Site of the Guzhu Tribute Tea Bureau and Cliff Inscriptions

Site of the Guzhu Tribute Tea Bureau and Cliff Inscriptions

The Site of the Guzhu Tribute Tea Bureau and Cliff Inscriptions is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

The Guzhu Tribute Tea Bureau is located at Hutouyan (Tiger Head Rock) on the side of Guzhu Mountain in Changxing County, Zhejiang Province.

The Guzhu Tribute Tea Bureau was first built in the fifth year of the Dali era of the Tang Dynasty (770 AD). It was the place where the Tang Dynasty tribute tea Guzhu Zisun was supervised and produced, and can be considered the earliest recorded tea processing workshop in Chinese history. The Zisun tea produced in Guzhu Mountain, Changxing, was a tribute tea of the Tang Dynasty. Distinguished local officials such as Yuan Gao, Du Mu, and Yan Zhenqing personally oversaw the production of the tribute tea, leaving behind many inscriptions. In the fifth year of the Dali era (770 AD), the tribute began with five hundred bundles; by the middle of the Huichang era (841–846 AD), the annual tribute had increased to 18,400 jin (approximately 11 metric tons). During the production of tribute tea, it was managed by the prefectural governor “with oversight by the regional inspector.” By the Yuan Dynasty, the Tribute Tea Bureau was converted into a Tea Grinding Bureau, and its location moved to Shuikou. Today, although the Guzhu Tribute Tea Bureau no longer stands, the remains of its site are still recognizable.

The cliff inscriptions of Guzhu Mountain are located in Guzhu Village and Jinshan Village, Shuikou Township. Existing cliff inscriptions on Guzhu Mountain mainly include: an inscription by Yang HANGong, Prefect of Huzhou, from the fourth year of the Kaiyuan era (839 AD); one by Wang Zao, Academician of the Dragon Diagram Pavilion, from the seventh year of the Shaoxing era of the Southern Song Dynasty (1138 AD); one by Han Yuyin from the thirty-second year of the Shaoxing era (1162 AD); one by Yuan Gao, Prefect of Huzhou, from the third year of the Huichang era (843 AD); one by Yu Xiu, Military Prefect of Huzhou, from the eighth year of the Zhenyuan era (792 AD); and one by Du Mu, Prefect of Huzhou, from the fifth year of the Dazhong era (851 AD). The inscriptions on Guzhu Mountain and the ruins of the Tribute Tea Bureau are valuable historical materials for studying tea planting, tea production, and tea culture. Many of the inscribers were renowned calligraphers of their time, giving these works significant artistic value in the history of calligraphy.

In 2006, the Site of the Guzhu Tribute Tea Bureau and Cliff Inscriptions were approved by the State Council for inclusion in the sixth batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units.

Further Reading:

· Sixth Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units