Wanli Tea Ceremony, this land-based tea trade transportation channel formed between China and Russia from the 17th to the 19th centuries, established a tight connection between Russia and China in a very early time.
According to research, the magical crop of tea originated in China was first brought to the Russian tsar as a gift by the Russian diplomatic envoys in the first half of the 17th century. Some scholars in our country believe that this is the gift of the Emperor Shenzong to the Russian emperor in the 46th year of the Wanli period (1618). Russian historical sources say that this was the first Tsar Mikhail of the Romanov dynasty obtained from the Russian diplomatic envoy in 1638.
Unlike most Chinese who drink green tea, drinking black tea is more common in Russia, because the traffic is backward hundreds of years ago, and the freight time between China and Russia is even more than one year. Unfermented green tea cannot be preserved for a long time. Black tea can withstand the test of long journeys, so most Russians still default to black tea. Black tea is so greasy that it matches perfectly with the Russian diet of high-fat, high-calorie, sweet food, and it quickly becomes the most popular drink among Russians.
Due to the love for tea, the Russians invented the Russian samovar, which is shaped like a "slim version" of Chinese hot pot, with a capacity ranging from a few liters to tens of liters. The central cylindrical cavity of the samovar is used for firing. The container surrounding the cavity can be used for boiling water or boiling tea, and a water outlet tap is connected to the lower part of the container. Sitting around a samovar, drinking tea and eating snacks with family and friends on a winter day is a great joy of life for modern Russians.
Due to the huge demand for tea, Russia and China signed a long-term tea trade agreement in 1679 (the eighteenth year of Kangxi). Since then, tea vendors have been running on the long tea ceremony between the two countries. In 1727 (Yongzheng five years), China and Russia signed the "Chucket Treaty", and established a trading city and a chucket port on both sides of the Sino-Russian border at that time, allowing traders of the two countries to directly trade here, and the volume of tea trade further increase. According to records, by the beginning of the 19th century, all Russian tea was sourced from China and imported more than 1,600 tons per year. The cost of tea consumption nationwide exceeds the cost of buying weapons. After the Qing government opened Hankou as a trading port under the "Tianjin Treaty" in 1861, Russian merchants began to set up factories, purchase and process tea directly in Yangloudong and Hankou, the ancient town of Chibi.
The Wanli Tea Ceremony not only spreads the tea culture and tea-drinking lifestyle, but also provokes a chain economic response in various places along the way: it has stimulated the development of the tea planting industry, the processing industry and the land and water transportation industry, helped a large number of tea merchants to get rich and make hundreds Cities along the route benefited. The Wanli Tea Ceremony not only formed a tea trade, but also facilitated the trading of various commodities such as fur medicinal materials, and provided a source of customers for related industries along the route.
It can be said that the historical Wanli Tea Ceremony has made indelible contributions to the civilization exchange and economic development of the countries along the route.