Zhang Chengren

01 · Lineage & Regional School

Born in Fengqing County, the home of Dianhong black tea, he graduated in 1987 from the Fengqing County Tea Secondary Vocational Technical School and went to work at the Fengqing County Tea Bureau. A student of Yang Shihong, he is the fifth-generation bearer of Dianhong tea processing and currently serves as director of the Tea Science Research Institute of Yunnan Dianhong Group Co., Ltd. Within the regional tradition and school record of Black Tea Processing Craftsmanship in Fengqing, Yunnan: The Dianhong tea craft centers on Fengqing County, covering townships and towns such as Fengshan, Dasi, Mengyou, Sanchahe, Xueshan, Lushi, Xiaowan, Luodang, and Yaojie. The inheritors fall into two types: technical staff in the factories bring the craft into mechanized production, while village masters keep the traditional handwork. The predecessor of black tea making in the Fengqing area was a folk-explored indigenous method. The 'General Gazetteer of Yunnan' and the 'Gazetteer of Shunning Prefecture' record that villagers picked fresh tea, kneaded and covered it to redden it, and used it medicinally to treat intestinal ailments. This step accords in principle with later rolling and fermentation, judged entirely by feel.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

Male, Han Chinese, born in July 1967 in Fengqing County, Yunnan Province. He is a national representative bearer of Black Tea Processing Craftsmanship (Dianhong Tea Processing Craftsmanship), a fifth-batch national intangible cultural heritage project. He is a technician in Dianhong black tea processing. Within the documented technical tradition of Black Tea Processing Craftsmanship in Fengqing, Yunnan: The Dianhong tea-making craft is a black tea-making craft that uses fresh leaves of the Yunnan large-leaf tea plant as raw material and is refined through multiple process steps; it is mainly practiced in nine townships and towns of Fengqing County, Yunnan Province: Fengshan Town, Dasi Township, Mengyou Town, Sanchahe Town, Xueshan Town, Lushi Town, Xiaowan Town, Luodang Town, and Yaojie Township. Dianhong tea mainly comprises raw maocha and refined tea series products; the finished products each have specific shape standards, with substantial body and even color, and when brewed show a bright red liquor with a prominent golden ring, a fresh and brisk aroma, and a strong, full taste. The Dianhong tea-making craft mainly consists of four process steps: withering, rolling, fermentation, and drying. First is withering: the fresh tea leaves undergo a period of natural water loss, a process that turns the stems and leaves into a wilted, withered state. Next is rolling: the withered fresh leaves are rolled so that the tea takes shape during rolling and the color, aroma, and taste concentration are enhanced, and the leaf cells are broken to facilitate the next step of fermentation. Then is fermentation: under the action of enzymes the leaf cells undergo oxidation, and the leaf color changes from green to reddish or cauliflower yellow. Finally is drying: the fermented tea base is baked at high temperature to rapidly evaporate moisture, reaching the drying degree that preserves quality, and acquiring the distinctive sweet aroma of Dianhong tea. The core characteristic of the Dianhong tea-making craft lies in 'controlling five checkpoints in initial making': the fresh-leaf selection checkpoint, the withering timeliness checkpoint, the rolling timeliness checkpoint, the fermentation timeliness checkpoint, and the drying firing checkpoint. Fengqing County, Yunnan Province, formerly called 'Shunning,' has a long history of planting, making, and drinking tea. According to the 'General Gazetteer of Yunnan' and the 'Gazetteer of Shunning Prefecture': villagers pick fresh tea, knead and cover it to redden it, and use it medicinally to treat intestinal ailments. This was the predecessor of folk black tea making. The Dianhong tea-making craft embodies a rich and profound tea-culture heritage; it is the crystallization of the practice and wisdom of vast numbers of tea farmers, an important representative among China's black tea-making crafts, and holds considerable social and cultural value. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "": "Documented Process Records": The Dianhong tea-making craft is a black tea-making craft that uses fresh leaves of the Yunnan large-leaf tea plant as raw material and is refined through multiple process steps; it is mainly practiced in nine townships and towns of Fengqing County, Yunnan Province: Fengshan Town, Dasi Township, Mengyou Town, Sanchahe Town, Xueshan Town, Lushi Town, Xiaowan Town, Luodang Town, and Yaojie Township. "The five gates of primary processing": Leaf selection, withering, rolling, fermentation and drying are five gates; slipping one fixes the tea's character for good. "Judging fermentation by leaf colour": With no instruments, fermentation is read from leaf colour turning from green through reddish to mustard yellow.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

Over more than thirty years in the craft he has maintained the company's master-apprentice model of transmission, seriously explored and practised the productive protection of Dianhong tea, and emphasised the integration of theory with practice. He has completed research projects including Application of Soil Testing and Formula Fertilisation Technology in Tea Gardens, Collection, Conservation and Application of Tea Germplasm Resources, A Preliminary Study of Soil Testing and Formula Fertilisation in Fengqing Tea Gardens and A Preliminary Study of Soil Nutrient Status in the Tea Gardens of Yunnan Dianhong Group, and has developed well-known Dianhong products such as Classic 58 and China Red.

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. Zhang Chengren · National Representative Bearer Archive