At present, there is no record about the imperial seal of Dahongpao tea in historical materials and local chronicles. According to the memory of the old tea man in Wuyishan, the original name of Dahongpao is "Qidan", and there is no record of Qidan in black and white historical materials.
The only thing that can prove the origin of the name Dahongpao is the cliff stone carving "Dahongpao, the title of Wu Shixian in 32 years of the Republic of China" in Kowloon. Wu was the magistrate of Chong 'an County in the early years of the Republic of China. As for moving Wu's inscription to the cliff, it is said that a monk in Tianxin Temple did it. In 32 years, 1943. Which emperors were there at that time?
Myth 2: There is only one kind of Dahongpao tea in Kowloon.
According to the Travels of South Jiangsu cited in the book Talking about Wuyi Tea Culture by Mr. Zhao Dayan, Wuyishan, there are two places where this tea is found, namely Tianyouyan and Julian Cave, and there is also Jiulong Pavilion. According to Mr. Yuet-Ming Yiu's recollection, contemporary Cha Sheng Wu Juenong conducted a survey on tea varieties in Wuyishan in the 1940s, and Dahongpao tea was also found in Beidou Rock. It can be seen that Dahongpao tea is not the only place in Kowloon in history.
Nowadays, through the efforts of new and old tea people in Wuyishan, hundreds of acres of Dahongpao tea have been successfully developed by asexual reproduction. Although these tea trees are descendants of the mother tree, they have the same characteristics as the mother tree.
From the botanical point of view, as long as it has the same characteristics as the female parent, whether it is the second generation, the third generation or even the tenth generation or the twentieth generation, it has the same variety meaning as the female parent. Therefore, all Dahongpao teas propagated from the female parent are real Dahongpao teas. With the development of market economy, the planting area of Dahongpao tea will be further expanded.
Myth 3: Mother Dahongpao tea is better than the second generation, and the second generation is better than the third generation.
This is a typical old lady's idea that "each generation is worse than the next", and there is no scientific basis. However, in the practice of asexual reproduction using the female parent Dahongpao tea tree, some offspring do have character variation.
If it is to maintain the characteristics of the female parent, there is no problem of being inferior to the female parent. If it is a mutated offspring, it can only be said that the traits have changed, and the quality may not be as good as that of the female parent (generally speaking, this offspring will be eliminated soon), but it may also mutate better, thus producing new excellent varieties.
As far as Dahongpao products are concerned, the variety of tea trees is an important factor, but it is not the only one. The quality of products is also affected by the growth environment, seasonal climate, production technology and other factors. In fact, many finished teas made from the offspring Dahongpao tea tree are comparable in quality to those made by the female parent.
Myth 4: Dahongpao tea sold on the street now is fake.
This understanding is mainly because we don't understand the difference between Dahongpao as a tea variety and Dahongpao as a tea product. There are very few products of Dahongpao tea in Kowloon, only a few taels a year, which is impossible to see in the market. Some of the Dahongpao that can be seen in the market now are products made by the younger generation (also known as purebred), and most of them are teas with the name Dahongpao, or commercial teas.