22/11/2024
三年前来景迈时是初春，在开始采茶之前都会举行“祭茶祖”仪式，接新水：要梳妆打扮，盛装出席，砍新鲜的竹子到山里接泉水。得看谁家起得早，最早接到新水的寓意能得到更多的祝福。系新绳：家里的老人会系上专用的绳子，送上祝福，晚辈也把新水给长辈喝。再从家里带一些美食，到寺庙去祭拜。
Three years ago, I visited Jingmai in early spring, where the "Tea Ancestor Worship" ceremony was held before tea picking began. During the ceremony, participants collect fresh spring water by cutting bamboo and heading into the mountains. The earliest family to collect the water is believed to receive the most blessings. They also tie traditional ropes as blessings, with elders gifting ropes to juniors and juniors offering fresh water to elders. Families bring homemade dishes to the temple for prayers.
大家都虔诚的祈祷，祭拜茶祖，祈颂茶祖遗训，一遍布朗语，纪念本民族的传统语言，再说一遍普通话，让参与的其他民族也能感受遗训的力量。我真的热泪盈眶，为茶祖的高瞻远瞩感到震惊，也对世代的传承充满敬佩。
Everyone prays devoutly, worshipping the Tea Ancestor and reciting the ancestral teachings first in the Blang language to honour their heritage, then in Mandarin to share the teachings' strength with others. I was deeply moved to tears, amazed by the Tea Ancestor's foresight and filled with respect for generations of unwavering dedication.
不管是过去茶叶不值钱的年代还是天价普洱茶的年代，景迈人严格遵守着遗训，“像爱护眼睛一样爱护茶树，一代传给一代，绝不能让它失传”。所以我们今天才能品到这千年古茶，看到如此原生态的风景。
Whether in times when tea was cheap or during the era of high-priced Pu'er tea, Jingmai people strictly adhered to the teachings: "Cherish tea trees as you cherish your eyes, pass them down from one generation to the next, and never let them be lost." Thanks to this, we can still taste millennium-old tea and enjoy such pristine landscapes today.
