It is commonly believed that the habit of ea drinking originated in Sichuan Province about 3,000 years ago. There is evidence that people there began to drink tea early in the Spring and Autumn Period. In the Qin Dynasty, tea drinking spread to other areas of China; and according to The History of Sichuan, local people began to plant tea during the Western Han Dynasty. Zhang Jingyang of the Western Jin Dynasty spoke highly of tea produced on Mt. Qingcheng near Chengdu. In a poem entitled Climbing Chengdu’s Bai Tu Tower Zhang says, “Fragrant tea is superior to the sixth quiet story of Taoism; and its pleasant taste spreads to ninth realm.”

The custom of tea drinking gradually spread out from Sichuan; and towards the end of the Western Han Dynasty, tea was regarded as the drink of imperial and noble families, Later, from the Jin to she Sui dynasties, tea drinking became popular among the common people.

This article by Yang Tianqing and Daniel Kister.