Many discussions of the Wuyi origin theory begin with a small group of familiar texts. Two poems written by Ruan Minxi (Qing dynasty poet, Kangxi period 1661–1722). A passage later quoted by Lu Tingcan (Qing dynasty tea scholar, Xu Cha Jing, compiled circa 1760s) in Xu Cha Jing (Continuation of the Tea Classic). These works appear frequently in conversations about the history of qingcha (oolong tea). Over time, they are often treated as evidence.

Yet when the texts themselves are read carefully, the picture becomes less certain.

The debate usually begins with quotation. A few lines from a poem. A brief description of roasting. Sometimes a remark about the colour of tea leaves. These fragments have circulated for centuries, repeated so often that they begin to sound conclusive.

But the original texts rarely make the claims that later interpretations attach to them.

The poems written by Ruan Minxi during the early Qing period describe tea production in the Wuyi Mountains. They speak about the landscape of the region and the work of tea farmers moving through steep valleys during harvest season. Roasting fires appear. Tea leaves drying in mountain air. Such passages are valuable because they show that tea production in Wuyi was already well established in the seventeenth century.

What they do not do is document the origin of a tea category. That difference is easy to overlook.

Descriptions of production remain descriptions. Yet over time, they begin to serve another purpose. A line about roasting becomes technical evidence. A phrase about colour begins to suggest a processing method.

One expression in particular appears repeatedly in later discussions: ban qing ban hong (half green, half red)

Some writers interpret this phrase as proof that early qingcha production already existed in Wuyi. But the words themselves do not necessarily describe the controlled oxidation process that defines modern qingcha (oolong tea).

In many early tea texts, colour is simply observation. Leaves exposed to uneven heat during roasting can easily appear partly green and partly red. Similar colours may arise in several different tea processes.

Which is why terminology alone rarely settles a historical question.

Understanding the issue becomes easier when the production systems themselves are compared. The method used for xiaozhong hongcha (lapsang souchong black tea), for example, follows a sequence quite different from the processing used for qingcha. The difference lies not only in colour but in the handling of the leaves—the order of steps, the timing of oxidation, the intention behind each movement.

Those distinctions are often overlooked when historical passages are read in isolation. The Essential Differences Between Xiaozhong Hongcha and Qingcha.

Another complication comes from the nature of historical writing itself. Poetry and short essays were never meant to function as technical manuals. They record impressions rather than procedures. A mountain scene. The smell of roasting leaves. Tea carried along rivers toward coastal ports. These fragments preserve valuable glimpses of tea culture, but they rarely explain the full sequence of manufacture.

For this reason, a single line in a poem can rarely prove where a processing technique first appeared. Historical evidence asks to be read slowly. Otherwise, descriptions of practice begin to turn, almost unnoticed, into claims about invention. Much of the debate surrounding the Wuyi origin theory has followed exactly this path.

The documents themselves remain important. They clearly show that tea production in the Wuyi region had already reached a high level of refinement. What they do not clearly show is the emergence of the semi-oxidation technique that defines qingcha (oolong tea).

To understand the question more clearly, the techniques themselves must be examined directly. Because once the production systems are compared in detail, many of the historical descriptions that seemed ambiguous begin to settle into place.

Further Reading:

• Part 1 : Half green, half red. Where does the question begin
• Part 3 : The Essential Differences Between Xiaozhong Hongcha and Qingsha