关于铁观音的那些传说

其一，相传安溪西坪尧阳有一位仕人王仕让，曾筑书房于南山之麓，名为南轩，南轩开辟有一个茶苗圃，1736年春，王士让告假回乡访亲会友，在南岩山麓发现一株形态独特的茶树，遂移植种在南轩的苗圃里，茶树长得很快，枝叶繁茂，到了春茶时节，他及时采制，加工成品，即铁观音茶。

其二，相传清朝期间，安溪尧阳松岩村(又名松林头村)有个老茶农魏荫(1703-1775)，勤于种茶，又笃信佛教，敬奉观音。每天早晚必定在观音像前敬奉清茶一杯，几十年如一日，从未间断。

一日晚间，他睡熟中，朦胧梦见自己扛着锄头走出家门，他来到一条溪涧旁边，在石缝中忽然发现一株茶树，枝壮叶茂，芳香诱人，跟自己所见过的茶树不同……第二天早晨，他顺着梦境中的道路寻找，果然在观音仑打石坑的石隙间，找到了梦中的茶树。只见此茶叶状椭圆，叶肉肥厚，嫩芽紫红，青翠欲滴：魏荫十分高兴，将这株茶树挖回种在家小一口铁鼎里，悉心培育。因这茶是观音托梦得到的，又种在铁鼎中，故取名"铁观音"。

其三，清代乾隆皇帝一生饮茶成癖，尝遍名山名茶。一次微服游历江南，进入福建，品尝了一种茶，其味甘醇爽滑，有一种特殊的天然兰花香气，色泽祸渌，如铁压手，饮后赞誉此茶香美寒赛观音。以后方知此人乃当今皇帝，于是遂命名“铁观音”，名气大振。

其四，清乾隆年间，安溪松村头乡林民魏饮笃信神佛，每天清晨必以清茶一杯敬献于观音菩萨像前。一天，魏饮进山，发现乱石隙中有一棵茶树，在朝阳辉映下叶片闪闪发光。魏好奇而移植屋旁，精心栽培，春来枝茂叶繁，遂采撷嫩芽制茶。发现茶叶较其他茶叶为重，且暗渌似铁，人们便顺口称它为“重如铁”。重如铁茶香气浓郁特异。由于这种茶常被魏饮作供佛之用，故改称为“铁观音”。

此外，还有一些铁观音名字由来的传说与以上几种传说类似。

这些传说的共同点是：茶树都与观音菩萨有关，故而茶名之中有“观音”二字。而之所以冠以“铁”字，又有两种解释：一是由于茶树叶片在太阳下闪烁着“铁色”之光，另一种说法是茶经过发酵后，“茶色如铁”。

总之，铁观音“沐日月之精，收山峦之气，得烟霞之华，食之能治百病”。常饮铁观音茶，有益于祛病保健，养生长寿，犹如观音菩萨保佑一般。加之铁观音茶叶冲泡之后，量重如铁，形如观音，故名“铁观音”。

First, according to legend, there was an official Wang Shirang in Yaoyang, Xiping, Anxi, who built a study at the foot of Nanshan Mountain, named Nanxuan. Nanxuan opened a tea nursery. In the spring of 1736, Wang Shirang returned to his hometown to visit relatives and friends. He found a tea tree with a unique shape and planted it in Nanxuan's nursery. The tea tree grew quickly and had luxuriant branches and leaves. When it came to the spring tea season, he picked it in time and processed the finished product, namely Tieguanyin tea.

Second, according to legend, during the Qing Dynasty, there was an old tea farmer Wei Yin (1703-1775) in Songyan Village (also known as Songlintou Village) in Yaoyang, Anxi. Every morning and evening, a cup of clear tea must be served in front of the Guanyin statue, and it has never been interrupted for decades.

One night, when he was sound asleep, he had a hazy dream that he was walking out of the house carrying a hoe. He came to a stream and suddenly found a tea tree among the cracks. The tea tree is different... The next morning, he followed the road in the dream to search, and sure enough, he found the tea tree in the dream in the gap between the rocks where Guanyinlun hit the stone pit. The tea leaves were oval in shape, with thick mesophyll, purple buds, and verdant green: Wei Yin was very happy, so he dug this tea tree back and planted it in a small iron cauldron at home, and cultivated it carefully. Because this tea was obtained from Guanyin's dream and planted in the iron tripod, it was named "Tieguanyin".

Third, Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty became a habit of drinking tea all his life and tasted famous tea from famous mountains. Once traveled to the south of the Yangtze River and entered Fujian, I tasted a kind of tea. Its taste is sweet and smooth, with a special natural orchid aroma, and the color and luster is like an iron pressing hand. Later, it was known that this person was the current emperor, so he named it "Tieguanyin" and became famous.

Fourth, during the reign of Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty, Wei Yin, a Linmin from Songcuntou Township, Anxi, believed in gods and Buddhas. One day, Wei Yin entered the mountain and found a tea tree among the rocks, its leaves gleaming in the sunlight. Wei was curious and transplanted it next to the house. It was carefully cultivated. In the spring, the branches and leaves were flourishing, so he picked the buds to make tea. It was found that tea leaves were heavier than other tea leaves, and darkly like iron, so people called it "heavy as iron". As heavy as iron tea, the aroma is strong and specific. Because this kind of tea was often drunk by Wei as offering to Buddha, it was renamed "Tieguanyin".

In addition, there are some legends about the origin of the name Tieguanyin similar to the above legends.

What these legends have in common is that the tea trees are all related to Guanyin Bodhisattva, so there is the word "Guanyin" in the tea name. There are two explanations for the reason why the word "iron" is named: one is that the leaves of the tea tree flicker in the sun with an "iron-colored" light;

In a word, Tieguanyin "moves the essence of the sun and the moon, harvests the energy of the mountains, obtains the beauty of the haze, and eats it can cure all diseases". Drinking Tieguanyin tea regularly is good for curing diseases and health care, as well as maintaining longevity, just like the blessing of Guanyin Bodhisattva. In addition, after brewing Tieguanyin tea, the weight is like iron and the shape is like Guanyin, hence the name "Tieguanyin".