Jia Genshe

01 · Lineage & Regional School

Jia Genshe, Male, Han, from Xianyang, Shaanxi, is a sixth-batch national representative bearer of Dark Tea Processing Craftsmanship (Ⅷ-152). The tradition is documented in Xianyang, Shaanxi. Within the regional tradition and school record of Dark Tea Processing Craftsmanship in Xianyang, Shaanxi: The Xianyang fucha craft radiates from Jingyang County on both banks of the Jing River, with workshop-style production commonly seen in the outer suburbs of Qindu District; the small-watershed climate and well-water quality of the two places form the shared basis for selecting material and reading pile temperature. The raw black crude tea is shipped in from Hunan and southern Shaanxi and blended and flowered on the spot, the reverse of Hunan's locally sourced fuzhuan bricks; the tea-pounding frame and the air hole pierced in the binding-and-piercing step are tool usages peculiar to the Guanzhong area. According to tradition, Xianyang fucha originated during the Xining reign of Emperor Shenzong of the Northern Song (1068 CE), at which time it was a loose tea. In the first year of the Hongwu reign of the Ming (1368 CE) the fucha processing technique was formally fixed, becoming a strategic commodity of the 'tea-horse trade.'

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

The bearer record for Jia Genshe is anchored in the documented technical standards of Dark Tea Processing Craftsmanship in Xianyang, Shaanxi. Within the documented technical tradition of Dark Tea Processing Craftsmanship in Xianyang, Shaanxi: The Xianyang fucha making craft is a traditional dark-tea making craft mainly distributed in Jingyang County and Qindu District of Xianyang City, Shaanxi Province. Xianyang lies in the heart of the Guanzhong Plain in Shaanxi, with a warm-temperate continental monsoon climate. Its unique geographical environment, small-watershed climate, natural groundwater resources, and the tea-pounding frame invented by Xianyang people provided favorable conditions for the birth and development of the fucha making craft. Xianyang fucha is a compressed tea made from the black crude tea of Hunan and southern Shaanxi using traditional craft, in whose fermentation process the 'golden flowers' (Eurotium cristatum) grow naturally. Because its shape resembles a brick and its effect is similar to that of tufuling (smilax), it is called 'fu tea,' and it can also be packed into loose fucha. Since in ancient times it was mostly manufactured under official license, it is also called 'official tea.' The Xianyang fucha making craft consists mainly of seven process steps: ingredient blending and pile-fermentation, boiling the tea glaze, frying tea in the glaze, filling and sealing, bracing and pounding the tea, binding and piercing the seal, and natural flowering. Ingredient blending and pile-fermentation: the selected 'clear tea' is mixed and stirred evenly by formula, chopped, sprinkled with an appropriate amount of well water, blended into a pile, and fermented for about 8 hours. Boiling the tea glaze: old tea and tea fruits are taken with an appropriate amount of water and boiled first over high heat then over low heat for 12 hours to produce the new tea glaze. Then an appropriate amount of old tea glaze is taken as yeast, combined with appropriate tea and standby water, and boiled over low heat for 6 hours to form the old glaze for later use. Frying tea in the glaze: an iron wok is heated to a certain temperature, the prepared tea glaze is ladled in as a primer to wet the hot wok, and the tea leaves are poured in and fried to a certain temperature; the tea is then poured into the packs to fill them, the leaves are loaded into molds and pounded solid to form the brick shape; next the packs are cross-bound with hemp rope, and a steel awl pierces an air hole through the center of the brick—this being the filling-and-sealing, bracing-and-pounding, and binding-and-piercing steps. Finally comes natural flowering: the built bricks are stacked in a well pattern, air-dried to seventy or eighty percent, and then allowed to flower naturally for over a month. When the golden flowers have grown full and give off a fragrant aroma, the fucha is successfully made. The finished fucha has a flat brick surface, appropriate looseness and tightness, and abundant golden flowers; its fungal-flower aroma is pronounced, its liquor an orange-red bright color, and its taste mellow and thick. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Documented Process Record": The Xianyang fucha making craft consists mainly of seven process steps: ingredient blending and pile-fermentation, boiling the tea glaze, frying tea in the glaze, filling and sealing, bracing and pounding the tea, binding and piercing the seal, and natural flowering.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

In 2025, Jia Genshe was announced in the sixth batch of national representative bearers for Dark Tea Processing Craftsmanship, with Xianyang, Shaanxi as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Dark Tea Processing Craftsmanship in Xianyang, Shaanxi: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2021 (batch 5), with Xianyang, Shaanxi as its declared area, and Xianyang Mass Art 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

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. Jiagenshe (Xianyang, Shaanxi) · China ICH Official Project Archive
2. Jiagenshe · China ICH Official Archive