Ancient restaurants and wine associations

During the Tang Dynasty, the conference semifinals came to China to do business and set up shop. In addition to making jewelry and groceries, they also run hotels as their main industry. In Chang 'an (now Xi 'an, Shaanxi), Ren Hu Liquor Store mainly opened in Xishi and Chunmingmen to Qujiang generation. The waiter in the restaurant, that is, the western woman, is called "Hu Ji". They are important factors to promote the popularity of lake wine in Tang Dynasty. With few young women in ancient China, these "Ji Hu restaurants" once created a new situation in Chang 'an catering market in Tang Dynasty.

There is no record of Hu Ji in the official history, but we can see that there are many descriptions in the whole Tang poetry. Wang Ji, a poet in the early Tang Dynasty, was once asked by the Sui Dynasty to stay in the province as an old man and drink a barrel of wine every day. He is called "Bachelor of Wine Fighting". He first described Hu Ji in Tang Dynasty restaurants in Five Poems Across Restaurants: "Luoyang has no big house, but Chang 'an lacks an owner. Gold is not sold out, only for poor restaurants. This kind of daily faint drink has nothing to do with refreshing. Why not wake up alone when you see someone drunk? Bamboo leaves are even worse, and grapes are reddish. If we meet endlessly, who will we be empty for? Know how to drink, but Mo Qiang leads everyone. You have to sleep by the fire, but you can sleep by the horizontal urn. If you have a guest, you must teach him to drink. If you have no money, don't sell it. When I come, I often say (I am "above the world" and "under the shell") that I am ashamed of the restaurant. "Drink here, go to the conference semifinals hotel, less money are embarrassed to take the door. Obviously, for Hu Ji, who serves wine, it means "tip". Going to hotels to drink for Ji Hu was a world trend in the cities of Tang Dynasty. Zhang (Yugur) wrote a poem "White Nose (Ma Jian)" clearly: "You often come to Ma Nose (Ma Jian) for the sake of good wine. Picking lotus and throwing water, Lang Yi is a floating flower. "Ji Hu Restaurant" is always on the side of the city gate. People send their friends on a long trip and have a farewell dinner here. Cen Can wrote in "Send Yuwen Nanjin Fang to Master Hao in Taiyuan": "Send you at the gate of Ma Qing, and Hu Ji will advise you to drink. "In addition to fine wine, there are delicious food, music, singing and dancing in the pub. He Chao's poem "A Gift to Hotel Ji Hu" vividly describes the scene in "Ji Hu Restaurant": "Hu Jichun Hotel, night stringed pipe. Red (beside the hair, feather sunset) spreads a new moon, and mink sits on a thin frost. There are carp at the fish plate (fish meeting), and Jinding is cooking sheep. Guests are not tired, listening to songs and enjoying the world. "Among all poets, it seems that Li Bai likes talking and laughing with Hu Ji best, so there are many places to describe Hu Ji in his poems. He pointed out that Hu Ji often solicited customers at the entrance of the hotel: "Where can we be different? Chang 'an Qingyi Gate. Hu Ji waved her hand and delayed the guests from getting drunk. " Hu Ji can attract customers because of her exotic beauty and her superb singing and dancing skills. Li Bai wrote in "A drunken man's intention is not to give Wang Liyang after drinking": "The book is bald, and the poem cuts two oxen's waist. The pen is vertical and the dance music refers to the sky. Two Erhu songs, Ji, were broadcast far away in the Qing Dynasty. Raising wine and picking snow is mutually forgiving. " In another poem, "There is a bottle of wine in front of two poems", he wrote: "The piano plays the dragon gate and the jade pot is empty. Urge the string to brush the column and drink with you, and look at Zhu and Yan. Hu Ji looks like a flower, so she smiles at the spring breeze. Smile at the spring breeze, dance in clothes, and be safe today without getting drunk? " It can be seen that many Hu Ji in Chang 'an at that time lived by singing, dancing and drinking.

Hu Ji's charge for delivering wine must be very high. Probably only aristocratic teenagers dare to patronize the restaurant waved by Hu Ji. Li Bai wrote in "Youth Journey II": "The Wulingshan youth is in the east of Jinshi, and the silver saddle and white horse are in the spring breeze. Where did you travel when the horse fell? Laugh into Hu Ji's restaurant. " He also wrote in another song "White Nose (Sword)": "Silver saddle and white horse (Sword), green fields are full of mud brocade. When the drizzle falls in the spring, press the whip and drink Hu Ji directly. " Hu Ji came to the Central Plains and overcame many difficulties in her journey. To this end, they are talking and laughing in the restaurant, but also thinking about their hometown and relatives. For example, Li He's "Song of the Dragon Night" says: "Curly hair and green eyes, tall buildings blow bamboo at night. A cry seems to come to the sky, and the beauty cries at home under the moon. The seven-point star hides the finger, which coincides with the sign of Qingfeng Palace. Shu Road is full of clouds in autumn, and Xiangjiang River wakes up at midnight. The beauty of Yutang is in love, and the blue window is full of sorrow. Cold stickers can practice a hundred feet, and pink tears can condense beads and fall into the red line. Don't be a leader, Hu Er. It's dark and sad through the window. " But Hu Ji's service attitude and income in the restaurant are good, which is the main reason why Hu Ji has been able to serve wine in the restaurant for hundreds of years.