Wang Xiulan

01 · Lineage & Regional School

She studied the traditional jasmine tea scenting technique under Zhang Shixian. Within the regional tradition and school record of Scented Tea Processing Craftsmanship in Beijingzhangyiyuanchayeyouxianzerengongsi: Zhang Yiyuan's jasmine tea was one of the Beijing tea houses of the Qing dynasty that made its name through scenting. Peking opera stars Qiu Shengrong, Ma Lianliang, and Tan Fuying were among its regular customers. After the 1956 public-private joint operation, its signature focus on scented tea was lost for a time, and it was not until 1992 that the old craft was restored. The core of the craft is scenting: the tea base uses spring tea from Fujian baked green tea, with initial processing following withering, fixation, rolling, and baking; during scenting, the amount of flowers added, their degree of openness, and the pile temperature and moisture are all carefully observed. After Wang Xiulan joined Zhang Yiyuan in 1992, she restored the layered-scenting method for jasmine tea. Scented tea (huacha) originated in the Song dynasty, began to take shape in the Ming dynasty, and reached maturity in the Qing dynasty. During the Qing dynasty, many tea houses in Beijing were renowned for selling jasmine tea. At the end of the Qing dynasty, Zhang Changyi founded the Zhang Yiyuan tea house, which has been passed down through generations and specializes in producing and selling jasmine tea. During the Republican era, Zhang Yiyuan became widely celebrated throughout Beijing. After the 1956 public-private joint operation (joint state-private ownership), Zhang Yiyuan gradually lost its original distinctive focus on selling scented tea.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

Female, of Han ethnicity, born in September 1954 in Beijing. National representative bearer of the Scented Tea Making Technique (the Zhang Yiyuan Jasmine Tea Making Technique), a third-batch national intangible cultural heritage project. A jasmine tea making technician at Zhang Yiyuan and a national first-class tea taster. From 1972 she studied scented tea processing at the Zhengxingde Teahouse, and from 1992 she worked at the Beijing Zhang Yiyuan Tea Co., Ltd. She revived the layered scenting method for jasmine tea and made distinctive contributions to the processes that enhance its aroma. She established twenty-seven tea production bases in China and founded a tea research institute, increasing the range of Zhang Yiyuan jasmine teas from ten to more than twenty. In 1993 she formulated the Zhang Yiyuan Jasmine Tea Enterprise Standard and related standards, and has repeatedly taken part in drafting and revising national tea standards. In the past she organised two training courses at regular intervals each year, passing on scented tea making widely. She now trains five apprentices throughout the year, transmitting and spreading the techniques of the craft. Within the documented technical tradition of Scented Tea Processing Craftsmanship in Beijingzhangyiyuanchayeyouxianzerengongsi: Scented tea is made by placing green tea together with jasmine blossoms and scenting it repeatedly. This is a tea variety unique to our country, in which the tea takes its name from the flower and the flower is enhanced by the tea. Regular patrons of bathhouses and opera houses almost all asked specifically for Zhang Yiyuan; famous Peking opera performers such as Qiu Shengrong, Ma Lianliang, and Tan Fuying were also longtime customers of Zhang Yiyuan. In 1992, Zhang Yiyuan's traditional jasmine tea craftsmanship was restored. In making its jasmine tea, Zhang Yiyuan uses Fujian baked green tea—spring tea as the base—whose initial processing mainly includes withering, fixation (kill-green), rolling, and baking. This scented tea, beloved by Beijing residents, has a distinctive flavor, is inexpensive yet fine, embodies the profound cultural heritage of old Beijing, and enjoys a broad market. However, the Zhang Yiyuan jasmine tea craft is fairly complex and the manual labor is quite arduous, so fewer and fewer people are willing to learn it; the inheritance and development of the scented-tea scenting craft has become an urgent problem to be addressed. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Documented Process Records": In making its jasmine tea, Zhang Yiyuan uses Fujian baked green tea—spring tea as the base—whose initial processing mainly includes withering, fixation (kill-green), rolling, and baking.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

In 2009, Wang Xiulan was announced in the third batch of national representative bearers for Scented Tea Processing Craftsmanship, with Beijingzhangyiyuanchayeyouxianzerengongsi as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Scented Tea Processing Craftsmanship in Beijingzhangyiyuanchayeyouxianzerengongsi: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2008 (batch 2), with Beijingzhangyiyuanchayeyouxianzerengongsi as its declared area, and Beijing Zhangyiyuanchaye Co., Ltd. as its safeguarding unit. Since the project was inscribed in the national inventory, its declared area and safeguarding unit have carried out documentation, transmission and presentation within the national safeguarding framework. Together, the inventory record and the project archive form the public documentary basis for the bearer’s transmission practice.

04 · Associated Heritage Item Dossier

05 · Fellow National Bearers Lineage

National representative bearers recorded under the same item code, ordered from the first to the sixth batch. Batch order is not a teacher–student relationship.

06 · Archival Sources & Bibliography

1. Wang Xiulan · National Representative Bearer Archive