Regarding The Packaging Cover Art For Our Two Newly Launched High-end 100G Pu'er Tea Cakes

The painting "Lady Guoguo's Spring Outing" currently
housed in the Liaoning Provincial Museum in China.

Our two newly launched high-end Puerh 100G Cakes

The cover art for our two newly launched high-end Pu-erh tea cakes features a portion of "Lady Guoguo's Spring Outing," one of the representative works of Zhang Xuan, a renowned female painter from the Tang Dynasty of China. "Lady Guoguo's Spring Outing" depicts Lady Guoguo, the sister of Yang Guifei (the beloved concubine of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty), and her entourage of eight riders and nine people enjoying a spring outing. The figures in the painting have a relaxed demeanor and graceful movements, and their clothing is light and vibrant. Lady Guoguo, riding a dappled horse, appears elegant and dignified, with a full and radiant face. The other attendants are shown holding the reins, raising their whips, or gazing ahead, reflecting the confident and optimistic spirit of the prosperous Tang Dynasty. This work is a long scroll painting on silk. In terms of composition, it employs a balanced arrangement, with the figures and horses arranged in a well-proportioned and rhythmic manner; the lines are delicate yet strong, flowing and natural; the colors are predominantly warm, elegant, and opulent without being vulgar; and in terms of technique, the entire painting is highly realistic, with a lively and bright style and a decorative quality. "Lady Guoguo's Spring Outing" reflects the flourishing appearance of the Tang Dynasty and also indirectly reflects the extravagant and luxurious lifestyle of the court nobility at that time.

The Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD) is widely regarded as the most powerful, open, and prosperous empire in the world at that time. It was a center of international exchange, and its political system, economic strength, and cultural influence radiated throughout East Asia, inspiring countries such as Japan and Silla to adopt its model. It attracted merchants, monks, and scholars from around the globe, and was a true golden age in Chinese history. Its openness, strength, and prosperity had a profound impact on world civilization, leaving behind the glorious imprint of the "Splendid Tang Dynasty."

The gilded tea set from the Tang dynasty imperial court, discovered in 1987 in the underground palace of Famen Temple in Shaanxi province, is now housed in the Famen Temple Museum in Shaanxi, China.

The Tang Dynasty was a crucial period for the rise and flourishing of Chinese tea culture. Tea transitioned from medicinal use to daily consumption, integrating into court life, literati culture, religious practices, and folk customs. Lu Yu's "The Classic of Tea" laid the foundation for the tea ceremony, and the method of drinking tea evolved from the early "tea soup" to "brewed tea," giving rise to the tribute tea system and the exquisite court tea culture with its fine tea sets, making tea a "national drink" and spreading it to the world.

The prevalence of tea drinking in China began in the Tang Dynasty. In the early Tang Dynasty, although some people in the north drank tea, the custom of tea drinking was mainly confined to the southeastern and southwestern regions.  Hence the saying, "Southerners are fond of drinking tea, while northerners initially did not drink much." In the early 8th century, Emperor Suzong of Tang ordered a ban on alcohol, and people began to substitute tea for wine, leading to the spread of tea drinking in the north. After the Kaiyuan era, tea drinking became widespread. Feng Yan's *Fengshi Wenjian Ji* (Records of Things Heard and Seen by Feng) from the Tang Dynasty vividly describes how the custom of tea drinking spread through imitation, eventually becoming a widespread custom. At that time, from Shandong Province to Henan Province and then to Shaanxi Province, many towns had tea shops, and tea was readily available everywhere. Most of the tea produced in the south was transported to the north along the Grand Canal. Tea consumption spread from the south to the central plains, and then from the central plains to the regions beyond the Great Wall.

The flourishing of tea drinking in the Tang Dynasty was closely related to tea production and the level of social civilization. The main tea-producing areas in the Tang Dynasty spanned 43 prefectures and counties across eight major tea-producing regions: Shannan, Huainan, Zhejiang West, Zhejiang East, Jiannan, Qianzhong, Jiangnan, and Lingnan, essentially forming the framework of modern tea-producing areas. "Many people in Jiangnan made their living by growing tea," and the industry gradually developed towards specialization and commercialization.

The flourishing of tea culture and the improvement of tea-drinking taste in the Tang Dynasty also benefited from the efforts of people like Lu Yu. The publication of Lu Yu's *The Classic of Tea* transformed the ordinary act of tea drinking into a cultural phenomenon full of charm and poetry, giving tea ceremony the aesthetic meaning of calming the mind and refreshing the spirit. As Mei Yaochen of the Song Dynasty said, "Since Lu Yu was born into the world, people have been learning from him about spring tea."

At the same time, "tea god worship" also became part of tea customs. From the mid-Tang Dynasty onwards, Lu Yu was revered as the "Tea God," and he was worshipped in tea workshops, tea warehouses, tea shops, tea houses, and various tea-producing areas, a tradition that has continued for a thousand years. In some places, Lu Tong and Pei Wen were also worshipped as accompanying deities. Many couplets in tea shops and teahouses feature Lu Yu, such as "Lu Yu compiled the classic, Lu Tong quenched his thirst; Wuyi tea was selected, and Gu Zhu tea shared its fragrance," and "The lively fire brews the spring water, increasing the value of Lu Yu's and Lu Tong's works; the spring breeze sips the tea, appreciating the quality of the tea leaves."

The Tang Dynasty tea sets unearthed from Famen Temple are of extremely high research value.  They not only showcase the exquisite craftsmanship of Tang Dynasty court tea ware (gold, silver, and glass artifacts), with their precious materials and elegant forms, but also serve as tangible evidence of Tang Dynasty court tea culture, the integration of Buddhist and Taoist cultures, and East-West exchange. Their decorative patterns (such as flying horses and lotus petals) contain Buddhist elements, and the glass artifacts exhibit characteristics of Islamic culture.  They reveal rich information about Tang Dynasty court life, religious beliefs, and foreign trade. However, due to their age and the cultural discontinuity caused by subsequent wars, further in-depth research is still needed.  Below, we will examine just two artifacts to illustrate the significant differences between Tang Dynasty tea-drinking practices and those of later periods.

This gilded tea grinder was unearthed in 1987 from the underground palace of the Tang Dynasty Famen Temple Pagoda in Fufeng, Shaanxi Province. It is currently housed in the Famen Temple Museum. This artifact demonstrates that as early as the Tang Dynasty, the Chinese custom of drinking tea involved grinding the tea leaves first, then mixing the tea powder with water to form a paste before consumption. This provides evidence supporting the term "eating tea" found in ancient texts.

Tang Dynasty Gold and Silver Wire Woven Tea Cage - During the Tang Dynasty, tea was consumed in the form of compressed tea cakes. Before consumption, the tea cakes needed to be placed in a tea roasting cage, which was designed to absorb heat and easily release moisture, in order to dry the tea. While most tea roasting cages were made of woven bamboo, the one unearthed at Famen Temple is a Tang Dynasty imperial tea utensil, woven with gold and silver threads to reflect its noble status.