THEASOPHIE is a collaboration between nature and humanity. Our roots penetrate deep into the soils of Yunnan’s ancient tea forests and are cultivated by a multiethnic community of tea farmers, enriched by a diversity of languages, lifeways, and worldviews. These relationships radiate outward into regional and international communities motivated by ecological and cultural approaches to social practice and the universal aspirations of tea.

The following individuals guide, inspire, and work alongside us, imparting depth of wisdom and generosity of spirit. They represent a community of practice united in their commitment to Yunnan’s diverse ethnicities and ecosystems. This is our way of conjoining global tea culture with the inner life of practice in the tea mountains of southwest China. We honor each of their journeys and dedicate ourselves to the continuance of this shared path.

岩温南 AI WENNAN was born in 1950 into Bulang ethnicity Lao Man’e Village, the oldest village in the Bulang Mountains with an estimated history of nearly 1,400 years. After a traditional monastic education, he returned to secular life and became the first county administrator of the Bulang Mountains. He oversaw regional development while also functioning as a ritual practitioner, traveling extensively from village to village, gaining an intimate knowledge of the cultural topography of the Bulang Mountains. Eventually, Ai Wennan relocated to Menghai and served as a religious affairs liaison for the Dai and Bulang ethnic communities. He remains active in retirement, offering ritual guidance, teaching traditional Bulang music and storytelling, and inspiring the younger generations to preserve and promote their cultural heritage.

苏国文 SU GUOWEN is Mangjing Village headman and Yimu’s great-uncle. His family story is legendary in Pu’er tea culture. Su Guowen’s father, Su Liya, traveled to Beijing in the founding years of modern China, carrying a gift of tribute tea for Mao Zedong. Years later, he delivered the Jingmai Mountain Bulang community through the tumultuous years of the Cultural Revolution, afterward dedicating himself to the revitalization of his people. Su Guowen returned to the mountain after a career as an educator in order to carry on his father’s legacy. It was at his encouragement that we initiated our Bulang Manuscript Project. We are currently working on a translation of Su Guowen’s book, Mangjing Bulang & Tea (芒景布朗族与茶). Now in his 80’s, Su Guowen continues to perform a vital role in his community.

王国祥 WANG GUOXIANG was born in 1937. During his career, he was affiliated with both the Yunnan Provincial Literature and History Institute and Yunnan Academy of Social Science. Professor Wang is the foremost non-Bulang scholar of the Bulang people, known and loved by that entire community for a lifetime of dedication to understanding and sharing their culture. Professor Wang took Theasophie under his wing the first time we met, offering up a pile of reading material and a research strategy within the first ten minutes of that encounter. We had the distinct honor of escorting Professor Wang on what his final research trip through several Bulang villages, revisiting places and people, some of whom he had not seen in decades. Wang Guoxiang, more than anyone else, understands and shares Theasophie’s commitment and affection towards the Bulang people.

尹绍亭 YIN SHAOTING is emeritus professor of anthropology and former director of Yunnan University’s Museum of Anthropology. He is among the foremost scholars of agricultural practice, material culture and cultural heritage of Yunnan Province’s numerous ethnicities. His book, People and Forests: Yunnan Swidden Agriculture in Human-Ecological Perspective, was seminal in changing negative perceptions of indigenous agroforestry practices and emphasizing the value of indigenous knowledge. His multi-sited Yunnan Ethnic Cultural Ecology Village Project (云南民族文化生态村) promoted a model of rural development aligned with ecological and cultural continuity. Professor Yin provided Theasophie field access, support and mentorship throughout the early years of our work and his cultural ecology project is the inspiration for our vision of a tea center here in the Jingmai Mountains.

陳劍 CHEN JIAN first entered Xishuangbanna’s tea mountains in 1999, by which time he had already been drinking and collecting Pu’er tea for several years. He spent the next decade becoming intimately acquainted with the old-growth tea forests and proficient in all aspects of artisanal Pu’er production, developing his own brand, Yunhaizhidian, while producing private label teas for many well-known figures in the mainland, Taiwan and Hong Kong. Chen Jian accepted Brian as a formal apprentice in 2006. They lived and worked side-by-side every Spring & Autumn for a decade, during which time they hosted countless visitors from all over the world to the tea mountains. In the off-season, they were based out of Yunhaizhidian Classical Teahouse in Kunming, while traveling extensively throughout China promoting Yunnan tea culture.

雷平陽 LEI PINGYANG is the wandering poet of China’s southwest tea mountains. His writings have appeared as Pu’er Chronicle (Pu’er ji), Yunnan Chronicle (Yunnan ji) and Tea Spirit in the Mountains: Menghai Chronicle (Chashen zai shanshang: menghai pu’ercha ji) – just a few titles in a prolific publishing career. We first befriended Lei Pingyang in 2007 and, since that time, have passed countless hours together in the mountains, at his Kunming studio, and at the teahouse. He has extended our gaze beyond its limitations, his words invoking subtle essences that lie beneath the surface of ordinary experience. Theasophie has an active practice of reading and translating Lei Pingyang’s poetry in anticipation of one day bringing it to a Western audience. Read our translation of his Chazhe poem here.

李旻果 LI MINGUO and family have dedicated their lives to promoting the biodiversity of Yunnan’s subtropical forests. With her husband, the late German biologist Dr. Josef Margraf, and their two daughters, she has championed ‘rainforestation’ and promoted environmental awareness throughout China. She is the founder of TianZi Biodiversity Research & Development Center, a conservation organization whose activities range from endangered orchid conservation to national and international strategic partnerships to bring greater awareness to Yunnan Province’s rich tapestry of biodiversity. Josef Margraf was an outstanding scientist who subscribed to a conjoint East~West hermetic worldview. Theasophie’s understanding of tea and biodiversity has been greatly enriched by this family.

尹仑 YIN LUN is the son of Yin Shaoting and an eminent scholar in his own right. He is a professor at Southwest Forestry University and director of the Center for Ecological Civilization in Kunming, Yunnan. His research focuses on traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) and indigenous responses to environmental concerns such as natural resource utilization and climate change. He believes that the resiliency of ecosystems and the communities that steward them is interconnected and advocates for intergenerational knowledge as essential in developing and implementing conservation and development strategies. Professor Yin is also committed to cross-cultural dialogue, working tirelessly to make his own work and that of his colleagues and students available outside of China.

张海 ZHANG HAI is a visual anthropologist at Yunnan University’s Museum of Anthropology. He has spent nearly twenty years documenting Yunnan Province’s ethnicities and is especially interested in youth culture and intergenerational transfers of cultural identity in the midst of rapid social change. Professor Zhang has been with Theasophie since the beginning, accompanying us in 2006 during our first visit to Xishuangbanna’s tea mountains. We have collaborated on several projects together throughout the greater Bulang community. His contributions to our digital archive and conjoint efforts in preserving Bulang cultural heritage are invaluable.