Blackfoot news. (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1891-1902, 1892-03-19
WHO DISCOVERED TEA?
IT'S FIRST USE ASCRIBED TO
KING SHEN NuNG.
spoken of In Chinese annals AS Far
Sack as 1000 II. C.-No soft Drink
Has Longer History Save
water aud Milk.

Is lost in antiquity. The famous herb
is spoken OF in Chinese annals as far
back as :, 600 b c.. at which time il
was cultivated and classified almost as
completely as to-day.
One ancient legend says that its vir-
tues were learned by accident by
Chinese monarch. King Shen Nung
The Divine Husbandman. who
hourished forty centuries ago. and
who, In boiling water over fire made
OF tea branches on which the leaves
still hung allowed some OF the latter
to fall into the pot During the reign
OF King Shen Nung She (2737 To 26g6
b G. he not only discovered the Gu.
ratiye virtues OF plants, but also first
fashioned timber into plows and
| taught the people the artot husbandry
and instituted the practice OF holding
markets for the exchange Of comoli.
ties.
Tea was highly esteemed in nearly
every ancient Aslatic city near the
sea and was used as a royal gift from
! the Chinese mouarchs and great mer-
chants 70 the potentates Of the East
! To the ra5ahs OF Handy tho sultans OF
| Ceylon. the shoguus and damios Of
Japan carefully selected samples Of
the leaves packed in precious boxes
were sent with great regularity Some
must have been presents worthy Of
crown. Ono Of them is thus recorded:
II weighed forty catties (about fifty
pOunds), and each Leaf was perfect la
color size and age. Tho leaves were
/ divided INTO parcels Of five maces
( each Ia little over half an ounceJ. aud
each parcel was wrapped ia pure sill.
/ yer foil This was wrapped Ia taru in
thin white paper and put into little
4 bag Of bright cOlored silk. a hun.
dred bags were placed into porcelain
jar whose lid was securely fastened
and sealed and each jar was protected
by a box Of camphor wood. trimmed
with silver hinges and ornaments
In the list Of princes 70 whom those
4 presents are made are many whose
\ identity would DO otherwise lost 10
history. says the Philadelphia Times.
From the old writings many curious
! facts are thus obtained Among other
+ facts 1t would seem that COrea, to-day
more dead than alive. was at one time
formidable power. military and
naval; that the Japanese at long inter
walls changed from peaceabic noighbors
( into marauders and frcebOolers worthy
( Of Sir Walter Raleigh. Frobisher ana
Drake; that Maaipur Assam Burmah
i aud Tong kw!n at various epocas
were strong belttgescat communities
in the far East that Cambodja ana
\ Gochin-China were populOuS rich
and warlikc civilizations whore now
the tiger prowls and tho serpent g!tdcs;
TINT the Island oi Ccylon was tho
4 scene Of brilliant and brave dyuastics
4 which followed one another like the
Z waves on the shores and at times the
/ Tartar nomads who live 10 the north,
northeast and west OF Asin were gath.
/ cred into great armies and nations ~
, unknown TamerlaEe5 and Zenghl5
! Khauns
/ The presents Of tea from the
/ Flowery Kingdom to kingly neighbor5
/ are humble monuments 70 the crash
| Of dynasties and empires. Before the
time Of Contueius il had supplauted
/ every other fluid for assuaging thirst.
Its sanitary excellence was appreciated
by Shen hung celebrated scholar
and philosopher who said Tea Is
better than wine for it leadeth not 20
l intoxication; neither does IL cause man
to do foolish things and repent thereof
/ in his sober moments IL Il better
/ than water. for 1t doth not carry dls.
ease neither doth II act rs a poison as
doth water when the wells contain
foul or rotten matter.
! That It's use was universal is borne
out by ono Of the maxins OF Confucius.
the wlsest man Of China when no said
BE good and courteous To all. even 10
the stranger from other lands II he
/ say unto thee that he thirsteth give un.
/ TO him cup OF warm tea without
money and without price.
At the time Of Buddha China was
enjoying a large foreign commerce In
( tea 1t was carried BY her junks 70
Japan, Corea Tong Qun, Anam.
/ Cochin. Burmah, Siam, India. Ceylon.
/ Persia and Arabia from which II was
separated by a long and very torrid
sea- which must have been Egypt 1t
was carried by caravans to Manchu.
ria Mongolia, Kuldia Tartary.
! Thibet Persia and Northern India.
This commerce nourlshed during
centuries and eliminated in the az.
nasties o. Hung Tung and Tung Chi
about 1000 A. ID.
From this time thore was a SLOW
but steady decline to the reign Of the
present sovereign Kwang- Hsu. In
the past twenty years the decline has
been something terrible. the trade 10.
day being scarcely one quarter Of
| what it was In 1870. The outlook is
not promising to the tea planter and
/ patriot IN any respect. In every dis.
trict the industry Is on the verge Of
bankruptcy. The demand from
abroad yearly diminishes, tho people
themselves are taking to other bower.
ages. while the taxation necessary to
/