did they come from?

Today's Silk Road

In exchange for tea. Before the Tang Dynasty, the Silk Road benefited from the textile industry in the Central Plains, making silk one of the hard currencies. However, the production cycle of silk is limited, and it is also a period of war, not to mention silk trading. But horses are an important part of war. How can we fight without horses? This will benefit from the story we just told, and tea can also be exchanged for horses. The reason is that the magical effect of tea fascinated the Uighurs at that time. Uighur was founded in Tianbao for three years and played a very important role in the Anshi Rebellion. Tang Xuanzong was able to win their support because of tea.

tea grounds

The reason why the Silk Road is called the Silk Road is also because the main transactions started from silk and lasted until the Tang Dynasty. For example, in Bai Juyi's Yinshan Road, Ceng Yun said, "Fifty horses are easy for one horse, and you can't go to Malaysia." ; This describes the process of exchanging silk for horses. It also shows how much silk was needed at that time, and even exchanges were endless. Things are different when it comes to the Anshi Rebellion. "Feng Ji" once said: "A few years ago, it was strange to return to the DPRK and drive away the famous horse market for tea." ; What is strange here is not that silk is exchanged for horses, but that Uighurs have a growing demand for tea, and compared with silk, Uighurs seem to prefer to exchange tea for horses.

So why do Uighurs have a soft spot for tea? The ancients had their own views on this, thinking that milk was the main drink in foreign countries, so they got strange diseases. It is tea that can cure this strange disease, which is why Uighurs have a soft spot for tea. In fact, this was a limited view at that time, and the real reason was actually very simple. Uighurs are the ancestors of Uighurs now, and there are dietary taboos in the beliefs of ethnic minorities, which also leads to the listlessness of these Uighurs. At this time, I believe everyone knows that it is the magical story that Uighurs value, and the spirit of monks drinking tea is greatly enhanced. The reality is that tea can really play a refreshing role, and it is this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that pulled the Tang Dynasty back from the brink of collapse and even got rid of its economic difficulties in one fell swoop. It was also from then on that tea began to appear black and pink.

It is worth mentioning that tea not only changed the fate of the Tang Dynasty, but also changed the economic structure of the Tang Dynasty. For example, after large-scale tea planting, and the migration of tea planting areas. In the late Tang Dynasty, a tea tax was established. In the Xuanzong period of the Tang Dynasty, the tea tax was as high as 800,000 yuan, which was one of the main sources to supplement the treasury of the Tang Dynasty. Of course, Uighur is only a pilot, and there are many tribes around the Tang Dynasty, which also strengthens the demand for tea and increases the market for tea. At the same time, tea trading places are generally at the border, such as the northwest, so in order to shorten transportation, tea gradually moves from the central region to the southwest and northwest, which is why the tea market in Sichuan and other places is now world-famous.

Uighur women in Tang dynasty

Tea not only saved the Tang Dynasty, but also had an important influence on the Song Dynasty. The reason why the Southern Song Dynasty lasted for more than 200 years under the siege of powerful enemies also depended on the tea trade. If tea was not the hard currency of trade, the Song Dynasty could not guarantee a stable source of war horses, and the fate of the dynasty was even unknown.