第六章：漢口青磚，代代相傳

2006年7月，在中央電視臺《鑒寶》節(jié)目現(xiàn)場，一塊收藏自山西的磚茶拍出15.8萬元的天價。

這是一塊產自清代，由漢口“天順興茶行”銷往俄羅斯的磚茶，通體漆黑烏潤，其上壓有一個凹進去的“川”字，磚面鏤刻松樹、仙鶴的圖案。下面附有俄文“一等品”和產地湖北蒲圻（今赤壁）羊樓洞的標識。

當年的漢口，是全國茶葉集散地，也是中俄萬里茶道的源頭所在。漢口的青磚茶，是中俄交流的標志之一。

In July 2006, a tea brick from a collection in Shanxi was auctioned on the CCTV program Treasure Appraisal, and sold for the hefty sum of RMB 158,000.

This tea brick, produced in the Qing Dynasty and sold to Russia by Tianshunxing Tea Company, was pitch black through and through, and recessed into the face of it was the Chinese character川 which stands for “river”, along with carved images of evergreens and cranes. Directly under it, there was the Russian word for “grade A”in Cyrillic characters alongside the place of origin, Yangloudong in Puqi City (modern day Chibi) of Hubei Province.

In the past, Hankou was the center of tea distribution in China, as well as the origin of the Sino-Russo Tea Road. Hankou black brick tea was a symbol of Sino-Russian cultural exchanges.

▲近代茶農用來殺青的工具 Utensil for tea fixation used by tea farmers

▲煮茶工具 Utensil for Tea Making

19世紀下半葉，俄國國內鼓吹“東進”的沙文主義情緒甚囂塵上。在國內“東方派”的鼓動下，沙皇亞歷山大三世做出兩項重大決策：一是1886年提出修建西伯利亞大鐵路；其二，出于以后太子的政治發(fā)展需要，讓已經成年的皇太子，遠東旅行。

這位年僅22歲的俄皇太子和他最好的朋友希臘王儲格奧爾基以及隨員，組成了一個30人的“旅游團”。

1890年11月，他們從冰雪覆蓋的彼得堡出發(fā)，開始了一次橫跨歐亞兩大洲的長途旅行。次年4月1日，俄皇太子一行抵達香港。4月8日，一行人由廣州直下漢口。

當時，中國清政府以李鴻章等為代表的一派，主張“以夷制夷”，極力鼓吹清政府對俄皇太子妥為招待。

4月20日，一艘俄國船只駛抵漢口碼頭，船上載著遠道而來的俄皇太子一行。此前，湖廣總督張之洞收到總理衙門指示“優(yōu)加款待”，遂立即決定，在省城外塘角防營邊建造東西牌樓。

據史料記載，當時租界各華商興致勃勃，在碼頭上搭蓋西式方亭，中央高懸俄國國旗，四周懸英美德法各國國旗。馬路兩邊皆立白色木竿，拉上絲繩，上懸彩燈。西商各自備辦各式彩棚，武漢平民百姓結隊往來參觀者不絕于道，熱議紛紛。

▲李鴻章 Li Hongzhang, senior official of the late Qing Dynasty

The drums of Chauvinistic “Eastward Expansion”beat a loud and fierce cacophony in Tsarist Russia in the second half of the 19th century. Meanwhile in China, drums were beating out a rhythmic march towards “Orientalism.” Tsar Alexander III made two important decisions: First, in 1886 he proposed the construction of Trans-Siberian Railway; the second was to have the Russian prince, who had reached adulthood, travel to the Orient, viewing it as a necessary step for his political maturity.

The youthful 22-year old Russian prince, his best friend crown prince Georgei of Greece and his followers, constituted a 30-member touring group.

In November 1890, they departed snow-covered St. Petersburg, and set off on a long journey across Europe and Asia. The Russian prince and his entourage touched down in Hong Kong on April 1st the ensuing year. On April 8th they went to Hankou directly from Guangzhou.

At that time, Li Hongzhang, a senior government official of the Qing Dynasty adhered to the policy of“playing one power against another,” while at the same time, utilizing Western science and technology to fight off imperialist expansion into China. Hence, he advocated strongly that the Russian prince should be greeted with hospitality.

A Russian ship carrying the delegation members reached the Hankou docks on April 20th. Before that, Governor Zhang Zhidong of Hunan and Hubei had received an instruction from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs which indicated “to regale and delight,” so he immediately decided to construct traditional Chinese style decorative archways on the east and west sides of the Tangjiao Garrison outside Wuchang city walls.

▲俄皇太子 Russian Prince

According to historical records, the Chinese merchants in the Concession area at that time were all for building a western-style pavilion at the harbor. A Russian national flag hung high at the top of the pavilion, and British, American, German and French national flags surrounded it. White wooden poles were erected on both sides of the road, with the ropes between decorated with colorful lights. The Western merchants prepared all kinds of decorated marquees, while Wuhan locals turned out in droves for their chance to catch a glimpse of the spectacle. Group after group of them streamed in, jamming the highways and byways.

▲希臘親王格奧爾基和沙俄皇儲尼古拉Crown Prince Georgei of Greece and Crown Prince Nicolas of Russia

▲漢口租界 Hankou Concession

張之洞親率9只輪船迎接，儀仗隊鳴放禮炮，鐘鼓樓中鼓樂齊鳴。俄皇太子“頭戴白冠，上綴鳥羽，約尺許長，身穿金繡紅衣外罩，湖色灰鼠大衣”，由中國樂隊開道，緩步而行。

一行人上岸后換乘黃緞圓式金頂轎，行至晴川閣，張之洞盛宴接待俄皇太子。席間，張之洞以新泰磚茶廠特別制作的一款紀念磚茶，作為國禮贈予皇太子?；侍有{，不遠萬里帶回俄羅斯。

這塊有著特殊意義的磚茶，至今仍收藏在莫斯科博物館。據老照片顯示，磚茶最上面是兩排俄文，分別為“皇室殿下”和“國家繼承人”；中部壓制的圖飾為皇冠，皇冠下面是紋飾及圖案；下部壓制有三排俄文，譯成中文分別為“漢口，1891年4月9日”、“工廠”和“托克馬可夫、莫洛托可夫和公司”。磚茶背面壓則制有圣彼得堡的市徽圖案及阿拉伯數字“25”。張之洞之所以如此盛情款待俄皇太子，除了兩國交好的程序禮節(jié)外，另一個重要的原因就是力促以漢口為起源的華俄茶葉貿易。

當時，皇太子的表兄J·K·巴諾夫在漢口開辦阜昌磚茶廠。次日，二人在新泰磚茶廠25周年廠慶上相逢。巴諾夫向皇太子講述他在漢口的茶葉貿易經歷，激動之處，他對漢口優(yōu)越的地理位置，便利的交通條件盛贊不已。

皇太子興味盎然，即興致辭：“萬里茶路是偉大的中俄茶葉之路，在漢口的俄國茶商是偉大的商人，漢口是偉大的東方茶港。”從此，“東方茶港”這個名稱在俄國茶商中流傳開來。

▲江漢路街景 Jianghan Street in Hankou during the Republic of China (1912-1949)

After the posse reached the shore, the prince got into a rounded yellow satin palanquin and was whisked off to Qingchuan Pavilion. Zhang Zhidong had a feast prepared to welcome the Russian prince. Zhang presented him with a commemorative tea brick specially made by Xintai Tea Factory as a gift on behalf of the nation. The prince received it and took it back to Russia with him.

To this day, this special block of compressed tea is kept in the Moscow Museum. Old photos show that there are two lines in Cyrillic written on the top of the tea brick which read, “royal highness,” and“state heir.” In the middle part, there is the symbol of a crown pressed in it, and below are three lines in Cyrillic, which can be translated into, “Hankou April 9, 1891,” “Factory” and “Tokmakov, Molotokov and Company.” The city emblem of St. Petersburg and the number 25 in Arabic numerals are pressed into the back of it.

Zhang Zhidong treated the Russian prince to such elaborate festivities not just for the sake of diplomatic etiquette, but also to promote the tea trade between China and Russia, and to ensure that Hankou should become the epicenter of it all.

At that time, J. K. Baranov, the prince’s cousin, initiated the erection of Fuchang Brick Tea Factory in Hankou. The next day, they met at Xintai Tea Factory, which was celebrating its 25th anniversary. Baranov described his tea trade experience in Hankou to the prince, highly praising the convenient location and transportation.

The prince didn’t attempt to conceal his interest, breaking into an impromptu speech, “The Sino-Russo Tea Road is a great and noble tea trading route, the Russian merchants in Hankou are splendid, and Hankou is an exceptional Oriental tea port.” From that moment on, its name and reputation spread like wildfire.

▲張岳峰請俄方代表亞歷山大·伊利因先生將獨制黃鶴樓青磚茶轉贈普京總統(tǒng)Zhang Yuefeng presents a tea brick as a gift to Alexander Ilyin, a Russian envoy

中俄茶葉貿易往來密切，張之洞開始重視制茶之法。1894年，張之洞由“茶厘”項下墊撥洋例銀7000多兩，責成江漢關道，將上等紅茶200箱運到當年俄國的敖德薩（今烏克蘭城市）；又委托順豐磚茶廠將100多箱紅茶遠銷圣彼得堡；指導漢口茶商選辦上等紅茶數百箱，名為“總督茶”，從水陸兩路直銷俄國。

茶務在張之洞心目中不僅“關系兩湖商民生計”，更直接“關系南北兩省商務大局”。他敏銳認識到，公司制及機器制茶是振興茶業(yè)的根本出路。1897年漢口已出現(xiàn)機器焙茶工廠，同年張之洞即著手“合各富商之力糾股設廠，延請洋人督率教導”，籌辦兩湖制茶公司，公司的成立在當時反響巨大。1898年，張之洞開辦漢口機器焙茶公司。

張之洞重視茶貿并創(chuàng)“總督茶”從漢口直銷俄國，為漢口作為“萬里茶路”的源頭書寫極為重要的一筆。漢口，積淀了豐厚的茶文化，在中國茶葉史上寫下瑰麗華章。直到現(xiàn)在，在中俄兩國交流中，漢口青磚茶仍扮演著重要角色。

2014年11月5日，中俄萬里茶道學術研究會上，武漢茶葉協(xié)會會長張岳峰代表湖北茶人，請俄羅斯“偉大的萬里茶路”研究會會長亞歷山大·伊利因，代為將一塊青磚茶轉贈普京總統(tǒng)。

這塊磚茶長29.7厘米，寬21厘米，厚2厘米，重1500克。磚茶中間有黃鶴樓圖案，下面有凸起的“俄羅斯總統(tǒng)普京閣下惠存”字樣。磚茶放置在一個特制的茶屏里，茶屏系紅木精雕細琢，古樸厚重。

11月13日，亞歷山大·伊利因收到俄羅斯總統(tǒng)辦公廳收到該磚茶的回函。回函說：“您轉贈俄羅斯總統(tǒng)的中國精品磚茶，已由總統(tǒng)辦公廳公民接待處接收?，F(xiàn)向您通知，我們一定會將您指定的禮物隨信一同轉交總統(tǒng)?！?/p>

贈茶同年，武漢黃鶴樓茶葉公司與莫斯科菲尼克斯茶葉公司，簽下1.5億元的漢口磚茶訂單，重啟中俄茶葉貿易，中國茶將重新香飄俄羅斯。

▲順豐磚茶廠舊址 Former site of Shunfeng Brick Tea Factory

Since China and Russia maintained a close relationship in the tea trade, Zhang Zhidong began to pay special attention to tea administration. In 1894, Zhang appropriated more than 7,000 Hankow taels from tea tax and ordered Jianghan Customs House to deliver 200 boxes of fine black tea to Russia’s Odessa (now a city in Ukraine). He commissioned Shunfeng Brick Tea Factory to export 100 boxes of black tea to Saint Petersburg. Guided by Zhang, Hankou tea merchants selected hundreds of boxes of premium black tea representing the acme of quality from their stores, which was dubbed,“Viceroy Tea,” and transported them over land and sea for direct sale to Russia.

In Zhang’s eyes, tea affairs did not just represent“the livelihoods of merchants from Hunan and Hubei,” but represented “the general business prospects of the two provinces.” He keenly observed that smart company management systems and mechanized tea making were the fundamental ways to revitalize the tea industry. Mechanized tea roasting factories had already appeared in Hankou in 1897. The same year, Zhang Zhidong set about“yoking the financial power of wealthy investors and selling shares to set up factories, and beseeching foreigners to instruct and supervise.” Thus, the Hunan-Hubei Tea Company was founded, which at the time generated enormous buzz. In 1898, Zhang set up the Hankou Mechanized Tea Roasting Company.

Zhang Zhidong took the tea trade very seriously, a n d d e v elo p e d“Viceroy Tea” that was exported to Russia directly from Hankou, which was quite critical in turning Hankou to the starting point of the “Sino-Russo Tea Road.” A magnificent chapter in Chinese tea history has been written in Hankou, a place with rich tea culture accumulated over many generations. Even now, Hankou black brick tea still plays an important role in Sino-Russian exchanges.

On November 5th, 2014, at Sino-Russo Tea Road Seminar, Zhang Yuefeng, the president of Wuhan Tea Association, who represents tea experts in Hubei, asked Mr. Alexander Ilyin, the director of Russian “Grand Tea Road” Research Association to present a tea brick to President Putin as a gift.

The gifted tea brick is 29.7 centimeters long, 21 centimeters wide and 2 centimeters thick, weighing 1500 grams. At the center is the insignia of the Yellow Crane Tower, and at the bottom in raised Chinese characters, “Honored President Putin, please accept this tea cake as our humble token.” The tea brick was put on a specially made display shelf made of mahogany and finely carved to look antique and decorative.

On November 13th, after the tea gift and letter had been received by Russian President’s office, Alexander Ilyin responded in turn with a letter which read, “Your gift of premium Chinese brick tea has been received by the office of the President; this letter is to inform you that we will forward the gift along with the letter to the President himself.”

In the same year, the Wuhan Yellow Crane Tower Tea Co., Ltd. signed a contract worth RMB 150 million with the Moscow Phoenix Tea Company to restart the tea trade between China and Russia. The sweet aroma of high-class Chinese tea will be enjoyed in Russia once again.

Chapter 6: Hankou Black Brick Tea, Passed on from Tea Tree to Family Tree

dong warmly

them with nine ships at the dock, honoring them with 21 gun salutes, meanwhile, a band played at the bell and drum tower. The Russian prince was attired in a white crown adorned with genuine one-foot long bird feathers, as well as a red coat with gold embroidery and a turquoise chinchilla coat. The Prince paced slowly and deliberately through the space the band cleared for him on the road.

▲晴川閣 Qingchuan Pavilion