Agricultural-Heritage-Oriented Rural Revitalization: Experiences from the Ancient Tea Town of Xiping
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Overview of the Development of Chinese Agricultural Heritage
3. Data and Methods
3.1. Study Area
- Tea manors, ancient villages, and tulou have been identified as the focus of tea-planting physical resources. Local social organizations have connected the settlements of Tieguanyin’s birthplace, tea-house gardens, thousand-year-old ancient villages, and century-old earth buildings to integrate resources to create a tea industry chain.
- Tea-culture tours have attracted roughly 20 to 30 groups or organizations per year to visit and experience aspects of the industry, ecology, and environment. Xiping Tea Manor is famous for its tea-planting industry, ecological diversity (including aquatic plants), and healthy tea tours. It has become a center for environmental education based on the Tea Manor.
- The Anxi Tea Competition Association is a local, non-governmental organization that promotes tea-cultivation development in a proactive and participatory manner. The association, consisting of local residents, is generally divided into: (1) community workers; (2) inheritors of intangible tea heritage; (3) tea farmers; (4) environmental protection workers; and (5) tea merchants. It holds “Tea Master Competitions” to develop local brands and promote local revitalization activities.
- The Female Tea Master Training Institute is widely regarded as the first female tea-culture organization in China. It is composed of tea farmers, tea teachers, tea merchants, instructors in environmental education and training courses, and students, thereby connecting tea cultivation and local values.
3.2. Data Collection
4. Results
4.1. Heritage Settlements and Landscape Networks
“Formerly a state-run tea farm, the tea manor was developed with ‘materials in memory’, and the surrounding landscape was established in a natural, simple style, largely retaining historic traces and restoring the tea memories of Anxi.”
“Good tea comes from good mountains and good water. The Anxi Tieguanyin tea culture system is a precious heritage left to us by our ancestors, and it is our responsibility and mission to protect and utilize it well. The subsidy policy guides tea farmers to return to the traditional, handmade, unique tea-making process, in accordance with different conditions such as seasons and climate.”
“Old houses and their surrounding Tea Mountains are precious assets left by our ancestors. There are traditional southern-Fujian-style folk houses, more than 30 ancient large house groups, and more than 20 old tea brands. We cannot let them disappear, but must keep them in a good state, so as to promote their use and value as cultural resources.”
“The ecological courtyard is a typical tea manor, which carries the interactive relationship between humans and nature, promotes multifunctional agriculture production and ecological protection, provides quality products and ecological services, and realizes the value of ecological resources … The ecological courtyard is formed in line with regional characteristics.”
4.2. Tea Competitions and Tea Associations
“‘Shout to [the] mountain and worship the tea’ is both a belief in tea and the local culture of Xiping. In April 2020, the 2020 Anxi Tea Festival was held in Xiping, whose theme was ‘a cup of good Chinese tea for the world’. The traditional ceremony of worshiping tea ancestors and praying for tea blessing shows the belief rooted in Anxi peoples’ hearts that people and nature coexist harmoniously.”
“Winning the laurel of ‘Tea Master’ in the competition is a great encouragement for me. Having been in the tea industry for over 35 years, our traditions come from the past and lead us to a better life.”
“The association is like a big family. We are connected by what we share in our work and the revival of old traditions.”
“The tea association has certain advantages, such as reducing the cost of entering a certain market, as sales modes and management modes can be learned from the members, which makes it relatively easy to open [up] the market and succeed.”
4.3. Female Engagement and Empowerment
“We have set up workstations around the world, and we regularly make PPTs, videos, photos, etc., so that they can give the teaching materials to learners faster and more precisely … I am the first evaluated, representative inheritor of Tieguanyin production skills … through this platform of the training institute to enhance the Anxi Tieguanyin tea culture system. The people who join the institute are from different backgrounds such as technology, culture, management … [if we] turn the teacher-student relationship into a sister relationship, then the teacher-student relationship will become integrated. Stimulating the participation of local people can help make it possible.”
“Different forms of cooperation can be realized through inter-generational interactions … especially the young people, who make great contributions to the institute. Although sometimes female characters are challenged, it is necessary to recognize the positive influence of female tea masters on tea culture. Etiquette is a core and a starting point … including literacy, skills and theory … After improving their competence, 30% of the female members have started their own businesses, and their family happiness index has also increased. Many husbands even encourage their wives to join the training institute.”
“Under the influence of the Female Tea Master Training Institute, international tea friends, the sisters Betsy Meyer and Dewey Meyer, have set up the ‘North American Intangible Cultural Heritage Workstation for Female Tea Masters of Tieguanyin tea’ in the United States.”
5. Multi-Functionality of the Tea-Culture-Based Agricultural Heritage
6. Conclusions
- Heritage settlements and landscape networks: the “tea-mountain” system contains a connection between humans and nature, diverse green networks, a low-density landscape, and a terraced-style tea manor, making the tea-manor-based AH in Xiping unique, and constructing a whole image of sustainable development.
- Tea competitions and tea associations: Xiping has developed a cohesive social network that covers agricultural lifestyles, traditional customs and activities, and community collaboration. The cultural system surrounding tea cultivation plays a vital role in shaping social cohesion, and this cohesion encourages individuals to actively participate in community affairs and helps build a strong and effective social network.
- Female engagement and empowerment: the intangible cultural heritage activities of women’s groups and their participation in international collaboration show a series of creative social actions. This illustrates the obvious influence of women’s role in tea-culture-based rural revitalization, as a driving force combining engagement, equality, and empowerment.
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
References
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ID Code | Age Group | Role | Participation | Occupation |
---|---|---|---|---|
IV1 | 55–65 | The scion of the “Wei Family”, inheriting the traditional tea art of Tieguanyin. | 15 years | Tea brand operator |
IV2 | 60–65 | Responsible for the construction and management of a tea manor. | 20 years | Tea manor manager |
IV3 | 55–60 | Promoting the integration of AH development and environmental protection education. | 15 years | Environmental protection director of a tea manor |
IV4 | 55–60 | Formulating and developing diverse “Tea Master Competitions”. | 23 years | Head of a tea competition association |
IV5 | 40–50 | Providing services for visitors to experience the process of tea making and processing. | 35 years | Tea farmer with the title of “Tea Master” |
IV6 | 55–60 | A senior local government official, tea-affairs coordinator and policymaker, who advocates tea-manor-based rural revitalization. | 15 years | Director of the Tea Industry Management Committee |
IV7 | 30–35 | The main organizer of the international Wu-Wo Tea Ceremony, promoting the inheritance and innovation of tea culture. | 18 years | Head of the Female Tea Master Training Institute |
IV8 | 25–30 | An instructor in environmental education and training courses. | 5 years | Course instructor |
IV9 | 50–55 | Staff member of the Female Tea Master Training Institute. | 25 years | Tea farmer |
IV10 | 60–65 | A tea-brand designer. | 15 years | Tea merchant |
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Shen, J.; Huang, F.-T.; Chou, R.-J. Agricultural-Heritage-Oriented Rural Revitalization: Experiences from the Ancient Tea Town of Xiping. Land 2021, 10, 927. https://doi.org/10.3390/land10090927
Shen J, Huang F-T, Chou R-J. Agricultural-Heritage-Oriented Rural Revitalization: Experiences from the Ancient Tea Town of Xiping. Land. 2021; 10(9):927. https://doi.org/10.3390/land10090927
Chicago/Turabian StyleShen, Jing, Feng-Tzu Huang, and Rung-Jiun Chou. 2021. "Agricultural-Heritage-Oriented Rural Revitalization: Experiences from the Ancient Tea Town of Xiping" Land 10, no. 9: 927. https://doi.org/10.3390/land10090927