The Barter Trade and the Development of Tea Culture in the Ming and Qing Dynasties

Abstract

Tea, one of the oldest beverages, moisturises and soothes the throat and promotes the health and fitness of the human body. Apart from these advantages, tea is also a carrier of culture that has endured the passage of time. Tea is native to China, and Chinese tea culture, as a precious form of ethnocultural heritage, has made important contributions to global tea culture as well. Barter trade has been an important means of exchange in tea culture, and the way of bartering and the subjective and objective factors involved in the trade process have had significantly different cultural impacts. This study on the connection between the barter trade and the development of tea culture, using case studies from the Ming and Qing Dynasties in China—with special reference to the time of the Opium Wars—helps to further explore the Chinese tea culture and comprehend its development in the contemporary world.