Fudan professor Li Hui 李辉 uses science to explain the meridians in tea
Professor Li Hui 李辉 is a leading scholar at Fudan University 复旦大学, serving as a professor and doctoral advisor at the School of Life Sciences 生命科学学院, Director of the Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Modern Anthropology 现代人类学教育部重点实验室, and Vice President of the Fudan Institute of Scientific Archaeology 复旦大学科技考古研究院. He is the author of The Mysteries of Human Origins and Migration 人类起源和迁徙之谜, Annotations on the Way of Tea 茶道经译注, and Tea Matters in the Twenty-Four Solar Terms 二十四节气茶事, among other works.
Professor Li has long dedicated himself to the study of tea. Fudan University was the first university in China to establish a Tea Studies Department 茶学系, nurturing many of the modern backbone figures in China’s tea industry. Its first director was the famed modern tea master Wu Juenong 吴觉农. Early in his career, Professor Li studied under Tan Jiazheng 谈家桢, the founding father of the Shanghai Tea Association 上海茶叶学会, pioneer of Chinese genetics, and president of Fudan’s School of Life Sciences, combining life sciences with the study of traditional Chinese tea culture.
Tea Classification: Six Main Types 六大茶类
In 1979, renowned tea expert Professor Chen Chuan 陈椽 categorized the multitude of Chinese teas into six main types:
- White 白茶
- Yellow 黄茶
- Oolong / Blue-Green 青茶
- Red / Black 红茶
- Dark / Fermented 黑茶
- Green 绿茶
At a recent event, Professor Li guided alumni into the “meridian world of tea 经络世界,” beginning with this classic classification.
Tea through Yin and Yang 阴阳
Yin 阴 and Yang 阳 serve as the foundation for categorizing tea. Yang divides into Taiyang 太阳, Yangming 阳明, and Shaoyang 少阳, while Yin splits into Taiyin 太阴, Jueyin 厥阴, and Shaoyin 少阴. Traditional philosophy emphasizes the “three forces of Heaven, Earth, and Man 天、地、人三才之气.”
These forces influence Yin and Yang in tea:
- Heaven 气 → Taiyang 太阳 & Taiyin 太阴
- Man 气 → Yangming 阳明 & Jueyin 厥阴
- Earth 气 → Shaoyang 少阳 & Shaoyin 少阴
Professor Li explains that tea, from growth to harvest and processing, is influenced by these three forces. Accordingly, the six tea types align with these energies:
- Taiyin 白茶 (White Tea)
- Jueyin 黑茶 (Dark Tea)
- Shaoyin 黄茶 (Yellow Tea)
- Taiyang 绿茶 (Green Tea)
- Yangming 青茶 (Oolong Tea)
- Shaoyang 红茶 (Red Tea)
Tea and the Human Body: A Meridian Perspective
Traditional Chinese medicine 中医 holds that the Three Yin and Three Yang 三阴三阳 govern the body’s twelve meridians 十二经络. Tea, originating from the era of Shennong 神农, initially entered daily life as a medicinal herb 中药. As a medicine, tea has inherent properties: nature 性, flavor 味, and meridian entry 归经. Thus, the six tea types correspond to the twelve meridians, each nurturing different aspects of the body.
Through extensive experiments in biology, chemistry, and physics 生物学、化学、物理学, Professor Li interpreted tea’s health effects scientifically and from a TCM meridian perspective. His research demonstrates that tea effectively stimulates the meridians, with each tea type aligning to specific channels. Drinking tea thoughtfully—selecting the right tea for one’s body type, using proper brewing methods, and timing consumption—is essential to avoid harm and maximize benefits.
“Tea was originally a medicinal herb and gradually evolved into an art form 茶艺. Today, through the Way of Tea Classic 茶道经 and scientific analysis, our goal is to return tea to the realm of ‘tea medicine 茶医学.’ We hope that, through our efforts and your dissemination, traditional Chinese culture can be revitalized in a modern context—making tradition modern and Chinese studies scientific.” — Professor Li Hui 李辉
Source: Fudan Alumni