Looking for food culture related to the emperors of Han and Tang Dynasties

Han Dynasty Food Chinese cuisine has experienced a development history of four to five thousand years. It consists of palace dishes, official dishes and various local cuisines of the past dynasties, with the main body being local dishes. Its superb cooking skills and rich cultural connotations are world-class.

Sun Wen once said: "Paintings that are pleasing to the eyes and sounds that are pleasing to the ears are all art, but why not the taste that is pleasing to the mouth? He is a cook, and he is also one of the arts. It is the art of cooking that plays an important role in civilization. However, if a non-civilized race is not sophisticated enough to discern taste, its cooking techniques will not be good."

Our country has a vast territory, and the natural conditions, people's living habits, and economic and cultural development conditions in various places are different. Different from historical periods, different local flavors have gradually formed in terms of food cooking and dish categories.

1. Traditional food culture of Xia, Shang and Zhou

From the Neolithic Age to the Yin and Shang Dynasties, people’s processing of grains has always been relatively primitive and simple. The ancestors roughly processed the grains through grinding plates, rolling rods, pestles and mortars, etc. It was difficult to provide a large amount of shelled rice to meet the meal needs. They could only eat the grains with the shells. Only a few nobles had the right to enjoy the shelled grains. In the Zhou Dynasty, the emergence of Shi Qi was a leap forward in the primary processing methods of grains. Shiqi is a stone mill. "Shiben·Zuopian" says: "Gongshu Banzuo Shiqi", the principle is to "combine two stones and cut them into teeth that cut into each other to grind the object." The primary processing of grains changed from grinding to grinding. With the popularization of stone mills, the diet of Zhou people has been greatly improved.

Compared with grain processing, meat processing in the Zhou Dynasty was more sophisticated, and as the selection of meat for initial processing, it was as important as later cooking. In particular, the selection and cooking of the various meats enjoyed by the Zhou royal family and nobles during sacrifices and banquets were handled by the specially designated official offices "Inner Cooking" and "Outer Cooking". According to the "Zhou Li Tianguan Nei Lian" records: "Cows croaking at night are smelly; sheep have cold hair and are glutinous, which means mutton; dogs have red buttocks and are irritable and smelly; birds are ramie-colored and sandy, which means raccoons (rotten smell); hogs are blind. Eyes crossed when looked at are fishy; horses with black spines and arms are like crickets. "So, what kind of livestock and poultry are suitable for slaughtering and eating? "Book of Rites Nei Principles" records: "The cow is called Yiyuan Dawu, and the pig is called Gangmane. Dolphins are called Xunfei, sheep are called soft hair, chickens are called Hanyin, dogs are called soup offerings, pheasants are called sparse toes, rabbits are called bright eyes..." It can be seen that Zhou people have fully understood how to choose those who are disease-free, have no special fishy smell and are strong. of livestock and poultry, and identify the various parts of the livestock and poultry before slaughtering them. On the one hand, this is for the purpose of dissecting the animal body, and on the other hand, it is also for the purpose of classifying the livestock for easy cooking. It also has ceremonial significance. When eating, various dishes have fixed positions, and eating is also done in a certain way. Procedures are carried out, which are determined by the different shapes the meat is cut into.

In the Zhou Dynasty, there were strict regulations on class distinctions from eating methods to banquets. The popular bronze eating utensil at that time, the tripod, was a symbol of social status: the king used nine tripods, the ministers used seven tripods, the officials used five tripods, and the scholars used one or three tripods. The same is true for beans. "Book of Rites: Li Yun" records that there are six out of thirty beans for the emperor, six out of ten princes, two out of ten princes, eight for superior officials, and six for inferior officials. There are strict restrictions on the consumption of food. "Guoyu·Chu Yuxia" contains Guan She's father's saying: "The emperor eats Tailao, cattle, sheep and hogs are all available. The princes eat cattle, the ministers eat sheep, the officials eat hogs, and the scholars eat fish. "Common people eat vegetables." "Shang Shu·Hong Fan" states: "Only for blessing, only for power, only for eating jade food." This means that only the monarch can use jade food to achieve power and blessing. "Book of Rites: Kingship" says: "Princes do not kill cattle without reason, officials do not kill sheep without reason, scholars do not kill dogs and hogs without reason, and common people do not eat treasures without reason.

There were very few cooking methods in the Xia and Shang Dynasties. By the Zhou Dynasty, with the rapid development of productivity, cooking methods had become very diverse, including boiling, steaming, roasting, moxibustion, deep-frying, stir-frying, etc. Among them, deep-frying and stir-frying were new cooking methods that emerged after the bronze culture of the Zhou Dynasty entered its heyday. Method. Most of the cooking utensils unearthed in the Zhou Dynasty were steaming utensils. The cooking method at this time was mostly steaming food. According to the literature, the main cooking utensils used for cooking food at that time were cauldrons, tripods, and kettles. The two cooking utensils, cauldron and tripod, seem to have a division of labor. The cauldron is mainly used for cooking grains or vegetables. For example, "The Book of Songs: Caiping" says: "In Yixiang, Wei and the cauldron".

The tripod was used for cooking meat, because in the Zhou Dynasty, the tripod was no longer just a cooking utensil, but had become a ritual vessel, exclusive to nobles at all levels and regarded as a symbol of power, and could not be used by the common people. Bronze tripod. When used as cooking utensils, nobles also mainly used copper tripods to hold meat and other precious foods. For example, "The Rites of Zhou, Tianguan, Cooking People" says: "The wok is held in the palm of the hand to bring water and fire together." Zheng Xuan notes: "The wok is used to cook meat, fish and cured meat, and it is both cooked and filled in the cauldron." Li is generally used to cook porridge. It was produced in the Yin Dynasty, developed in the middle of the Zhou Dynasty, declined on the weekends, and disappeared in the Han Dynasty. Nobles used tripods to prepare meals, and Ge for regular cooking.

Steaming is an advanced method of cooking using steam. my country is the first country in the world to use steam cooking. In the Zhou Dynasty, there were steamers and steamers. Because the steamer separates food from water, even if the water boils, it will not touch the food, so that all the nutritional value of the food is retained in the food and is not easily destroyed.

With the development of productivity, the variety of food continues to increase, various cooking utensils are invented one after another, and newer and more advanced cooking methods emerge naturally, such as stir-frying, frying, stewing, simmering, braising, and boiling. As well as methods of pickling dishes such as bacon, glutinous rice, and preserved vegetables, they all laid the foundation for the development of Chinese cooking techniques.

In fact, in formal occasions, the nobles of the Zhou Dynasty regarded food as an important part of etiquette, which was highly valued, and many of them had express customs for this purpose. For example, "Etiquette · Nei Principles" divides food into four parts: rice, meal, shame, and drink; "Book of Zhou · Tianguan" records that the responsibilities of the "shanfu" are to "take charge of the king's food, drink, meal, and shame." To support the king, his queen, and his heir, he must eat six grains, six animals for meals, six pure drinks, and a hundred and twenty luxuries for shame.” In short, these four parts are rice (staple food), vegetables (non-staple food), and soup. drink. It marks the initial finalization of traditional Chinese cooking methods.

The emergence of the "Eight Treasures" in the Zhou Dynasty marked the formation of Chinese cooking as an important art, showing the Zhou people's exquisite skills and scientific nature of food and drink. Take Paopork as an example. First, wash and peel the piglet, fill it with dates in the belly, wrap it in wet mud, bake it dry, peel the mud and take out the piglet, then smear the pig body with rice flour paste, fry it thoroughly, and cut it into slices. shape, mix the ingredients, then place it in a small cauldron, put the small cauldron in a large wok cauldron, stew it over a slow fire for three days and three nights, and then season it with soy sauce and vinegar before eating. This dish uses three cooking methods: roasting, frying, and stewing, and there are as many as ten processes. "Bazhen" created a precedent for using a variety of cooking methods to prepare dishes. A dazzling variety of dishes in later generations were developed on this basis. "Bazhen" was even used in the names of dishes, and it is still used today. There are also "Bazhen Cake", "Bazhen Noodles", "Babao Porridge", etc. Although the content is constantly updated, the names have been passed down through the generations, indicating that the "Bazhen" of the Zhou Dynasty occupies an indelible position in the history of Chinese food. 2. Food culture during the Spring and Autumn Period, Warring States Period, and Qin Dynasty

During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, with the decline of the authority of the Zhou royal family, there has been a history of powerful countries annexing small countries for hundreds of years. The fusion of ethnic groups has gradually formed two major flavors, northern and southern, in food culture. In the north, Guqilu is one of the birthplaces of ancient Chinese culture. It has a long history of food culture and relatively developed cooking techniques, forming the prototype of Shandong cuisine, the earliest local flavor dish in my country.

In the south, the Chu people were the best, unifying half of the country in the southeast. They had the most extensive and far-reaching influence on the culture of the Central Plains. After the fall of Yue, their influence extended along the river to the lower reaches of the Huai, Si, Nanhai and other places. . No country in the Central Plains has a more colorful culture than the Chu people. One of the main reasons is that the Chu people annexed dozens of countries and tribes and integrated various cultures through intermarriage. Ever since King Huai of Chu was deceived into coming to Qin and died in poverty, the state of Chu was in a state of despair. After King Qingxiang came to the throne, he was no longer able to expand to the northeast. He continued to encroach on the land as before, and turned to the southwest. He sent general Zhuang Jiao into Yunnan along the Yuanjiang River, out of Qilan, and defeated Yelang, establishing a group of vassal states under the rule of Chu. . Relying on the support of Dian, the Chu people continued to expand to the southwest, occupying large areas of land in Ba and Shu, and their power reached both sides of the river. At this time, the Chu State was bounded by the sea to the east, Yunnan and Guizhou to the west, Taihu Lake to the south, the Yangtze River running through the central part, and a network of water flowing north and south. The climate was suitable for cold and warm, and the soil was fertile. It occupied today's "land of plenty".

"There are carps in spring, shad in summer, fat ducks in autumn, and vegetables in winter." All year round, aquatic products, livestock, poultry, vegetables and vegetables are on the market, providing superior material conditions for the development of cooking technology. Gradually the prototype of today's Jiangsu cuisine was formed.

To the west, the Qin State occupied the ancient countries of Ba and Shu, and then sent Li Bing to transform the flood-stricken country into the "Land of Abundance". In addition, with the arrival of a large number of immigrants from Hanzhong, combined with the local climate, customs and The traditional food of Ba and Shu in ancient times produced the predecessor of Sichuan cuisine, which has great influence today. However, in the eyes of various princes at this time, the Qin State was not in the Central Plains, but a barbaric land.

With the rapid development of Qin's unification, my country's food culture has gradually increased its influence on North Korea. This situation probably began in the Qin Dynasty. According to records such as "Hanshu", during the Qin Dynasty, "the people of Yan, Qi, and Zhao took refuge in North Korea with tens of thousands of people." So many Chinese residents came to North Korea, and naturally brought Chinese food culture to North Korea, but as long as the Qilu people in the north food culture. After the unification of the Qin Dynasty, the three major cuisines of Sichuan, Shandong and Jiangsu were formed in China.

Qin's great cause of unification was in its later stages. In order to show the First Emperor's civil and military skills, Qin marched into Lingnan and engaged in many years of fighting and cultural integration with the local indigenous people. At that time, Zhao Tuo was the magistrate of Longchuan County of Nanhai County, and later the captain of Nanhai County. At the end of Qin Dynasty, he sent troops to annex the three counties of Guilin, Nanhai and Xiang to establish the Nanyue Kingdom. In the eleventh year of Han Emperor Gaozu's reign, he was granted the title of King of Nanyue. Taking advantage of Guangzhou's location on the southeast coast, the Pearl River Delta's mild climate, rich products, wide variety of edible animals and plants, and convenient water and land transportation, Lingnan's political, economic, and cultural center was established. The food here is relatively developed. The current food culture of Guangdong is actually the result of Zhao Tuo introducing advanced cooking arts and utensils from the Central Plains region to Ling, and combining them with local food resources to make "flying, diving, animals, and plants" all delicacies and spread. To this day, the eclectic food trend has given rise to Cantonese cuisine.

At this point, my country’s most influential local cuisines are Shandong cuisine (including flavor dishes from northern regions such as Beijing and Tianjin), Jiangsu cuisine (including cuisine from Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Anhui), later known as the “Four Major Cuisines.” The prototypes of Cantonese cuisine (including flavor dishes from Fujian, Taiwan, Chaozhou, and Qiong regions), and Sichuan cuisine (including flavor dishes from Hunan, Hubei, Guizhou, and Yunnan regions) have taken shape.

3. The food culture of the Han and Tang Dynasties and the great integration of food with surrounding ethnic groups

With the complete birth of the unification of China, the powerful Han royal family was more advanced in food than the Qin Dynasty One step further. The emperor of the Han Dynasty had the most complete food management system in the country at that time. Among the officials under the Shaofu who were responsible for the emperor's daily affairs, those related to dietary activities were Taiguan, Tangguan and Daoguan, who were respectively "main meal", "main cake bait" and "main rice selection". This is a large-scale official system. There are seven ministers under the Taiguan order, including Taiguan Xiancheng who is responsible for bringing food from various places, Daguancheng and Zhongcheng who are in charge of daily diet. Taiguan and Tangguan each had 3,000 slaves and maids, and their food expenses for the emperor and the harem amounted to 20,000 yuan a year. This expenditure is equivalent to the property of 20,000 households of average-level people in the Han Dynasty. The daily expenses amount to 548,000 yuan, which is equivalent to more than 2,700 good grains of rice on stone, or more than 91,000 kilograms of good meat. The etiquette of the Han Dynasty stipulates that the emperor's "food must have the taste of the eight delicacies." They "drink sweet and fat foods that are worth the taste of the world."

The changes in the seasons have a great influence on the living conditions of ordinary people in the Han Dynasty. Not a small impact. For example, Xu Qian, a man from the late Han Dynasty, said: "In the hot and scorching summer, even the nobles felt that "their bodies were painted like paint, the water was like flowing springs, the powder fans were effective, and the banquets were delicious." However, the seasons have a great influence on food life. Restrictions on the emperor and his concubines were reduced to the lowest level at the time. In winter, the emperor could enjoy green onions, leeks and other vegetables that only grew in spring, and these vegetables cost a lot of money. The eunuchs "covered their houses with fire day and night, waiting for the temperature to grow." In the hot summer, the emperor and his concubines "The ice is always laid, and the cold delicacies are passed down from time to time.

During this period, the spread of Chinese food culture to the outside world intensified. According to records such as "Historical Records" and "Hanshu", when Zhang Qian of the Western Han Dynasty was on an envoy to the Western Regions, he Economic and cultural exchange activities were carried out with Central Asian countries through the Silk Road.

In addition to introducing courgettes, walnuts, coriander, flax, carrots, pomegranates and other products from the Western Regions, Zhang Qian and others also introduced peaches, plums, apricots, pears, ginger, tea and other products from the Central Plains as well as food culture to the Western Regions. Today, among the cultural relics unearthed from Han tombs in the former Western Regions, there are wooden chopsticks from the Central Plains. Among my country's traditional barbecue techniques, there is a grilling method, which was also spread to Central and West Asia through the Silk Road very early, and eventually formed the kebabs that people like to eat there.

The Southwest Silk Road, which is earlier than the Northwest Silk Road, starts from the southwestern city of Chengdu in the north, passes through Yunnan, and reaches Indochina, Myanmar and India. This Silk Road also played a role in spreading food culture to the outside world during the Han Dynasty. For example, during the Jianwu period of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Emperor Guangwu of the Han Dynasty Liu Xiu sent General Fubo Ma Yuan to march south and reached Jiaozhi (now Vietnam). At that time, a large number of Han Dynasty officers and soldiers built cities and lived in Jiaozhi and other places, and brought food customs such as eating rice dumplings during the Dragon Boat Festival on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month to Jiaozhi and other places. Therefore, Vietnam and Southeast Asian countries still retain the custom of eating rice dumplings.

At the same time, the Chinese Wei Man once became king in North Korea. At this time, Chinese food culture had the deepest impact on North Korea. North Korea is accustomed to using chopsticks to eat. The cooking ingredients used by North Koreans and the way they match their meals all clearly have Chinese characteristics. Even in cooking theory, North Korea also pays attention to Chinese terms such as "five flavors" and "five colors".

Chang'an in the Tang Dynasty was the center of world culture at that time. China gradually became a country with many ethnic groups, which facilitated the exchange and integration of food culture of various ethnic groups. Specialties from the Western Regions were introduced to the Mainland, greatly enriching the food and cultural life of the Mainland peoples; and the exquisite delicacies and cooking techniques of the Mainland peoples were gradually spread to the West and became popular among the local people.

In the process of mutual exchanges, various ethnic groups continue to innovate the food culture of the Chinese nation. During this period, the ethnic minorities in the west and northwest were still living together with the Han people and gradually got used to and accepted the production and lifestyle of farming agriculture, and began to live a settled agricultural life. The animal husbandry in the interior also developed rapidly, and Benefiting from the frequent exchanges between the Hu and Han nationalities. This change also brought about major changes in the traditional dietary structure of the Hu and Han people. "Eating meat and drinking cheese" began to become the unique dietary feature of the Hu and Han ethnic groups in the entire northern and northwest regions during the Han and Tang Dynasties.

There are about 160 kinds of vegetables that we eat daily today. However, among the more than 100 kinds of common vegetables, about half are native to the Han region and half are introduced from outside the region. During the Han and Tang Dynasties, the mainland of the Central Plains introduced many varieties of vegetables and fruits through exchanges with ethnic minorities in the northwest. For example, vegetables include alfalfa, spinach, brassicas, courgettes, beans, garlic, coriander, etc.; fruits include grapes, almonds, and watermelons. , pomegranate, etc., and condiments include pepper, sugar, etc. At the same time, cooking methods from the Western Regions were also introduced to the Central Plains, such as cheese, Hu cakes, Qiang-boiled Qiang Zhi, Hu-roasted pork, Hu soup, and sheep intestines, etc. were all introduced to the Central Plains from the Western Regions.

Various Hu food introduced in the Han Dynasty had gradually become popular in the Yellow River Basin during the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, and were favored by the majority of Han people, especially the cooking method of "Qiang Boiled Cang Zhi" The method is the most typical. The so-called "Qiang cooking" means boiling or boiling sheep and venison; "Qiangzhi" is similar to roasting whole sheep. Volume 4 of "Shi Ming" "Shi Diet" says: "Qiangzhi, roast them all, and cut each one with a knife." , because of what Hu Qiang did." It is precisely because of the freshness and delicious taste of "Qiang boiled Qiang Zhi" that it is favored by the majority of Han people, and has gradually become synonymous with the cultural exchanges between Hu and Han. On the other hand, the Han people have also continued to export the food civilization of the Central Plains to the Western Regions and surrounding ethnic minorities. Among them are vegetables, fruits and tea produced in the Central Plains, as well as food preparation methods.

The Han and Tang Dynasties were also a period when traditional Chinese eating styles gradually changed. After the Eastern Han Dynasty, the bed as a seat was introduced to the Central Plains from the Western Regions and gradually became widely used. Since sitting on the Hu bed requires both feet to hang on the ground, this changes the traditional kneeling posture of the Han people. New changes in furniture began in the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties and reached their climax in the Sui and Tang Dynasties. On the one hand, this is reflected in the fact that the height of traditional beds and tables continues to increase; on the other hand, the variety of new high-foot furniture is increasing, and chairs, tables, etc. have begun to be used.

"That is to say, when the minister first took office, out of gratitude, he presented a sumptuous meal to the emperor, called "Shaowei".

How extravagant is the "Shaowei" feast?

《 "Qing Yi Lu" records an incomplete food list left by Wei Juyuan when he hosted a Shaowei Banquet. The food list listed 58 kinds of dishes and more than 20 kinds of pastries. Judging from the materials. , including bears, deer, and donkeys in the north, civets, shrimps, crabs, frogs, and turtles in the south, as well as fish, chickens, ducks, quails, pigs, cows, sheep, rabbits, etc.

For example. There is a kind of vegetable dish at the banquet, that is, a craft dish, which is mainly used for decoration and appreciation. One of the dishes is called "Vegetarian Steamed Sound Part", which uses vegetarian vegetables and steamed noodles to make a group of Penglai fairy-like singing girls and dancers.** * There are 70 pieces. You see, how much time and effort is required to make a craft dish. For example, a pastry called "Gold and Silver Flower Cake" is made by picking out crab roe and crab meat, putting it in a steamed roll, and then cutting it. Cut into small pieces of equal size. Another example is a dish called "Tonghua Soft Beef Intestine", which is stuffed with beef intestines with mutton bone marrow and other accessories to make a sausage-like soup. Very delicate ones, such as "Lengchan'er soup", which is clam soup, but it needs to be cooled and eaten cold, such as Qingliang shredded clam, which is made from raccoon meat and chopped into pieces after cooling, similar to aspic.

These 58 dishes are not the entire menu of the "Shaowei Feast", but only the odd ones among them. Due to its long history and simple records, the exact overall scale and luxury of the Shaowei Feast are what we know today. It is impossible to truly know.

4. The food culture of the Song, Liao, Jin, and Yuan dynasties

The palace food of the Song Dynasty was famous for its extravagance, just like the emperor. "A hundred dishes are often eaten" and "Meals are handed out in the middle of the night, which requires thousands of people." "As for the banquets, they were even more extravagant to an astonishing degree. For example, Shenzong indulged in banquets and pleasures in the palace in his later years, often "costing more than 100,000 yuan for a banquet". According to historical records, Renzong had an internal banquet, "ten and divided." "Enter the meal", there are only twenty-eight clams of one grade. At that time, one clam was worth one thousand, so Renzong "twenty-eight thousand" with one chopstick.

At the same time, my country's most influential "four major "Cuisine" includes Shandong cuisine (including specialties from Beijing, Tianjin and other northern regions), Jiangsu cuisine (including specialties from Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui), Cantonese cuisine (including specialties from Fujian, Taiwan, Chaozhou and Qiong), Sichuan cuisine (including specialties from Fujian, Taiwan, Chaozhou and Qiong). Including the local specialties of Hunan, Hubei, Guizhou and Yunnan) have developed quite maturely.

Compared with the north, the food standards of Liao and Jin are poor. "Pu is made from leftover meat and vegetables, pounded in a mortar and allowed to rot." Even the meat porridge for respectable people is "boiled with meat and rice," and "it's all minced meat." On weekdays, The half-cooked rice eaten was "soaked with raw dog's blood and garlic". On the banquet table, which is generally considered to be "precious," raw onions, garlic and leeks were also placed on top. Because of this, when celebrating the birthday of the king of Song Dynasty, the envoys from various countries "listed ring cakes, oil cakes, and jujube towers on the plate, followed by fruits." Only the envoys of the Liao Kingdom added "one sheep, chicken and goose" in front of them. Bones and cooked meat are served on plates, all tied with small ropes, and there is also a plate each of raw onions, leeks, garlic and vinegar." This is obviously the Song Dynasty's respect for the dietary customs of the Liao people.

The Liao Kingdom was in The treatment of envoys from the Song Dynasty was different. Zhu Yu's "Pingzhou Ketan" said that the Liao people provided a bowl of milk porridge to the Song Dynasty envoys every day, because milk porridge was a very precious food in the Liao Kingdom. However, the porridge was "rich with oil", which made the Song envoy unable to swallow it. The Song envoy suggested to them to "remove the oil", but the Liao people ignored it until the Song envoy suggested using other containers to store the oil for their own convenience. The Liao people agreed that raw oil is the best tonic when drinking milk porridge, and even the Queen of the Liao Dynasty asked her to "take half a cup of apricot oil" when she gave birth. p>

The food considered good by the Khitan people of the Liao Dynasty may not be acceptable to the people of the Song Dynasty. When the two emperors Hui and Qin were imprisoned in the Jin Kingdom, it happened to be the birthday of the Jin Emperor. The Jin people gave them food and wine given by the Jin Emperor. As a result. After they finished eating, they all vomited and found out that this was "honey-pickled sheep intestines", a kind of food cooked with horse intestines, which was not available to ordinary prisoners and was a "treasure" of the Jin Kingdom. .

This kind of food is far different from the stir-fried, stir-fried, steamed, braised bream, braised and other popular cooking flavors in the Central Plains area. It is also very different from the elegant, light, novel and nourishing palace meals with excellent aromas, shapes and dishes. How can this not be the case? Will it cause people in the Song Dynasty to lament that "the food is sour, sour, and inedible"?

The Liao and Jin Dynasties also realized that their own eating methods were backward, and they tried their best to learn from the Central Plains food culture. For example, the Liao and Jin Dynasties had great traces of sinicization when celebrating the New Year Festival, but their dietary customs were still independent and self-contained. For example, during the Double Ninth Festival on September 9th, Chinese customs on this day often include gatherings at high altitudes, drinking chrysanthemum wine, or putting cakes on children's heads in order to "get everything high". The Liao people followed suit. They also set up tents on high places and drank chrysanthemum wine. However, the prerequisite was to hold a "surround fight to shoot tigers", and the one who defeated less was the loser - losing the "Double September 1st Banquet". The food at the feast was nothing more than cutting the rabbit's liver into pieces and eating it mixed with deer tongue sauce. It's not that the Liao people don't want to eat better-tasting meat than this, but they lack delicious food. They are particularly envious of the pork in the Central Plains, so the Liao Dynasty envoys must ask the Song Dynasty for pork, or "stomach organs" every year. According to Han Yuanji's "Tongyin Old Stories", even the post offices and cavalry in the Song Dynasty desperately recruited for this purpose, and there was no day without "Chu Chu".

If we say this is for the Liao people to satisfy their appetite, it is better to say that this is a concrete example of the Liao people's admiration for the food culture of the Central Plains. The reason why fishing among the Liao people has become a "grand ceremony" is that it is not intended to imitate the food customs of the Central Plains emperors who often held flower viewing, fishing and banquets for ministers? Lu You's "Old News from the Family" records that his ancestor Lu Dian was on a mission to the Liao Kingdom. Seeing that the deacon who was serving him was very cautious, he gave him a pomegranate that he could not eat. However, the servant was reluctant to eat it and wanted to keep it for his parents.

A small pomegranate from the Central Plains will be regarded as a delicacy by the Liao people, and the tea will be even more thirsty. Zhang Shunmin's "Hua Yuan Lu" said that a noble prince from the Song Dynasty went to the Liao Kingdom and brought a lot of "Tuancha", because in the Liao Kingdom, two "Tuancha" can be exchanged for two "Fan Luo". "There is no need to mix cheese to quench thirst, just add small tea balls to the ice pot." Lu Changchun, a man of the Qing Dynasty, eulogized the tea-drinking life of the Liao Dynasty. It is by no means groundless and has sufficient factual basis.

With the trade of tea, "tea food" has also penetrated into the daily life of the Liao and Jin people. In the important marriage ceremony of Jin people's life, it is formal to serve "tea and food". The so-called "tea food" is just a kind of "cold utensils" commonly eaten by the Han people, that is, fried twists and other large and small soft fat foods, and then a plate of "honey cake". Only after the entire banquet is over and the guests attending the wedding are served "Jianming". Tea became a drink that only the rich could "sip", while the "uncouth" could only drink cheese.

In the Yuan Dynasty, the territory of the empire developed to an unprecedented extent, which also brought about the broad development of food culture. During this period, mutton-shabu-shabu was born with the support of Kublai Khan; mooncakes have become an indispensable snack for the Mid-Autumn Festival; Dadu in the Yuan Dynasty became the birthplace of the first roast duck restaurant in history; everyone is willing to do so until now. The famous dish to taste - roasted whole lamb...

And during the Mongols' Western Expeditions and the Yuan Dynasty, a large number of Muslims of all ethnic groups came east from Persia, Central Asia and Arabia in various capacities or voluntarily. They merged with the local ethnic groups and became a new ethnic group in the Yuan Dynasty - the Hui ethnic group. They also created and developed China's halal food culture with other Muslim ethnic groups.

At the beginning of the 14th century, the Yuan Dynasty army penetrated deep into Burma and stationed it for 20 years. At the same time, many Chinese businessmen also live in Myanmar, bringing great changes to the local people’s food life. Since most of these Chinese businessmen are from Fujian, many Burmese nouns related to food culture are spelled in Fujian dialect, such as: chopsticks, tofu, lychees, fried cypress, fried dough sticks, etc.

5. The food culture of the Ming and Qing Dynasties

The palace food in the Ming Dynasty was extravagant. For example, during the Lantern Festival held in the palace on the 15th day of the first lunar month, the Lantern Festival is made very delicately - glutinous rice is ground into fine flour, then stuffed with walnut kernels, sugar, and roses, and then rolled with wine to the size of a walnut. On the 16th, the lantern viewing activities in the palace became more prosperous. According to the "History of the Ming Dynasty": "The prosperity of the world can only be found here."

During this season, the vegetables in the palace include chicken fir from southern Yunnan, smallpox and morel from Mount Wutai, sea plants such as cabbage, asparagus, kelp, antlers, and seaweed from the East China Sea; wormwood, bamboo shoots from Jiangnan, etc., from Liaodong pine nuts from Jibei, yellow flowers and day needles from Jibei, yams and potatoes from Zhongdu, moss from Nandu, bamboo shoots, Polygonatum sibiricum, and black essence from Wudang. Beishan's walnuts, dates, magnolias, philodendrons, bracken, etc., as well as various other vegetables, dried and fresh fruits, local specialties, etc. are all available.

In the Qing Dynasty, "Qing Ye Lei Chao" recorded the dietary situation, saying: "The food habits of different places are different due to customs. People in the North like onions and garlic, people in Yunnan, Guizhou, Hunan and Sichuan like spicy food, and people in Guangdong They like light food, and Suzhou people like sugar." He also analyzed the cuisine characteristics of various places in more detail: "Suzhou people like a lot of fat in their diet, and their cooking methods are all mixed with five flavors, but they use more sugar and add five spices." "Fujian and Guangdong. People's diet - food is rich in seafood, and meals must be accompanied by soup. Cantonese people also like to eat living things, and they don't want to have high heat. ""The diet of Hunan and Hubei people - they like spicy food. If you don't have pepper and mustard, you won't be able to eat chopsticks, and there will be plenty of soup." "Northerners eat onions and garlic, and they also prefer northern products..." and so on. Although the citations are not enough to explain the full picture of the cuisine, we can see the characteristics of the four major cuisines in the country.

With the further development of the catering industry, some local dishes became more and more unique and formed their own factions. In this way, by the late Qing Dynasty, local dishes from Zhejiang, Fujian, Hunan and Anhui were added to become the "Eight Major Cuisines". In the future, if Beijing and Shanghai are added, there will be "Top Ten Cuisines". Despite the proliferation and development of cuisines, people are still accustomed to using the "four major cuisines" and the "eight major cuisines" to represent the tens of thousands of local flavor dishes in our country. There are thousands of famous local flavor dishes. They have exquisite selection of materials, fine preparation, wide variety, and different flavors. They pay attention to the coordination and unity of color, aroma, taste, shape, and utensils. They enjoy a high reputation in the world. reputation. Most of these famous dishes have their own history of development. They not only reflect exquisite traditional skills, but also have various beautiful and moving legends or allusions, which have become an important part of our country's food culture.