Although I was aware – prior to visiting the Bowers Museum – that the focus of the exhibit “Masters of Adornment: The Miao People of China” would be on the ethnic group’s silver jewelry and textiles, I was nonetheless hoping to see some adorned teaware since tea culture has prevailed for centuries in the region. However, there was not a tea cup in sight.
With a population of nearly nine million (based on the Year 2000 Census), the Miao people form China’s fifth largest ethnic group. The main character in Clint Eastwood’s movie Gran Torino is a Lao Hmong – a subgroup of the Miao ethnicity. Popular fiction of the “martial arts and chivalry” genre often portrays Miao characters in exquisite costumes and endowed with exotic beauty and extraordinary skills; some practice black magic, specializing in the concoction of the ever-fascinating “gu” – a venom-based poison.
In 1982, Duyun Mao Jian tea, a green tea produced in Duyun – the capital of Qiannan Buyei and Miao Autonomous Prefecture in Guizhou Province – was selected as one of the Top 10 teas in China and has retained the honor ever since. An even earlier recognition was bestowed at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco in 1915!
The inclusion of “Duyun” in the name seems a standard practice in Asia, but why “Mao Jian?” Not all tea names can be conveniently translated and labeled with a catchy moniker like “Oriental Beauty Oolong.” In addition to Duyun Mao Jian, there is the celebrated Xinyang Mao Jian, so Mao Jian is really an established tea variety. Some say Chairman Mao granted this tea its current name in 1956, and one can’t help noticing the incorporation of his own last name, “Mao,” which literally means hairy. Perhaps he did name it so because of the variety’s hairy leaf bud. On the other hand, one would not be surprised if it was another act by a dictator inflicted with narcissistic personality disorder. How did Xinyang Mao Jian get its name? Was it also renamed during Mao’s reign?
If the new name was not given until 1956, then what was the tea called at the 1915 Expo? It was probably called the Fish Hook Tea, just one of the few known old names.
I do love hearing about the rich and remarkable history of China. So many of their tea names conjure up beautiful and thought provoking imagines although “hairy” wouldn’t be among them. Given the narcissism of Chairman Mao, it’s a wonder all teas during his reign weren’t required to include a part of his name:)
I often wish the U.S. had a longer history to draw on. Unfortunately, as a culture, we don’t consider the Native Americans to be truly a part of our history so those ancient rituals have been lost for the most part.
I too would have expected any exhibit of Chinese culture to have included tea ware. I’d say it was an over sight as there must have been heavily adorned pieces during that time.
Chairman Mao may have been guilty of many things but on this occasion it has nothing to do with him.
‘Mao Jian’ can be translated literally as hairy tips and it refers to the ‘tippy’ shape (jian) of the leaves as well as the downy ‘fur’ (mao) present in the leaves.
Many variants are named after the shape- mao jian including the aforementioned Duyun Maojian, Xinyang Maojian, Cai Hua Maojian, Jinjing Maojian just to name a view.
Maofeng (including Huangshan Maofeng, the most famous by far) was also named for its downy furs and ‘peak’ (feng) which is broader than the ‘tip’ (jian).
Offhand I can’t remember when Duyun Maojian was so named but Xinyang Maojian was so named in 1913 (before Communist China) so it is pretty certain he didn’t conjure up the Maojian names to satisfy his ego.
One tea I can think of that is related to Chairman Mao is the Song Zhong Huang Zhi Xiang which was renamed Eastern Red or Dong Fang Hong (no prices for guessing why) during the Cultural Revolution.
However it was named by the local Chaozhou provincial governor rather than Mao himself.
This is one of my favorite aspects of T Ching – when knowledgable members of our community are able to further a post with additional information. Thanks Derek for sharing this fascinating material with us.
Interestingly the first few articles I encountered on the Internet all meticulously recorded the 1956 tea-naming episode, commenting on how the skilled farmers in Duyun read in the newspaper about another city’s “tributary” tiger pelt and decided to send Chairman Mao some of their own tea. A few days later they received a letter from Mao, complimenting their endeavor and issuing the name-changing mandate. Mao most likely knew about the other Maojian teas; the farmers had no choice but to accept the mediocre name.