Books, Buddhism and butter tea – on the bride who became Tibet’s mother of tea, for Mother’s Day.

Born circa 620CE, Princess Wencheng was raised in what is present-day Xi’an (of Terracotta Army fame), China, in the household of Emperor Taizong, second ruler of the Tang Dynasty. Like many noblewomen of the Tang Dynasty, the princess was a cultured young lady educated in the Confucian tradition.

It was common in those days for chiefs of tribes to seek alliances with the emperor through marriage. But when a Songtsen Gampo – king of the remote, newly united region of Tibet – asked for her hand, Emperor Taizong might well have answered “who?”

Gampo was rebuffed on the first attempt but he was not to be dissuaded. In response, he launched a campaign against the Tang (which he lost, albeit graciously) and then renewed his request, sending his prime minister to court with a great big pile of gold.

Money talks, and so did Wencheng, who agreed to the union. She understood well that her role was not just as a trophy wife but an ambassador of Han culture. Along with silk, jewellery and furniture, she brought with her books, Buddhism and a taste for tea.

The king built for her a palace on a hill, the site on which is now Potala Palace (Buddha’s Mountain), perhaps more famously acknowledged as the winter palace of the Dalai Lamas from 1649 until the current one’s exile in 1959. Though Tibetans were familiar with Buddhism in the seventh century, it was Wencheng’s devotion that helped spread the religion throughout the population. The bronze statue of Buddha she brought with her is today still housed in the Jokhang Temple in Lhasa.

Also foreign to the Tang princess was the Tibetan diet, heavy with yak milk, which she disliked but felt compelled to consume so she would immediately drink a cup of tea to banish the taste. The tea had come with her as part of her dowry, a tradition many Chinese people carry through today in the wedding tea ceremony. Eventually this morning routine led to some experimentation where she would combine tea with yak butter and other ingredients, leading to the creation of po cha – butter tea.

Her habits caught on and pretty soon those around her were mixing tea with yak butter, leading to an increase in demand for tea, which paved the way – metaphorically – for the trade route known as the Tea Horse Road.

By the time she passed on 7 May 680, she was a popular figure who had undoubtedly united Tibet and the Tang Empire, spread Buddhism and encouraged tea-drinking. A Tibetan folk saying dating from the era is: “One would rather starve for three days than not drink tea for one day.”

This article originally appeared in AUSTCS enews 5 May 2022. Mailchimp no longer allows external links to the original newsletter.