Chen Guofeng

01 · Lineage & Regional School

Chen Guofeng, Male, Han, from Dalibaizuzizhi, Yunnan, is a sixth-batch national representative bearer of Dark Tea Processing Craftsmanship (Ⅷ-152). The tradition is documented in Dalibaizuzizhi, Yunnan. Within the regional tradition and school record of Dark Tea Processing Craftsmanship in Dalibaizuzizhi, Yunnan: The distribution center of the Xiaguan tuocha technique lies in the Xiaguan area of Dali City, Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture. The Bai merchants brought not only the craft but also a business model of concentrating and processing Yunnan large-leaf sun-dried green tea — in 1902, the Yongchangxiang, a Bai merchant guild from Xizhou, opened the first refined tea processing factory in Xiaguan, making compressed tea and cake tea, and from then on Xiaguan became the place where tuocha took shape. The processed tea then traveled along the Tea Horse Road toward northwest Yunnan, Tibet, and Sichuan; along the way it was both a trade route and a line of technique diffusion. Tuocha has a long history; the Ming-dynasty book "Dian Lüe" by Xie Zhaozhe records that "what scholars and commoners use are all Pu tea, steamed and formed into balls," which represents the early form of tuocha.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

The bearer record for Chen Guofeng is anchored in the documented technical standards of Dark Tea Processing Craftsmanship in Dalibaizuzizhi, Yunnan. Within the documented technical tradition of Dark Tea Processing Craftsmanship in Dalibaizuzizhi, Yunnan: Xiaguan tuocha is a compressed tea with a long history; because it was created in Xiaguan, Dali City, Yunnan Province, it is named "Xiaguan tuocha." Xiaguan tuocha is a very typical traditional technique created by the Bai people. Evolving from the Ming-dynasty "tuan tea" (ball tea), it uses Yunnan large-leaf sun-dried green tea as the basic raw material and is made through more than ten processes including blending, sieving, sorting, semi-product blending, weighing, steaming and kneading, pressing and molding, drying, and packaging. Mostly done by hand, it embodies rich technical knowledge with regional characteristics. Yunnan's Xiaguan is located in Dali City, Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture. The entire Yunnan region has humid air, mild four seasons, and long sunshine hours, suitable for tea growth. In 1902, the Yongchangxiang, a Bai merchant guild from Xizhou in Dali, opened the first refined tea processing factory in Xiaguan, processing compressed tea and cake tea, marking the birth of the tuocha craft. Tuocha production is a special technique. For over a century, the products made by the Bai people with this technique were continuously transported via the famous "Tea Horse Road" to northwest Yunnan, Tibet, Sichuan, and other places, meeting the living needs of all ethnic groups. It had an especially great influence among Tibetans and played a very important role in the friendly exchanges among ethnic groups over the past hundred-plus years. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Steaming, rolling and pressing": Softened maocha is rolled and pressed into the fixed shape, tight enough to stack, transport and hold aroma. "Sieving, sorting and blending the semi-product": Two passes of sieving and sorting separate the grades, then the semi-product is blended again for evenness. "Yongchangxiang and the Xiaguan refining mill": In 1902 the Bai merchant house Yongchangxiang opened the first refining mill at Xiaguan, giving birth to the tuocha process. "Steamed and formed": The Dianlue record of tea being steamed and formed is the clearest early description of tuocha.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

In 2025, Chen Guofeng was announced in the sixth batch of national representative bearers for Dark Tea Processing Craftsmanship, with Dalibaizuzizhi, Yunnan as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Dark Tea Processing Craftsmanship in Dalibaizuzizhi, Yunnan: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2011 (batch 3), with Dalibaizuzizhi, Yunnan as its declared area, and Yunnan Xiaguantuocha (Group) 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. Chenguofeng (Dalibaizuzizhi, Yunnan) · China ICH Official Project Archive
2. Chenguofeng · China ICH Official Archive