中国茶王赛的起源与演变

茶是怕比的，那是因为茶农在制茶时受天气、工艺技术等不确定的自然、人为因素影响，所产的每泡毛茶都具有专一性、唯一性、不可再生性，没有两泡是一样的，一比较就有差别。好茶是相对而言，两者相遇勇者胜，只有更好，才能最好；而茶王天、地、人合一，比谁赢谁，之所以不怕比也。

茶不比无以分高低，于是就有了茶王赛。

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茶起源于中国，五千年的中华茶文化源远流长。茶王赛是中华茶文化的特殊现象，在茶叶发展史上占有重要的地位。据考，茶王赛起源于以生产贡茶闻名的福建建州茶乡一带，兴于唐末的茗战，是茶农之间在春茶采制时的相互比评，以优良次序排名的一种比赛活动，具有比技巧，论胜负的特点，富有趣味性和挑战性，以后逐渐演变成为跨地区的社会化活动。

斗茶 叶景灿图

古代斗茶与茶宴和贡茶紧密相关，具有因果关系。茶宴始于三国时代，盛行于皇室宫廷，流行于上流社会，禅林僧侣阶层。茶宴之时，宾主品茗论道，带有点评,比试的特点。贡茶始于公元前1066年。贡茶制度迫使茶农向朝廷进贡好茶，且“先斗美”而“献天子”。贡茶和茶宴的出现，主观上是对农民剥削，客观上也推动了品茗艺术的的发展、名茶的发掘和制茶技术的提高，这也是虽经多次改朝换代，但斗茶活动得以延续的原因之一。

到了宋代，斗茶之风日盛。斗茶方法有所创新，标准以“茶、水、茶器“三事互争胜，争斗甚烈。”胜若登仙不可攀，输同降将无穷耻”（范仲淹语）。随着种茶区域的扩大，斗茶范围更为普通，逐渐演变为民间习俗。宋徽宗《大观茶论》、范仲淹《斗茶歌》、江休夏《江邻儿杂志》、赵孟頫《斗茶图》等名人作品都见证了斗茶的历史。

斗茶热潮从明、元朝开始慢慢走向式微。到了清朝中后期，随着中国茶叶的出口，茶树的扩植，茶类的增加，斗茶活动也走出低谷。到了清末民初，斗茶又日趋活跃。1915年，中国茶首次亮相在美国举办的巴拿马万国商品博览会上，披金夺银，载誉而归。茶王赛开始进入评选名茶活动的时代。

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中国茶叶从发现到利用，经历了从咀嚼、生煮、晒干、蒸青到炒青阶段的漫长过程，

茶王赛的形式与内容也随着时代的变化而变化。近代以来，茶王赛愈演愈烈，丰富多彩。形式上有官方赛，民间赛，行业赛，企业赛，茶农赛；内容上有名茶评比，博览会，交易会，展览会、交流会，品评会、展示会，茶叶节、文化节；规模上有地区赛，省际赛，全国赛，国际赛；斗茶舞台也从村镇县走向省内，从省内走向国内，从国内走向海外，从产区走向销区；评选方法有“专业组”，也有“业余组”（类似电影的金鸡奖、百花奖）或两组结合评选的方法。从奖项设置上“桂冠级”的有金奖、特等奖、第一名、头等奖等，而茶王直接设项则是本世纪初新创造的。二十世纪九十年代出现的茶王拍卖是市场经济的产物，已成为茶王赛的一个亮点。

张天福出任安溪铁观音茶王赛主评 叶景灿图

茶王赛一般要组成评委会，聘请具有专业知识和丰富经验的人士组成评审组。按照评选规则，密码编号、公开审评。采用淘汰制，分为初赛、复赛、决赛三个阶段，好中选优，呈塔形状选拔（类似体育竞技比赛），最高分者称王。

茶王赛的评选按茶类依品种划分，内容以品质构成因子为标准。各茶类品种特征不同，打分也有差别，但重点仍在形色香味，即观外形、闻香味、察汤色、尝滋味。由于茶的鉴别靠感官去审评，综合触觉，味觉，嗅觉等诸方面功能，非专业人士难以胜任，诸多赛事都聘请国家级评茶师、教授担任评委。

茶王赛在我国的一些茶乡已经成为富有民族特色的传统风俗，发展了饮泡技艺，繁荣了文艺创作，推动了茶史的研究，茶书的出版，丰富了茶文化的内涵。茶王赛成为茶乡人的盛大节日。许多茶农，为显示实力，赢得荣誉，促销生意，“一年只等这一天，当上茶王好风光。”斗茶揭晓时，茶王头戴礼帽，身披绶带，手持证书，坐上大红轿，在呐唢队，锣鼓队，声乐队，踩街队簇拥下浩浩荡荡游行乡里，万人空巷，热闹非凡。“茶王”拍卖，报价声此起彼落，扣人心弦。茶王赛以茶会友，把茶艺表演、品茗论道、茶王拍卖、贸易洽谈融合在一起，成为茶文化的一道靓丽的风景线。

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解放以来，茶王赛在计划经济统购统销的年代里沉寂多年。1985年茶叶放开经营后，茶农，茶商有了“出人头地”的机会，各种比赛又悄然兴起，“茶王”拍卖应运而生。1993年11月，中国乌龙茶之乡---福建省安溪县在泉州市敲响了我国“茶王”拍卖第一槌。示范性、标志性的赛事是1995年5月17日在铁观音发源地福建省安溪县西坪镇举办的有史以来规模最大的茶王赛，茶业界泰斗张天福领衔主评，500克铁观音茶王拍卖5.8万元，创造了中国茶叶界空前记录。经《人民日报》、中央电视台、中央人民广播电台、新加坡《联合早报》等中外新闻媒体全方位的报道，受众逾亿人次，轰动了海内外，由此拉动了全国各地方兴未艾的茶王赛及“茶王”拍卖热。之后，福建省的永春、平和、厦门、武夷山及广州、上海、北京、香港、浙江、云南、江苏、重庆、山东等地先后举行“茶王”拍卖会，尽管“茶王”拍卖的天价，有人赞叹，有人质疑，但各地仍乐此不疲，你方唱罢我登场。

张天福宣布95年西坪茶王赛获奖名单 林国成图

新加坡茶商魏荣南供图

21世纪是茶饮料的世界，追求安全、绿色、优质产品成为市场新潮流。茶王和名茶拍卖也在尝试着新的形式。九十年代以来，茶王赛如火如荼，举办国际茶文化节的地区日益增多，安溪、上海、广州、杭州、厦门、济南等地市的规模、声势前所未有。茶文化节加强了各产茶区的联系，促进了闽台合作，扩大了国际间的交流。茶王赛作为茶文化的重头戏，茶王赛办到哪里，名茶卖到哪里，加速了茶叶专业市场的兴建，而广州、芜湖、北京、上海、济南、安溪、横县等地专业市场的崛起，又为斗茶提供了大舞台。

茶王赛构筑了生产者、经营者、消费者的交易平台，对茶乡提高知名度，推出名茶厥功至伟，对于传承茶历史，传播茶知识，交流茶文化，引导茶消费，推动茶科技，提高茶品质，打造茶品牌，开发茶旅游，拓展茶贸易，繁荣茶市场，发展茶经济，做大茶产业，做好茶文章等方面，都起到了积极的作用，为弘扬中华文化，发展人类文明，作出了贡献。

Tea is intimidating, because tea farmers are affected by uncertain natural and human factors such as weather and craftsmanship when making tea, and each brewed tea has specificity, uniqueness, and non-renewability. The bubbles are the same, and there is a difference when you compare them. Good tea is relatively speaking, the brave wins when the two meet, and only the better can be the best; and the tea king, heaven, earth, and man are one, and whoever wins is the reason why he is not afraid of comparison.

There is no difference between tea and tea, so there is the tea king competition.

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Tea originated in China, and the five thousand-year-old Chinese tea culture has a long history. The tea king competition is a special phenomenon of Chinese tea culture and occupies an important position in the history of tea development. According to research, the Tea King Competition originated from the tea township of Jianzhou, Fujian, which is famous for producing tribute tea. The competition has the characteristics of comparing skills, winning and losing, full of fun and challenges, and gradually evolved into a cross-regional social activity.

Dou Tea Ye Jing Can Tu

Ancient tea fighting is closely related to tea feasts and tribute teas, and has a causal relationship. The tea banquet began in the Three Kingdoms period and was popular in the royal court, the upper class, and the monks in the Zen forest. At the time of the tea banquet, the guests and the host discuss the Taoism, which is characterized by comments and competitions. Tribute tea began in 1066 BC. The tribute tea system compelled tea farmers to contribute good tea to the imperial court, and to "compete with beauty first" and "offer the Son of Heaven". The appearance of tribute tea and tea banquets subjectively exploited farmers, and objectively promoted the development of tea tasting art, the discovery of famous teas and the improvement of tea-making techniques. One of the reasons for its continuation.

In the Song Dynasty, tea fighting became more and more popular. The method of fighting tea has been innovative, and the standard is "tea, water, and tea utensils" to win each other, and the battle is fierce. "If you win, you will be unattainable, and if you lose and surrender, you will be shameless" (Fan Zhongyan). With the expansion of the tea growing area, the scope of tea fighting became more common and gradually evolved into a folk custom. Song Huizong's "Daguan Tea Theory", Fan Zhongyan's "Tea Fighting Song", Jiang Xiuxia's "Jiang Liner Magazine", Zhao Mengfu's "Tea Fighting Picture" and other famous works have witnessed the history of tea fighting.

From the Ming and Yuan dynasties, the tea-fighting craze gradually declined. In the middle and late Qing Dynasty, with the export of Chinese tea, the expansion of tea trees, and the increase of tea types, the tea fighting activities also came out of a slump. At the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China, tea fighting became more and more active. In 1915, Chinese tea made its debut at the Panama Universal Commodities Exposition held in the United States. The Tea King Competition began to enter the era of the selection of famous teas.

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From the discovery to the utilization of Chinese tea, it has gone through a long process from chewing, raw boiling, drying, steaming to roasting.

The form and content of the Tea King Competition also change with the times. Since modern times, the tea king competition has become more and more intense and colorful. In form, there are official competitions, folk competitions, industry competitions, enterprise competitions, and tea farmers competitions; in terms of content, there are famous tea competitions, expositions, trade fairs, exhibitions, exchange meetings, evaluation meetings, exhibitions, tea festivals, and cultural festivals; in terms of scale, there are Regional competitions, inter-provincial competitions, national competitions, and international competitions; the stage of tea fighting also moves from villages, towns and counties to the province, from the province to the country, from the domestic to the overseas, and from the production area to the sales area; the selection method is "professional group", There are also "amateur groups" (similar to the Golden Rooster Award and Hundred Flowers Award for movies) or a combination of the two groups. In terms of award setting, "laurel level" includes gold award, special award, first prize, first prize, etc., while the direct setting of tea king was newly created at the beginning of this century. The Tea King auction, which appeared in the 1990s, is a product of the market economy and has become a highlight of the Tea King Competition.

Zhang Tianfu as chief commentator of Anxi Tieguanyin Tea King Competition Ye Jingcantu

The tea king competition generally needs to form a jury, and hire people with professional knowledge and rich experience to form a jury. According to the selection rules, password number, public review. The elimination system is adopted, which is divided into three stages: preliminary competition, semi-final competition and final competition.

The selection of the tea king competition is divided into categories and varieties, and the content is based on the quality constituent factors. The characteristics of various tea varieties are different, and the scores are also different, but the focus is still on the shape, color and fragrance, that is, looking at the shape, smelling the fragrance, observing the color of the soup, and tasting the taste. Since the identification of tea relies on sensory evaluation and comprehensive functions such as touch, taste, and smell, it is difficult for non-professionals to be competent. Many competitions employ national-level tea judges and professors as judges.

Tea King Race has become a traditional custom with national characteristics in some tea villages in my country, developed the skill of drinking and brewing, prospered literary and artistic creation, promoted the research of tea history, and the publication of tea books, which enriched the connotation of tea culture. The Tea King Competition has become a grand festival for tea villagers. Many tea farmers, in order to show their strength, win honors, and promote their business, "just wait for this day a year to become the tea king." The sedan chair, surrounded by the horn team, the gong and drum team, the vocal band, and the street-stomping team, marched in a mighty village. At the auction of "Tea King", the quotations rose and fell, which was exciting. The Tea King Competition combines tea art performances, tea tasting and discussion, tea auctions, and trade negotiations with tea friends, and has become a beautiful landscape of tea culture.

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Since the liberation, Tea King Race has been silent for many years in the era of unified purchase and sales of the planned economy. After the opening of tea business in 1985, tea farmers and tea merchants had the opportunity to "get ahead", and various competitions quietly emerged, and the "Tea King" auction came into being. In November 1993, the hometown of oolong tea in China---Anxi County, Fujian Province rang the first hammer of my country's "Tea King" auction in Quanzhou City. The demonstrative and iconic competition was the largest ever tea king competition held on May 17, 1995 in Xiping Town, Anxi County, Fujian Province, the birthplace of Tieguanyin. Wang auctioned 58,000 yuan, creating an unprecedented record in China's tea industry. After all-round coverage by Chinese and foreign news media such as People's Daily, CCTV, China National Radio, and Singapore's Lianhe Zaobao, the audience has exceeded 100 million people, creating a sensation at home and abroad, which has stimulated the burgeoning Tea King Competition in various parts of the country. "Tea King" auction hot. After that, "Tea King" auctions were held successively in Yongchun, Pinghe, Xiamen, Wuyishan and Guangzhou, Shanghai, Beijing, Hong Kong, Zhejiang, Yunnan, Jiangsu, Chongqing, Shandong and other places in Fujian Province. Some people praised it and some people questioned it, but all over the place they still enjoyed it.

Zhang Tianfu announces the winners of the 1995 Xiping Tea King Competition Lin Guocheng

Photo courtesy of Singapore tea merchant Wei Rongnan

The 21st century is the world of tea beverages, and the pursuit of safe, green and high-quality products has become a new trend in the market. Tea King and Famous Tea Auctions are also experimenting with new formats. Since the 1990s, the tea king competition has been in full swing, and the number of regions holding international tea culture festivals has been increasing. The scale and momentum of Anxi, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Xiamen, Jinan and other cities are unprecedented. The Tea Culture Festival strengthens the connection between the tea-producing regions, promotes the cooperation between Fujian and Taiwan, and expands international exchanges. As the highlight of tea culture, the tea king competition, where the tea king competition is held, and where the famous teas are sold, has accelerated the construction of the tea professional market. The rise has provided a big stage for Doucha.

Tea King Race has built a trading platform for producers, operators, and consumers to increase the popularity of tea villages and launch famous teas. , improving tea quality, building tea brands, developing tea tourism, expanding tea trade, prospering tea market, developing tea economy, expanding tea industry, doing good tea articles, etc., have played an active role in promoting Chinese culture and developing contribution to human civilization.