What novel discoveries might emerge when anthropology turns its lens on Pu-erh tea? On the afternoon of July 2, an event themed “The Symphony of Anthropology and Pu-erh Tea” was held at the “Quan” Tea Space, also celebrating the space’s official opening. Created by Menghai Shenshan Laolin Tea Industry Co., Ltd., the “Quan” Tea Space invited a renowned spatial designer to present a tea space that is natural, comfortable, and full of vitality.
Walking into the “Quan” Tea Space along walls of washed stone made from fine sand panned from the Jinsha River, visitors explore a “house within a house” design that draws one ever “deeper” — stepping into this breathing building feels like stepping into the deep mountain old forest itself. Guests ascended the stairs to the multi-function hall on the third floor, seated themselves on the floor, and, with fine tea already prepared, listened to a “Symphony of Anthropology and Pu-erh Tea.”
At the event, Pu-erh tea was interpreted in depth and with charm from the perspective of cultural anthropology. Anthropology concerns itself with lived experience; it seeks to lead us toward an understanding of the shared substance of life between “us” and “the environment we inhabit,” and it can blur the boundary between the natural sciences and the humanities, opening a journey of exploration that draws close to Pu-erh tea and its native land.
Professor He Ming — Second-Tier Research Fellow, Distinguished Professor, and Doctoral Supervisor at Yunnan University, Vice President of the Chinese Ethnological Society, and Vice President of the Chinese Society for Anthropological and Ethnological Studies — delivers his address
Gan Quan — Principal Architect of Kongkong Architecture, Design Tutor at the Department of Architecture of Tongji University, and Class-One Registered Architect — introduces the design philosophy of the “Quan” Tea Space
Lin Libin, founder and principal of Shenshan Laolin, speaks
According to Lin Libin, after graduating from Yunnan University with a degree in anthropology, he began working in Pu-erh tea production and brand building, and has now spent 16 years in the field. The creation of the “Quan” Tea Space is a concentrated expression of the brand’s philosophy: through layer upon layer of progressive spatial relationships, every tea lover who steps inside can feel the joy of leaving the urban clamor behind and immersing in natural tranquility, finding solace for body and mind. Lin Libin also sincerely invites tea friends to the “Quan” Tea Space in Bangsheng Tea City to share fine tea together.
Chen Xueli — teacher at the School of Ethnology and Sociology of Yunnan University and CEO of the Shenshan Laolin brand — shares his thoughts
In his sharing, Chen Xueli of Yunnan University’s School of Ethnology and Sociology noted that Yunnan is a natural treasure land of myriad colors — a place where tea trees grow and where ethnic minorities live in concentrated communities. The young people now living in the tea-mountain villages have gone from “in the old days, we heard the elders say…” to “now we hear the boss say…” Through these two simple, vivid sentences, we can already see how greatly the lives of tea farmers on the ancient tea mountains have changed over the past decade or so. This is precisely what anthropology seeks to record, observe, and investigate. Through fieldwork, anthropologists blend deeply with ethnic minorities and, from the simple belief that “all things have spirit,” come to understand the connection between tea and people. Anthropologists are more like translators of culture: through fieldwork research, they develop a broader-dimensional understanding of the Pu-erh tea industry, which can ultimately give back to the industry all the better.
Guests unveil the plaque for the Tea Research Institute of the Center for Southwestern Borderland Ethnic Minority Studies at Yunnan University
It is precisely because of the “gratitude and compassion” felt through the study of anthropology that the Shenshan Laolin brand has always made serving society and passing on Pu-erh culture its mission. In long-term cooperation with the Center for Southwestern Borderland Ethnic Minority Studies at Yunnan University, it jointly launched the “Shenshan Laolin Anthropological Research Student Sponsorship Program,” which has funded 13 young scholars in conducting fieldwork, filming ethnographic documentaries, and creating works of art.
Shenshan Laolin has also jointly established a Tea Research Institute with the Center for Southwestern Borderland Ethnic Minority Studies at Yunnan University, appointing Professor He Ming, director of the center, as its head and as consulting expert to the project team, with the plaque unveiled at the opening ceremony.
In addition, Shenshan Laolin participates in the key technology research of the “Yunnan Provincial Research Center for the Conservation and Utilization of Ancient Tea Tree Resources” on the protection of ancient tea tree resources and their sustainable use. Drawing on its long years of deep cultivation in the ancient tea mountains, it has accumulated a collection of more than 500 tea samples together with soil samples from certain ancient tea gardens, thereby further enriching and expanding knowledge of and research into the Six Great Tea Mountains. The totem ancient-tree teas of Shenshan Laolin’s “Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth” series have also been collected by the World Tea Library of Southwest Forestry University, contributing to the flourishing of Yunnan tea culture and the high-quality development of the tea industry.
With the “Quan” Tea Space, Shenshan Laolin will in the future interpret Pu-erh tea through an even richer culture, and through the warmth passed between people and tea, and between people and people, strike up a symphony of anthropology and Pu-erh tea.
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Author: Lam Sam (LamSam), the Old Tea Head
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