Zhang Xingyu
01 · Lineage & Regional School
Zhang Xingyu, Male, Han, from Longyan, Fujian, is a sixth-batch national representative bearer of Oolong Tea Processing Craftsmanship (Ⅷ-150). The tradition is documented in Longyan, Fujian. Within the regional tradition and school record of Oolong Tea Processing Craftsmanship in Longyan, Fujian: The distribution center of Zhangping narcissus is Zhangping City and its surroundings, with the core mountain gardens around Shuangyang Daohui. The tea gardens mostly lie on higher-altitude mountains with 78.1% forest cover, thick humus, and intermingled red and yellow earth, yielding plump leaf. Those who practice this craft come from different native places—locals, Hakka, and southern Fujian people each bring a line of technique, finally combining into one tea, which makes it especially unique among the teas of western Fujian. Zhangping narcissus tea began in the late Qing. Liu Yongfa, a tea farmer of Daohui Village in Shuangyang, introduced narcissus tea seedlings from Shuiji Town in Jian'ou, bringing northern Fujian oolong methods into western Fujian, where they merged with local tea-making to create the Zhangping narcissus craft. Thereafter the craft passed from Liu Yongfa to his descendants and also to the Hakka Deng Guanjin; Deng then passed it to the southern Fujian native Zhang Qisheng. Several dialects relayed within one craft, which now reaches the fourth generation.
02 · Mastery & Signature Works
The bearer record for Zhang Xingyu is anchored in the documented technical standards of Oolong Tea Processing Craftsmanship in Longyan, Fujian. Within the documented technical tradition of Oolong Tea Processing Craftsmanship in Longyan, Fujian: The Zhangping narcissus tea craft is one of the representative oolong-tea making crafts of China, spreading across Zhangping City, Fujian, and its surrounding areas. Zhangping City lies in southwestern Fujian, a typical "nine parts mountain, half part water, half part field" landscape. It lies in a southern subtropical mountain agricultural zone, with mild climate, ample sunlight, and plentiful rainfall; forest cover of 78.1% provides a thick humus layer that, together with red and yellow earth, forms a specific soil structure, creating favorable conditions for tea growth. The Zhangping narcissus craft innovates on the basis of inheriting the traditional oolong crafts of northern and southern Fujian. From "reading the weather to work the leaf" to "reading the leaf to make tea," these maxims summed up by tea farmers through long practice run through every process step. First, one flexibly decides the plucking time by weather changes and the sunning duration by sunlight intensity; from the leaf's color change and aroma release one decides tossing, pan-firing, and so on—"following nature and the unity of heaven and humanity" becomes the spiritual essence of Zhangping narcissus making. Second, it adopts the rare packaging craft of compressed tea, making the tea convenient to use, store, and transport. More importantly, the natural gaps after compression both effectively control aroma escape and allow the tea to undergo better secondary fermentation, making the beneficial microbes' fermentation more complete. Zhangping narcissus tea is walking-stick shaped, with a black-green tinged yellow "three-band color"; its liquor is orange-yellow or golden clear; its aroma is clean, high, and lingering, with an elegant floral note. Hot and cold Zhangping narcissus differ sharply: the hot brew releases floating aroma with rich, mellow returning sweetness, while the cold brew is fresh, brisk, and sweet-mellow—a distinctive character. In the late Qing, Liu Yongfa of Daohui Village in Shuangyang introduced and planted narcissus tea seedlings from Shuiji Town in Jian'ou, fusing northern Fujian oolong craft with local tea-making to create the Zhangping narcissus tea craft. The Zhangping narcissus craft absorbs the strengths of northern and southern Fujian oolong, and holds significance for studying China's tea-making craft and the exchange and development of tea culture. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Archive of process records": From "reading the weather to work the leaf" to "reading the leaf to make tea," these maxims summed up by tea farmers through long practice run through every process step. "Pressing into the walking-stick shape": An unusual pressing step forms the walking-stick shape, whose tight gaps hold aroma in and let the tea keep evolving. "Reading the leaf through the three-band colour": The three-band colour records the toss-fry heat; each stage of leaf colour and aroma sets what is done next. "Two characters, hot and cold": The same infusion gives bold returning sweetness hot and fresh briskness cold, so drying and storage are stricter than usual.
Archive of process records
From "reading the weather to work the leaf" to "reading the leaf to make tea," these maxims summed up by tea farmers through long practice run through every process step.
Pressing into the walking-stick shape
An unusual pressing step forms the walking-stick shape, whose tight gaps hold aroma in and let the tea keep evolving.
Reading the leaf through the three-band colour
The three-band colour records the toss-fry heat; each stage of leaf colour and aroma sets what is done next.
Two characters, hot and cold
The same infusion gives bold returning sweetness hot and fresh briskness cold, so drying and storage are stricter than usual.
03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status
In 2025, Zhang Xingyu was announced in the sixth batch of national representative bearers for Oolong Tea Processing Craftsmanship, with Longyan, Fujian as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Oolong Tea Processing Craftsmanship in Longyan, Fujian: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2021 (batch 5), with Longyan, Fujian as its declared area, and Zhangping City Cultural Center 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
Historical origin
Zhangping narcissus tea began in the late Qing. Liu Yongfa, a tea farmer of Daohui Village in Shuangyang, introduced narcissus tea seedlings from Shuiji Town in Jian'ou, bringing northern Fujian oolong methods into western Fujian, where they merged with local tea-making to create the Zhangping narcissus craft. Thereafter the craft passed from Liu Yongfa to his descendants and also to the Hakka Deng Guanjin; Deng then passed it to the southern Fujian native Zhang Qisheng. Several dialects relayed within one craft, which now reaches the fourth generation.
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.
| Bearer | Declared area | Roster code | Relation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wei Yuede | Anxi, Fujian | 03-1420 | Other regional school |
| Wang Wenli | Anxi, Fujian | 03-1421 | Other regional school |
| Zhang Xingyu | Longyan, Fujian | — | This page |
06 · Archival Sources & Bibliography
This static English edition is rendered at the edge for search engines, AI crawlers and readers without JavaScript. Compiled from official national representative bearer archival records and the associated project dossier, organized by topic and translated into English. 阅读中文版。