157361

Stories about Lei Cha in the Three Kingdoms Period

There are many legends and stories about Leicha among the folks. Among these stories, there is a story about Leicha in the Three Kingdoms period. All right. Some say that this general is Liu Bei, others say that he is Ma Yuan, and some say that Lei Cha is related to Zhang Fei.

Liu Bei and Lei Cha

It is said that during the Three Kingdoms period, when Liu Bei fought with Cao Cao, the plague was prevalent due to the long drought and intense heat. After Liu Bei’s army ate the Lei Cha made by the locals, they cured the disease and won the battle. Fan Xiangxiu, a 100-year-old birthday star in Taojiang County, Hunan Province, also has a soft spot for the local Lei Cha. The method is: put tea leaves, peanuts, sesame seeds, etc. into the bowl, and then squeeze it with a wooden stick at a speed that changes from slow to fast, and beat it round and round until it becomes a paste. It is worth mentioning that this area is a longevity area in my country, and the locals have the habit of eating Lei Cha. Fan Xiangxiu’s longevity is not unrelated to eating Lei Cha.

Ma Yuan and Lei Cha

When Ma Yuan, a general of the Eastern Han Dynasty, led his troops through Wuling (present-day Hunan Province), the soldiers on the team suddenly fell ill with the plague. Fortunately, a local farmer promptly provided a good remedy for the plague that had been passed down from generation to generation: raw tea, ginger, Raw rice is ten stones each, ground into a paste and washed with boiling water. The result of the story is that the soldiers got rid of their diseases with tea, and Lei Cha spread from this.

Qing Jiaqing’s “Changde Mansion Chronicles” records: “The folks drink it with tea leaves, sesame seeds, ginger and yin and yang water, and it is called ‘Lei Cha’. “Taoyuan County Chronicles” is called “Wuwei Tang”, which is made by General Fubo. Yu miasma’.” Ma Yuan (14-49 BC), courtesy name Wenyuan, was born in Fufeng Maoling (now Xingping, Shaanxi) in the Eastern Han Dynasty. In the eleventh year of Jianwu in the Eastern Han Dynasty (35), he served as General Fubo, and later went to Wuxi Man in Xiangxi, Hunan, and died of illness in the army.

Zhang Fei and Lei Cha

According to the old people in Taoyuan, Hunan, the local people drink Leicha, which is related to Zhang Fei in “The Romance of the Three Kingdoms”. During the Three Kingdoms period, Zhang Fei, Liu Bei, and Guan Yu became brothers in Taoyuan, and vowed to work together to rescue the poor and help the dangerous, report to the country, and go to Anlishu. That year, Liu Bei used Zhuge Liang’s strategy to take Jingzhou, Nanjun, Xiangyang and other places successively, and ordered Zhao Zilong to lead 3,000 troops to take Guiyang. Liu Bei was overjoyed and rewarded Zilong heavily.

Zhang Fei refused to accept it, and shouted: “Pian Zilong got the merit, but I am a useless person. I only sent three thousand troops to take Wuling County with me, and captured the prefect alive to offer.” Kongming said with great joy: “The former Zilong took Guiyang At the time of the county, a military order was issued to go, and today Yide wants to take Wuling, he must also issue a military order before he can lead the troops to go.”

Zhang Fei then issued a military order and happily led 3000 troops to the Wuling border. One day, Zhang Fei led his troops to attack the “Ximan” in Hutoushan, Wuling, and passed by Wutou Village (now Taohuayuan). It was a hot summer and the plague was prevalent. Hundreds of soldiers fell ill, and Zhang Fei himself was also infected with the plague. He had to order to station troops in the stone cave on the side of the mountain. Some of the healthy soldiers helped the nearby people to farm, and some went to seek medical treatment. Zhang Fei thought of Zhao Zilong’s plan to take Guiyang and made great achievements, what an honor it was; he issued a military order to Zhuge’s army division, the deadline was approaching, but he was plagued by illness, when he got it, he was very anxious.

There lived an old man with white hair on the local mountain. He had heard of Zhang Fei’s name. He heard that Liu, Guan, and Zhang became brothers in Taoyuan. Zhang Fei is good at wielding an eight-point steel spear. He is brave and good at fighting. He took the head of a general among millions of troops, like picking something out of a bag, and he is very admired.

This time, I saw Zhang Fei came here with his troops, the military discipline was strict, and Qiu did not commit any crimes wherever he went. So I personally went down the mountain to visit Zhang Fei. After the introduction, I saw that Zhang really lived up to his reputation. He was eight feet long, with a leopard head with ring eyes, swallow jaws and a tiger beard.

The old man went up to explain his intention, Zhang Fei was overjoyed to be the honored guest, and the conversation was very speculative, the old man immediately offered Zhang Fei the secret recipe passed down from his ancestors – Lei Cha. After Zhang Fei and the officers and soldiers took the medicine, their condition recovered and the epidemic of the plague was curbed.

After Zhang Fei recovered, he personally went up the mountain to thank the old man, and asked him face to face how Leicha could cure the plague. The old man said that among the main raw materials for making Lei Cha, tea can prevent and cure diseases, ginger can regulate the spleen and move the surface, and raw rice can nourish the stomach, which are all beneficial to the sick body. As the saying goes, “a cup of tea in the morning will starve to death the pharmacist”. Although Zhang Fei led the soldiers away later, the local custom of drinking Lei Cha has been maintained ever since.