Shen Nong (Divine Farmer) and Tea

Shen Nong (Divine Farmer) and Tea

The Painting of Shen Nong (Divine Farmer) and Hundreds Herbs: In the picture, Shen Nong carries a basket on his back. He holds a picker in his left hand and a herb in his right hand. With tree leaves tied around his waist, he walks barefooted on an herb-collecting trip.

Shen Nong was a legendary figure in ancient Chinese myth. The ancient Chinese regarded him as not only the inventor of agriculture and medicine, but also the finder of tea. They therefore attributed the origin of China's agricultural production, diet, and medical culture to him.

According to the legend, Shen Nong had a crystal belly, so that everything went on in the stomach could be clearly seen from the outside. He tasted all kinds of plants, in order to let people know which things can be eaten, which are poisonous and which can help cure disease. One day, Shen Nong was poisoned by 72 different poisonous plants. His internal organs turned black and he was dying. Then he saw a clump of bush with green scented leaves. He picked several leaves and put them into his mouth. With the leaf juice ran through his stomach, his internal organs returned to normal at once. Those leaves were from tea trees. Thus Shen Nong discovered the detox function of tea leaf and recommended it to people as an antidote to poisons.