Chu Zhaowei

01 · Lineage & Regional School

Chu Zhaowei, Male, Han, from Luanshiyuan, Anhui, is a fourth-batch national representative bearer of Lvchazhizuogongyi (Ⅷ-148). The tradition is documented in Luanshiyuan, Anhui. Within the regional tradition and school record of Green Tea Processing Craftsmanship in Luanshiyuan, Anhui: The production area of Lu'an Guapian is concentrated around Dushan, Huangjianhe, Tongxin Temple, Longmenchong, Yingjiangchong, and Hongshigeng in Yuan District, Lu'an City, while in the Qing dynasty the center of production and making was around Mabu Street. Today the mountain plots of Yuan District still yield the tea, but under the same name the various makers have already differentiated their methods: those with fine workmanship and small output hold to the old way. Tea culture flourished greatly in the Tang dynasty. Emperor Xuanzong changed the character "tu" to "cha" in the Kaiyuan Wenzi Yinyi, and afterwards Lu Yu's Classic of Tea (Cha Jing) also appeared. Before the Song dynasty, the tea consumed was mostly compressed tea—the leaves were steamed, pounded, and formed into lumps or cakes, then boiled in water for drinking, sometimes with dried fruits such as melon seeds and pine nuts added. In the Qing dynasty this changed to brewing with boiling water, a practice that continues to this day. In the Tang dynasty it was already popular to pluck the tiny newly sprouted tea buds; these tender buds were sharp like spears, with small leaves shaped like banners growing beside them, and so they were called "banner-spear" (qiqiang), a name that has endured to the present. The Lu'an Guapian tea of Lu'an City, Anhui Province, originated from Lu'an tea. As early as the Ming dynasty, Xu Guangqi's Complete Book of Agricultural Administration (Nongzheng Quanshu) noted: "The flake tea of Lu'an Prefecture is of the finest grade of tea." In the Qing dynasty, Lu'an Guapian was listed as a tribute, and its making reached its zenith. In July 1971, when U.S. Secretary of State Kissinger first visited China, the Chinese government presented Lu'an Guapian to him as a national gift.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

Male, Han ethnicity, born in November 1966 in Lu'an, Anhui Province. National representative bearer of Green Tea Processing Craftsmanship (Lu'an Guapian), a fourth-batch national intangible cultural heritage project. Technician of Lu'an Guapian green tea production. Born into a family long engaged in tea production and trade, he followed his elders from childhood in the production of Lu'an Guapian and mastered the essence of its traditional craft. He has developed a set of distinctive manual techniques of his own for the withering time of the fresh leaves, the timing and temperature in the raw-firing wok, the tossing and pressing that shapes the leaves in the finished-firing wok, and the rhythm and timing of the final pulling of the old fire in drying. He has directed the research, recovery, and promotion of the traditional production process of Lu'an Guapian, comprehensively raising the brand's recognition and reputation; the Lu'an Guapian he produces has repeatedly been used as a gift for distinguished guests from China and abroad and has been collected by a number of tea museums in China and abroad. He teaches his techniques with care, and his apprentices are found throughout the Lu'an Guapian producing region. Within the documented technical tradition of Green Tea Processing Craftsmanship in Luanshiyuan, Anhui: China's tea-making craft has a long history. More than three thousand years ago, tea used as an accompaniment to drinking already appeared in the ritual ceremonies of the Western Zhou dynasty. In ancient times tea was called "tu," a name that appears in the Book of Songs (Shijing). By the Three Kingdoms and Western Jin periods, tea drinking had become a common custom in the Jiangnan region. Green tea is a type of tea that is fixed (kill-green) at high temperature without oxidation or fermentation, also known as "non-fermented tea." Its production process mainly includes plucking fresh leaves, fixation (kill-green), rolling, and drying. Top-grade green tea is made from the delicate young buds that first emerge, generally plucked before the Qingming or Grain Rain solar terms; the finished tea is commonly called "pre-Qingming" or "pre-Grain Rain." Fixation uses high-temperature processes such as steaming or pan-firing to enhance the green tea's bright color and clear fragrance, and can be divided into steaming fixation and pan-firing fixation. In ancient China, high-temperature steam was used for fixation, called "steam fixation"; in modern times this changed to pan-firing in an iron wok, giving rise to "pan-fired fixation." Fixation makes the leaves soft, and gently rolling them between the fingers twists them into tight, slender strips—this is called "rolling." Rolling helps the brewed tea release its infusion and also reduces the leaves' volume, making storage and transport easier. At that time the production and making of this tea were mainly concentrated around Mabu Street in Lu'an. After the founding of New China, Premier Zhou Enlai and other state leaders spoke highly of Lu'an Guapian. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Stir-frying in the raw pan": The sun-withered leaf goes into the raw pan, where timing and heat decide whether it will shape or turn dull. "Tossing and pressing in the finished pan": In the second pan, tossing and pressing alternate to flatten the leaf into even, thin slices. "The final high fire": A long, fierce final fire drives off the moisture so the slices stay crisp in storage. "A tea made of leaves alone": Only the leaf is used, with no buds or stalks, a construction Xu Guangqi praised in the Nongzheng Quanshu.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

In 2012, Chu Zhaowei was announced in the fourth batch of national representative bearers for Green Tea Processing Craftsmanship, with Luanshiyuan, Anhui as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Green Tea Processing Craftsmanship in Luanshiyuan, Anhui: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2008 (batch 2), with Luanshiyuan, Anhui as its declared area, and Luan Yuan District Chayechanye Association 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. Chu Zhaowei · National Representative Bearer Archive