A little moment of respite for our incredible hostess who remains still, one of most formidable characters in my memory palace. While running around researching the Tea Horse Road, a friend who was from the Yi minority invited me to meet his grandmother, who had lucid memories of the old trade route. As much as the time with her was about tea and the route itself – which steamed through her region near Xiaguan, Yunnan, – she herself became a kind of all-encompassing subject of my attention and affection. Somewhere in her nineties, she still ran a household, puttering around offering up drinks and speaking about spirits that wandered at night. Her diet (and energy) fascinated me. Besides the odd bit of tea, she subsisted almost entirely on a diet of raw eggs whipped into a small brew of homemade whisky, with a little sugar added. Twice daily she took this ‘life-juice’ and managed quite fine. It was only when preparing to leave that I was told that she had only twenty-percent vision. She had scurried around for days nimbly skipping about offering up all she had to us, hunched up but fluid. An amazing bit of inspiration and energy bundled into human form.
About JeffFuchs
Having lived for a decade in Yunnan, Fuchs’ work has centred on indigenous mountain cultures, oral histories along with an obsessive interest in tea.
Fuchs is the author of 'The Ancient Tea Horse Road' (Viking-Penguin) and he was the subject of 'The Tea Explorer' documentary based on his exploration of the Tea Horse Road.
His photos and stories have appeared on three continents in publications such as Kyoto Journal, TRVL, and Outpost Magazine, as well as The Spanish Expedition Society, The Earth, Silkroad Foundation, The China Post Newspaper, The Toronto Star, The South China Morning Post, and UNESCO amongst others. Various pieces of his work are part of private collections in Europe, North America, and Asia. Fuchs served as Asian Editor at Large for five years at award-winning Outpost magazine.
Jeff has worked with schools and universities, giving talks on both the importance of oral traditions, tea and mountain cultures.
His recently released book ‘The Ancient Tea Horse Road’ (Penguin-Viking Publishers) details his 8-month groundbreaking journey traveling and chronicling one of the world’s great trade routes, The Tea Horse Road. Fuchs is the first westerner to have completed the entire route stretching almost six thousand kilometers through the Himalayas a dozen cultures.
Fuchs partnered with Wild China to create a journey along the Tea Horse Road which National Geographic Traveler called one of the "50 Trips of a Lifetime".
He is co-founder of Akahiao Nature Institute on the island of Hawai'i along with his wife, Julie Rogers.
Oh my oh my oh my! What a find to treasure in your heart forever, give her a hug for me OK?
I gave her several long ones when we departed, after a sip of something strong.
best to you
Jeff
A lovely, succinct – yet evocative – descriptive of one of the many “formidable characters in your memory palace”. Now this energetic woman and imagining the taste of her small brew “life-juice” are part of my virtual experiences. I always appreciate these glimpses in other cultures you so beautifully document. Thank you for this, Jeff!
Always a joy to pass on these little bits of light Lynne.
Be and stay well and don’t forget to take the little bits of ‘life-juice’.
Jeff