Ⅰ.Period of the Shang and Zhou Dynasties

Pu’er tea can be traced back to the end of the Shang Dynasty, i.e.more than 3,000 years ago.Chang Qu, of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, wrote in the Local Chronicles of Huayang (Southwest)·Records of Ba:“The King Wu of the Zhou Dynasty conquered the Shang Dynasty and occupied Ba and Shu..., then received diversified tributes such as grains, livestock, silkworm and cloth, fish, salt and iron as well as cinnabar, raw lacquer, tea and honey from these two regions”.According to Wu Juenong’s Review of Tea Classics, Ba and Shu regions at that time covered present-day Sichuan and parts of Yunnan and Guizhou, so Yunnan tea was included in the tributes.The Collection of Ancient and Modern Books also mentioned that Yunnan tea was used as a tribute in the Shang and Zhou Dynasties.According to the Records of the Historian (Shih Chi)· Chronicle of Zhou Dynasty, the King Wu of the Zhou Dynasty led eight small southern kingdoms against the King Zhou of the Shang Dynasty in 1066 BC, among which Mao and Pu minorities lived in Yunnan.As the Local Chronicles of Huayang (Southwest)· Records of Nanzhong recorded:“After suppressing the rebellion in Nanzhong,Zhuge Liang ordered to relocate thousands of Pu tribes of Yongchang Prefecture to Yunnan and Jianning Prefectures for garrison reclamation”.From the above, it can be seen that Pu people have a long history of living in Yunnan and they are distributed widely, and the local conditions are suitable for planting teas, so it is said that Pu people are the ancestor of growing tea in Yunnan.