Yongchun Foshou Tea Intangible Cultural Heritage Inheritor

Kang Zhiliang

Inheriting his family's business, Kang Zhiliang began making tea at a young age. Yongchun Buddha's Hand Tea, after three hundred years of vicissitudes, has finally survived. This long line of life is inseparable from the efforts of generations of tea farmers and the perseverance of successors like Kang Zhiliang.

"Ten thousand butterflies dance but not flowers, all because of the famous tea from Yudou." The Yudou mentioned refers to Yudou Town in Yongchun, and the famous tea is Foshou.

The renowned tea master, Mr. Zhang Tianfu, praised it, saying, "Yongchun Foshou tea leaves a lingering fragrance on the palate with every drop. Its color, aroma, and taste are all of the highest quality, truly deserving of its reputation as a top-grade tea."

The eminent monk Master Hongyi once stayed at Puji Temple in Yongchun for 573 days. He spent his life with tea, and had a particular fondness for Foshou tea. He regarded tea tasting as a prelude to Zen meditation, and the two blended together to achieve the unity of Zen and tea.

Perhaps Master Hongyi believed that Buddha's Hand Tea was the most suitable tea for a temple, so he specially inscribed the four characters "Yongchun Foshou" for a type of tea, which is very rare and precious.

Zhao Qingtao, head of Dayatang, and teacher Kang Zhiliang