Celebrate summer with jasmine tea (茉莉花茶, mò lì huā chá) and discover why this floral-infused brew remains a perennial favorite across generations in China

Sugar-free tea beverages (無糖茶飲料, wú táng chá yǐn liào) are flying off the shelves in supermarkets (超市, chāo shì) and convenience stores (便利店, biàn lì diàn) in China as young people embrace healthier lifestyles. According to the consumer behavior database (零售和消費者數據平臺, líng shòu hé xiāo fèi zhě shù jù píng tái) NielsenIQ, tea drinks (茶飲料, chá yǐn liào) have surged past carbonated drinks (碳酸飲料, tàn suān yǐn liào) in popularity for the first time in 2023. Among them, jasmine tea stands out as a beloved favorite, cherished for its refreshing aroma (清新的香氣, qīng xīn de xiāng qì) and numerous health benefits, especially during the hot summer.

The enduring popularity of jasmine can be partly attributed to its deep cultural significance (深厚的文化意義, shēn hòu de wén huà yì yì). In Mandarin, jasmine sounds like "no profit (沒利 mò lì)" suggesting that people should not focus too much on fame and fortune (名利, míng lì). Additionally, its fragrance is believed to purify the mind (凈化心靈, jìng huà xīn líng) and elevate emotions. Even to this day, the Ming dynasty (1368 – 1644) folk song "Mo Li Hua (Jasmine Flower)," (民歌《茉莉花》, mín gē mò lì huā) which praises the purity and elegance of the white flower, is one of the most well-known Mandarin folk songs in China and worldwide. Notably featured in Italian composer Giacomo Puccini's opera Turandot (《圖蘭朵》, tú lán duǒ) and the 1937 Academy Award-winning film The Good Earth, the song has since been played at major international events like the Olympics, solidifying the song as a symbol of Chinese culture (中國文化象征, zhōng guó wén huà xiàng zhēng).

However, despite its deep roots, jasmine is not native to China. Originating from tropical and subtropical regions of Eurasia (歐亞大陸, ōu yà dà lù), Africa (非洲, fēi zhōu), and Australasia (澳大拉西亞, ào dà lā xī yà) within Oceania (大洋洲, dà yáng zhōu), the flower's journey to China remains a subject of debate: The most popular theory suggests it traveled from ancient Rome to India (從古羅馬到印度, cóng gǔ luó mǎ dào yìn dù) via the Maritime Silk Road (海上絲綢之路, hǎi shàng sī chóu zhī lù). This ancient network of sea routes connecting China and the West was active between the second century BCE and the mid-to-late 19th century, and it was during the Han dynasty (206 BCE – 220 AD) that jasmine, the holy flower of Buddhism, arrived in China when the religion was brought from India (佛教圣花茉莉是在漢朝從印度傳入中國的, fó jiào shèng huā mò lì shì zài hàn cháo cóng yìn dù chuán rù zhōng guó de).

The earliest record of jasmine in China appears in Journey to Southern Yue (《南越行紀》nán yuè xíng jì) by Western Han dynasty (206 BCE – 25 CE) philosopher Lu Jia (陸賈, lù jiǎ). It stated that while local flowers were not fragrant, jasmine, transplanted from another country, was notably aromatic, indicating that jasmine has been in China for at least 2,000 years.

By the Song dynasty (宋朝, sòng cháo) (960 – 1279), Fuzhou city, now the capital of southern China's Fujian province (福建省, fú jiàn shěng), was identified as an ideal location for cultivating jasmine. Fuzhou's warm and humid climate (氣候溫暖濕潤, qì hòu wēn nuǎn shī rùn) and fertile and permeable soil (土壤肥沃透水, tǔ rǎng féi wò tòu shuǐ) nourished by the Minjiang River create ideal conditions for growing jasmine (種植茉莉, zhòng zhí mò lì). A Song politician Chen Fu (陳傅, chén fù) documented Fuzhou's specialties: "There are lychees as fruits and jasmine as flowers, which are not found anywhere else in the world." During this time, women started to put jasmine in their hair after bathing to infuse it with the flower's fragrance. The custom of pinning jasmine and other fresh flowers on clothes remained popular in China until the 19th and 20th centuries when modern perfumes (香水, xiāng shuǐ) became more widely favored. Even today, however, street vendors (街頭小販, jiē tóu xiǎo fàn) in some cities still sell these flower buds to visitors.

The mountainous region of Fujian is also ideal for growing tea leaves (種植茶葉, zhòng zhí chá yè) and boasts a rich tea culture (茶文化, chá wén huà). Locals maximize these natural resources by planting tea trees on the hills and jasmine along the river. Naturally, Fuzhou residents combined jasmine and tea leaves to create floral teas with green or white tea as the base (以綠茶或白茶為基礎制作花茶, yǐ lǜ chá huò bái chá wéi jī chǔ zhì zuò huā chá). The resulting flavor is subtly sweet and highly fragrant. Today, most of the jasmine produced in Fuzhou is still used to make jasmine tea.

After tea was introduced to the UK in the 1660s during the Qing dynasty (清朝, qīng cháo), jasmine tea began to be exported in large quantities to the West, primarily from Fuzhou, as many officials responsible for maritime and foreign affairs were of Fujian origin. Empress Cixi (慈禧太后, cí xǐ tài hòu)'s love for jasmine flowers further elevated its status, especially in Beijing. She decreed that no one else could wear jasmine flowers in their hair and also made Fuzhou jasmine tea exclusive to the royal family. Its popularity persists in modern China, and it is favored by renowned writers like Lao She (老舍, lǎo shě) and Bing Xin (冰心, bīng xīn).

In recent years, however, floral-flavored teas, jasmine included, have slipped to the bottom of the list among some tea connoisseurs. They see more value in varieties like Pu'er (普洱茶, pǔ ěr chá) and Oolong (烏龍茶, wū lóng chá) and believe jasmine tea is reserved for children and amateurs. But jasmine's refreshing taste and health benefits have helped retain its popularity among the masses. According to traditional Chinese medicine, jasmine tea is cool in nature, light in flavor, and believed to clear heat, detoxify, promote diuresis, and calm the nerves, which makes it suitable for spring and summer to dispel coldness and humidity in the body (消除體內的寒濕, xiāo chú tǐ nèi de hán shī).

"Sweet-smelling, beautiful, stems full of buds; Fragrant and white, everyone praises (芬芳美麗滿枝椏，又香又白人人夸, fēn fāng měi lì mǎn zhī yā , yòu xiāng yòu bái rén rén kuā)" goes the lyrics of "Mo Li Hua." Much like this centuries-old folksong, the delicate aroma of the jasmine flower has transcended generations, captivating contemporary audiences with its timeless cultural significance and refreshing taste amid the summer heat.

來源：The World of Chinese
編輯：萬月英