Where did "the price of tea in china" come from?

Usually when someone does not think your current statement has to do with the conversation at hand they can ask, "What does that have to do with the price of tea in China"?

Where did that form of statement come from?

Solution 1:

Eric Partridge, "A Dictionary of Catch Phrases," says this one is a variant of "What's that got to do with the price of eggs?" and has been around "since the 1940s--perhaps influenced by the expression, e.g. 'I wouldn't do that, not for all the tea in China.'" He identifies the "eggs" saying as "US: since the 1920s, if not earlier."

Solution 2:

The complete expression is actually the following question: "What does that have to do with the price of tea in China?"

The price of tea in China is completely irrelevant to the subject of conversation. So, when someone asks this question, it means they’re really surprised by the listener's comments. Effectively, they're saying:

• Why do you say that?
• What are you talking about?
• What does that have to do with anything?
• What does that have to do with what we are talking about?

The Wikipedia article Irene mentioned is pretty good.

Solution 3:

No one here seems to have actually answered the question in terms of the origin. The phrase is believed to have begun in 19th century England where the actual price of tea in China was of interest. When someone in the British House of Commons said something others felt was irrelevant, it was met with this saying... meaning, the price of tea in China is a relevant topic, but yours is not.