Traditional Culture Encyclopedia - Hotel franchise - Do you know any prawns about China's "Three Musts of Hengshui" and Tibetan Tableware?

Do you know any prawns about China's "Three Musts of Hengshui" and Tibetan Tableware?

Three wonders of Hengshui

Goldfish, backyard brush, snuff bottle

Hengshui Palace Goldfish is a China goldfish cultivated by Mr. Xu, the tenth generation descendant of Beijing Goldfish Xu.

First, the origin and variation of "goldfish" in China.

Goldfish is the national treasure of China, and its ancestor is wild crucian carp.

Ming? Chongzhen's Compendium of Materia Medica infers that the ancestor of goldfish said, "Jin Heng rushed to Lushan Mountain and saw the red scales in the lake." This is also the earliest time to find "red fish" in the existing data, with a history of about 1700 years. Li Shizhen also recorded the varieties of goldfish, such as carp, crucian carp and loach, among which "loach" is the rarest and "golden crucian carp" is the most durable. There have been livestock since the Song Dynasty, and now people are raising people to play everywhere. "In the Song Dynasty, goldfish were mainly golden orange common crucian carp." "Golden crucian carp" was the original name of goldfish. At that time, people were full of mystery about the bright colors of crucian carp During the reign of Song Kaibao (AD 968), Ding Yanzan, the third secretariat of Xiuzhou (Jiaxing) of Wu Yueguo, discovered the golden crucian carp in a pool outside Jiaxing, which was changed to a release pool. Besides Carassius auratus, there are other fish and turtles in the pond, all of which are prohibited from fishing. Since the Song Dynasty, most of the golden crucian carp have been transported to the small ponds of officials and nobles, and the fish farming industry has emerged. In Historical Records written by Sun, a patriotic general in the Southern Song Dynasty (12 14), there is an interesting story about Rao: "Today, fishermen can exchange fish for gold, crucian carp is the best, followed by carp. When you visit, you often cut stones into pools and put them in the room to play. Asked about this matter, the secret refused to say. Or the cloud feeds all the fish with the little red worms in the city passage for one hundred days. White as silver at first, yellow as yellow at second, and golden for a long time. I haven't had time to test it. Don't have ink-printed bright paint, such as hawksbill fish, whose literary talent is particularly impressive. "At that time, goldfish had crucian carp and crucian carp, but why do people think that the ancestor of goldfish is crucian carp, not carp? Modern scientific research has proved this point. Japanese biologist Ishihara and others used the serum of goldfish and crucian carp for precipitation reaction test, which proved that goldfish and crucian carp are the same species. Professor Marco from China also pointed out that crucian carp and goldfish belong to the same scientific name. ) and Wu's "Lu" (A.D. 124 1 274) both recorded the industry of raising and selling goldfish-live fish, and the situation of feeding goldfish with red worm shrimp in urban sewage pits. Fish pay attention to the selection of different goldfish, and unconsciously began artificial seed selection and preservation. However, in the Song Dynasty, golden crucian carp was still wild, and fish farming in Danxutang was not affordable for ordinary people, and the variation of golden crucian carp was very slow.

The great variation of goldfish and the formation of excellent varieties are mainly the result of the interaction between the change of living conditions and artificial seed selection. The name "golden crucian carp" appeared in 968 AD, indicating that crucian carp only changed from gray to golden red at first, which attracted people's attention and breeding. To 12 14, there are two varieties, white and variegated. At this time, only the color changes. After 1276 BC, the use of wooden pots and clay pots to raise fish tended to be popular, and the activity space of goldfish became smaller, swimming slowly, and the feed was completely supplied by manpower, which created conditions for great changes in its body and organs. By 1547, goldfish are not only kept in pots or tanks, but also confined to 40-50 cm near the water surface. Water temperature adjustment, bait supply, dirt removal, fresh water replacement, etc. It all depends on the skills of fish farmers. This great change in living conditions has greatly changed the physiology, development and morphology of goldfish. For example, a long and narrow figure becomes a round and short egg shape, and a strong single tail fin becomes a soft long and inclined double tail. Some dorsal fins are incomplete, and some are simply gone. The image is quite different from that of our ancestors. Goldfish broke away from the word crucian carp in name, and were called five-color fish, paper fish, cinnabar fish and fire fish, and finally collectively referred to as goldfish. By 1643, goldfish had mutated into two-tailed, five-flowered, two-headed, long-finned and short-bodied varieties. From 1848 to 1925, conscious artificial seed selection and breeding began, and a large number of books recorded the hybrid inheritance and breeding methods of goldfish appeared. Goldfish vary from eyes, head, scales, gills, fins, body shape and other parts, such as convex eyes, glaring eyes, blister eyes and cinnabar eyes. During this period, excellent varieties such as Molongjing, Lion Head, Goose Head, Sky Eye, Blister Eye, Pillow, Gill Turning and Callicarpa squama appeared. From 1 163 to 1925, 19 species of goldfish * * * mutated, and double tails, double hips, short bodies and long fins became the same mutation process and morphological characteristics of this 19 species of goldfish * * *. The genetic factors of goldfish are unstable, and there will be many "aliens" with obvious differences in appearance every time they hatch, except for their parents. So far, there are about 162 stable goldfish species, which are divided into two categories: dragon species and egg species. Dragon species refers to fish with large dorsal fin, protruding eye and caudal fin, such as longan. Egg species refer to species with no dorsal fin, duck egg-shaped body and small caudal fin, such as tiger head, blister eye, fluff ball, skygazing eye and blister eye. If goldfish are classified from the perspective of evolutionary history, grass species and language species should be added. The main characteristics of grass seeds are long and narrow, flat tip, small eyes and single tail fin, and they are close relatives of goldfish. Literary species means that goldfish has two pointed heads, a pointed mouth, small eyes, dorsal fins and four large caudal fins, which are descendants of leather species. Goldfish farming in China is divided into two schools, one is Hangzhou Goldfish, and the other is Beijing Goldfish. Hangzhou is the birthplace of goldfish, and Beijing further cultivates goldfish varieties.

Second, the story of "Goldfish Xu"

Goldfish Xu Jiazu was born in Ningjin County, Shandong Province. His ancestors mainly walked the streets carrying burdens. Later, he became fascinated with raising "little red fish". After several failures, he finally succeeded, accumulated a lot of experience and gradually formed a scale. So he sold small goldfish while shoveling pots and bowls, and later he simply started a fish farming business. Later, the family moved to Jinan, where the skill of fish farming was well known.

According to legend, Emperor Qianlong toured Jiangnan and returned to Beijing. One day, accompanied by two eunuchs, he rested in the imperial garden. He strolled to the release pond and watched a dozen red fish swimming in the water. He frowned and asked eunuch Liang beside him, "I saw red fish in Jinan during my southern tour. It's beautiful and charming. Why not send it! " The emperor's words were exactly what eunuch Liang wanted. He immediately knelt down and began to play: "Long live grandpa's words. I have an aunt named Xu, who is the best fish farmer in Jinan." If long live the grandfather likes it, I will send him to raise palace fish for him and serve the emperor. " Emperor Qianlong said, "Come quickly." As a result, the Xu family, who raised goldfish in Jinan, rolled up their bedding and went to Beijing. After JOE entered Beijing, he set up a base camp in Moujiajing (now one mile northwest of the north gate of Tiantan Park) on the east bank of Jinyinchi outside Qianmen. At that time, there were many pits and ponds, many springs and good water quality. After finishing and digging, nearly 100 fish pits and fish ponds for goldfish have been formed, and the "gold and silver pond" is naturally called the "goldfish pond". After Xu's grandfather entered the palace, he took out his unique skills and kept the goldfish fat and colorful. Emperor Qianlong was so happy that he even said, "The national treasure is really an expert in fish farming. Let's call it your goldfish Xu." Since then, Beijing has had the royal title of "Goldfish Xu".

Xu's great-grandfather Xu's grandfather raised fish in the palace. Xu's great-grandfather, Xu, and his third grandfather, take turns to select the best goldfish varieties cultivated by their family after the 23rd day of the first lunar month every year, and then the Xu family manages and raises them in the palace. Every time I pay the palace fish, I will be kicked by the emperor. The palace fish handed in is fresh and big, usually about a foot long, with heavy weight, mostly 782. Goldfish dorsal fin is tied with red rope, but it can't be damaged. The containers for raising fish in the palace are mainly large porcelain pots fired by the official kiln in Jingdezhen, Jiangxi Province, and later a big wooden sea (wooden pot) made of cypress, with a diameter of 5 feet and a height of 40 cm, painted with red or green paint and three yellow iron hoops. In addition, there are specially made 16 sets and 8 sets of gypsum basins. Xu, Xu, Xu, etc. This generation, after the cold dew every year, fished fish in the release pond of the imperial garden of the palace and selected species to enter the fish cave (greenhouse) for the winter, but their lives were also very stable. Xu Jiaxun, who lives near the Golden Fish Pond, has a rapid growth with a population of nearly 100, and is called "Xu Yiwo", while Jenny, a big manor with similar residence nearby, is called "Mouyi Zhai". Due to the scattered residence, the Zhang family, known as "Zhang Yi", has become the three major fish farming families on the east bank of Jinyuchi. After Xuan Tong abdicated, the Xu family no longer paid "palace fish" and could not eat "imperial grain". In order to make a living, Xu Shi brothers set up fish farms separately, including Quanhai fish farm opened by Xu Shu and Yongxing fish farm opened by his family. Xu's great-grandfathers, Xu Guozhen, Xu Guosen and Xu Xu, inherited the Laishun fish farm opened by his father. Due to the changes of the times, the goldfish industry is very depressed and the family business is going from bad to worse. Xu Caili's father Xu Shiying has eight brothers. He manages his own small fish farm while doing odd jobs to make a living. As the eldest brother, Xu Shiying raises fish in summer, pulls ice in winter and does all kinds of chores. Every morning, he goes to Beijing Nanyuan Airlines as a valet, picks out something weighing one or two hundred pounds, works as a waiter in the theater to sell tickets in the afternoon, and pulls ice at Yaojiabing Bridge in Jinyuchi after the performance in the evening. He works hard all the year round. One day in 1947 and 10, two Kuomintang patients suddenly came to JOE fish farm to see fish. As soon as they saw it, they began to fish and catch the fish in their hands. When Xu's mother saw this, she was very sad. She ran to grab the goldfish and put it back in the fish tank. She quarreled with Kuomintang patients and was punched by Kuomintang soldiers. They immediately picked up bricks and smashed the fish tank, which was attacked by people. The next day, two wounded soldiers called five or six helpers, holding whips and crutches, and they were about to smash the fish restaurant when they entered the house. Just as Xu Shiying entered the room, he quickly stepped forward to hold the argument. An officer surnamed Zhang recognized Xu Shiying as a waiter in Beijing Dashilan Theater. He often went to the theater for nothing, which saved Xu's fish farm from a disaster. Min Xin's life has not stopped the tradition of keeping goldfish at home. "Goldfish Xu" didn't make a fortune in fish farming for ten years, but why didn't this craft stop? Lao Xu Manshiying said, "No matter how poor and difficult the business handed down by our ancestors is, we must maintain it. If we lose it, we are sorry for our ancestors. Besides, dealing with such a beautiful thing makes me feel comfortable and happy. Without it, my heart is not in decline, and I can't sit still like a slouches ... ". When Beijing was liberated, the Xu family also provided two shoulder poles, one was carried by our ancestors and the other was given by Emperor Qianlong. In addition, the "Goldfish Xu" apartment, as well as the court clothes, boots and waist tags that were burned during the Cultural Revolution, have been preserved. At present, only a piece of Jinping, about one meter long, 60 centimeters wide and 8 centimeters thick, has been preserved.

After liberation, the fish-raising technology of "Goldfish Xu" was attached importance by the government. In the early 1950s, shortly after the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and China, the Indian government presented the Indian elephant as a gesture of friendship. 1955, Indian Prime Minister Nehru celebrated his 60th birthday. On behalf of the government of China, Premier Zhou Enlai presented cranes, sika deer and goldfish as symbols of "peace and friendship". At that time, Xu's uncle, who was only in his twenties, shouldered the heavy responsibility of escorting one hundred precious goldfish. When the plane arrived in New Delhi, Prime Minister Nehru personally accepted this gift, which is a fascinating story. Xu's father, Xu Shiying, worked as a "fishtail" for the embassies of the Soviet Union, Poland, Czech Republic and Japan at 1954. 1958 manager of goldfish farm in Beijing Zizhuyuan Park. 197 1 year moved to Beijing Tiantan park goldfish farm as manager. 1985 after retirement, he served as manager of ornamental fish farm in Beijing (Nanwan, Beijing) and served goldfish all his life. 1990, Lao Xu Manshiying died in Hengshui.

Hengshui goldfish

Lao Shiying once said before his death that "it is predestined friends with Hengshui, and the words' Xu' and' Heng' were written by two people. There is a word' fish' in the middle of the word' Heng', and the word' Hengshui' has fish and water, which is a treasure house for keeping goldfish". Although it is a joke in life, when I went to Hengshui Laishun goldfish farm and saw the graceful, elegant, colorful, red as gold and white as silver "Golden Scale Fairy" and "Peony in Water" at the end of Bichi, I just lamented that this statement was true.

When Xu was in his twenties, he caught up with the "Cultural Revolution" and was "decentralized" to a remote village in the Heilonggang Valley of Hengshui. Even in this "politics first" year, he still scrimps and saves money to buy fish books, studies them carefully, and secretly raises goldfish after intense work. 1982, Xu was employed by the Garden Department of Hengshui City to build a goldfish farm in China Park. Thanks to hard work, the "Goldfish Xu" family has a place to use again, and the proud Xu officially started his ancestral business.

Although goldfish is small, it is still very difficult to raise. From the selection and cultivation of goldfish, the care of female and male spawning, the development and incubation of fish eggs, to the care of young fish, all need very detailed technology. There are eight sentences in "The Choice of Only Growing Fish": "Healthy without disease, thick and even." The tail is big and straight, and the eyes are neat. The body is straight and round, with a wide mouth. Good growth, no trauma. Swimming in the water is stable and upright. Figure pattern, fat and plump. Tail fin of dorsal fin, without residue or trace. Only when the gene is stable can it be qualified. "A good goldfish variety often takes several years or even ten years to consolidate the variation and ensure the inheritance. Xu's father crossed only one "goose head red" with two males "Qi blush red", and successfully cultivated the standard "goose head red" after five years. In the early 1980s, the variety "Goose Head Red" was snapped up for $ 1200 at the new york China Palace Goldfish Exhibition. On the basis of inheriting a lot of ancestral skills, Xu recruited excellent species and made bold innovations. He not only bred a red-headed dzi bead by crossing a red-eyed dzi bead with a red-headed dzi bead, but also bred a five-flowered dragon egg bead by crossing a red-eyed dzi bead with a five-eyed egg bead, and also bred a fish by crossing a red-eyed dzi bead with a red-headed dzi bead. According to the law of "male comes out first, female comes out later", he crossed a "red dragon eyeball" with a "black peony" and bred a "red ball with ink robe", which is called a rare product by the goldfish community. 1986 10 At the China Flower Show held in Shenzhen Shekou Ocean World Recreation Center, the standard "Magpie Flower Dragon Ball" was praised by Hong Kong businessmen as "rare in the world" with a white belly and a black head with two dark blue stripes going straight to the back. 1999, Xu brought nearly 100 precious goldfish of 25 varieties, including "Wang Zi Tiger Head, Purple Silk Robe, Goose Head Red, Red Lion Head, He, Drum Eye Lion Head, Red Butterfly Tail, Purple Lion Head", to Kunming World Expo Park, explaining a lot of goldfish breeding knowledge to the endless visitors, and demonstrating the exquisite skills of goldfish breeding in Hengshui. Over the past decades, Peiyu Xu has saved many kinds of rare goldfish, such as "looking up to the sky with red head, blisters with tiger head, agate eyes and white crown". His "purple lion head, purple robe red ball, king-shaped pearl, red head and bulging eye cap" were awarded the second prize and the third prize by China Flower Association and Shanghai Flower Association respectively.

The scale of goldfish farms is constantly expanding. Now it has moved to Laishun goldfish farm on the west side of Hengshui People's Pioneer Park. The water surface has reached 800 square meters, and hundreds of thousands of goldfish are produced every year, with 64 species, among which the more precious ones are "Hedinghong, Wang Zi Tiger Head, Cinnabar Eye Blister, Magpie Flower Bead, White Longan Twelve Erythema, Orange Flower Lion Head and Red Rabbit Tiger Head". Goldfish in Hengshui Palace are continuously sold to Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, the United States, China, Hong Kong and Macao, symbolizing peace, friendship and beauty, and become the ambassador of China for friendly exchanges with other countries in the world. Li Xiannian, Wang, Lin, Liu Lantao, Rui Xingwen and other national leaders and foreign tourists visited Hengshui Goldfish Farm and spoke highly of it. On April 6th, 1989, President Li Xiannian shook Xu's hand and kindly praised him for "winning glory for Hengshui". On April 20th, 1998, Fei Xiaotong, vice chairman of the National People's Congress, honorary chairman of the NLD and a famous economist, wrote an inscription for the fish farm, "National treasures should be cherished and passed down from generation to generation".

In our ancient civilization, piano, chess, calligraphy and painting are elegant, and flowers, birds, insects and fish are elegant, enriching and nourishing the spiritual life of China people from generation to generation. Today's goldfish in Hengshui Palace, with its atmosphere, wisdom, grace, elegance, beauty and exquisiteness, is deeply rooted in ancient civilization and originated from nature, so that we can appreciate the profoundness of spiritual civilization in the great enjoyment of material civilization. May the charming goldfish grow more beautiful and elegant in Hengshui; I hope that the goldfish industry in Hengshui will continue to flourish and add another chapter to the spiritual and cultural heritage of mankind.

Houdian pen-making industry began in Yongle in Ming Dynasty and flourished in Qing Dynasty. According to legend, during the Guangxu period of Qing Dynasty, a pen maker named Li in Houdian opened a writing brush in Beij Bizhuang Houdian. Because of the excellent brush, he was attracted by a eunuch who loved calligraphy. On one occasion, he recommended Li's brush in front of Emperor Guangxu. As soon as Guangxu used it well, he named it "Imperial Palace Pen" and became famous in one fell swoop. Scholars and officials in Beijing rushed to buy Li's "Houdian Brush", and Bizhuang became increasingly prosperous. Since then, the unique pen-making technology of Houdian has been passed down from generation to generation.

Houdian brush, also known as "Houbi", was called elephant pen in ancient times. It began in the Yongle period of the Ming Dynasty and has a history of more than 500 years. The Qing Dynasty was regarded as imperial, so Hengshui was called "Holy Land of Writing Brush" and "Hometown of Writing in the North". There are more than 270 kinds of brushes in the back hall, which are long and hard, both rigid and flexible, full of ink without dripping, smooth and not stagnant. Mainly produced in Houdian Village, Taocheng District, the hometown of writing brushes in Hengshui. The pen tip of Houdian Brush is made of various animal hairs, such as yellow wolf tail, fragrant fox tail, Nanshan hair, sheep beard, white horse hair, ox ear hair, etc. The pen holder is made of bamboo, purple bamboo, spotted bamboo, torreya grandis bamboo, water hyacinth, etc. The pen holder is embedded with teeth, bones, horns, bamboo, hardwood and other styles. Fine production technology, novel style and beautiful shape. In particular, with materials such as mahogany, boxwood, ivory, etc., high-end pens such as Erlong Play Beads, Longfeng, Phoenix Play Peony, ancient costume figures, landscape flowers and trees are carefully carved and inlaid. , more like icing on the cake, become a beautiful and elegant handicraft with practical value. Deeply loved and appreciated by calligraphy lovers at home and abroad.

The pen-making process is divided into more than 300 manual operations, such as water basin, odd jobs, dry jobs, lettering and coloring. Strict acceptance system is implemented in the whole process, which makes the product quality stable and reliable. A variety of brushes such as Fengyun, Shuiyue and Little Wolf in Houdian were designated as "trusted inspection-free products" by Tianjin Port. Houdian brushes sell well in more than ten countries and regions such as Japan and Singapore, with an annual export volume of more than three million.

The origin of snuff bottles

The custom of smoking snuff originated in India, the inventor of tobacco. /kloc-in the 0/4th century, Italians selected superior tobacco leaves, mixed them with mint, borneol and other medicinal materials, ground them into powder, sealed the cellar and aged them, and produced commercial snuff a few years later.

Han people began to smell snuff in the Ming Dynasty. At the end of the Ming Dynasty, snuff was rarely imported, only smoked in Guangdong. Kangxi opened the sea ban, and western missionaries carried a lot of snuff and glass bottles with snuff. Snuff smoking is becoming a fashion. Western countries pay tribute to snuff and glass snuff bottles, first Portugal, then Britain, France and other countries. Emperor Qianlong often rewarded princes and ministers with snuff, so smoking snuff gradually became a social fashion.

Snuff bottles are specially used to hold snuff. For convenience, it is generally as big as a pack of cigarettes. Among the existing cultural relics, Shunzhi Cheng made more than 20 bronze carved Yunlong snuff bottles, which are the earliest snuff bottles. Kangxi has a soft spot for western handicrafts. He absorbed a group of westerners who were familiar with making glass snuff bottles and painting enamel, and made snuff bottles in the Forbidden City. The art of snuff bottles reached its peak in Qianlong period. Appreciating the collection of snuff bottles has become a common practice, and the use of snuff has gradually ranked second. All the skills of China traditional art: painting, calligraphy, porcelain burning, glaze application, jade grinding, rhinoceros smelting, tooth carving, bamboo carving, paint stripping, nesting, ornaments, gold and silver inlaying, mother-of-pearl inlaying, yellow paste and so on. They are all used on snuff bottles. During the Qianlong period, snuff bottles became a symbol of wealth.

The legend of snuff bottle

There is an interesting legend about the formation of inner painting. At the end of Qianlong, a local official went to Beijing to handle affairs. He is honest and honest, and hopes to handle it in a normal way. Because the court officials were inefficient and did not take bribes, although they waited for a long time, the affairs were delayed. The local petty official ran out of money and food, but he had no choice but to stay in a temple in Beijing. He is addicted to snuff. When the snuff in the glass snuff bottle was used up, he dug out the snuff stuck to the bottle wall with a cigarette stick, and many scratches were formed on the inner wall. The snuff bottle was seen by a scheming monk. Through experiments, monks baked and bent the nib with bamboo sticks, dipped it in ink, and drew pictures on the inner wall of transparent snuff bottles. This strange thing.

At first, the snuff bottle was a transparent glass bottle with no frosted inner wall. Because the inner wall is smooth, it is not easy to attach ink and color, so we can only draw some simple pictures and patterns, such as Chinese cabbage, dragons and phoenixes, bamboo slips and so on. Later, artists used iron ore and emery to add water to the inner surface of the snuff bottle, making the inner wall of the snuff bottle milky frosted glass.

How is the snuff bottle made?

Snuff bottle is a traditional handicraft, which started in Ming Dynasty and flourished in Qing Dynasty. The painted snuff bottle appeared at the beginning of Daoguang in the late Jiaqing period. It was drawn in a transparent jar with a special small hook brush. At first, the snuff bottle was a transparent glass bottle with no frosted inner wall. Because the inner wall is smooth, it is not easy to attach ink and color, so we can only draw some simple pictures and patterns, such as Chinese cabbage, dragons and phoenixes, bamboo slips and so on. Later, artists used iron ore and emery to add water to the inner surface of the snuff bottle, making the inner wall of the snuff bottle milky frosted glass.

Hengshui Yihuzhai Arts and Crafts Co., Ltd. (formerly Hengshui Special Craft Factory) is the birthplace of "Jipai" internal painting snuff bottles. Established in 1972.

After snuff was introduced into China, people in China first used traditional medicine bottles to hold snuff, and on this basis, they improved the snuff containers by using various materials and manufacturing processes. In the process of use, they found that the bottle with big mouth and small belly is more conducive to storing snuff, which can ensure that snuff will not deteriorate after long-term use, and it is convenient to carry, and its style has the traditional aesthetic feeling of China, so it is loved by snuff smokers. In the Qing Dynasty in China, snuff was very popular from the emperor to the people. The feudal nobles headed by the emperor were extremely extravagant. The snuff bottles they use often collect precious materials and are designed and manufactured by skilled craftsmen for them. Some collectors in the world think that snuff bottles are pocket-sized artworks that combine China's arts and crafts.

Snuff bottles are divided into:

Internal coating of metal jade organic ceramic feeder

Introduction:

Snuff is made by adding precious medicinal materials such as musk into finely ground high-quality tobacco powder and aging it in sealed wax pills for years or even decades. Smelling this smoke has a certain effect on relieving fatigue. It originated from American Indians and was discovered by European travelers exploring America. It was brought back to Europe and soon became popular. At that time, all the kings, princes, princesses and servants in the French court took snuff as a fashion. Napoleon I was also a snuff lover, and it was recorded that he consumed more than 7 pounds of snuff every month.

Hengshui laobaigan

Hengshui specialty Laobaigan is one of the local famous wines in Hebei, ranking first in Luzhou-flavor liquor in the province.

Hengshui Laobai Dry Wine has a long history. According to written records, it can be traced back to the Han Dynasty and was officially named in the Ming Dynasty. The brewing and production of Hengshui wine were basically uninterrupted during 1900 years.

The traditional brewing technology of Hengshui Laobai dry wine has been passed down from generation to generation. Hengshui Laobai Dry Wine is made of high-quality sorghum as raw material, pure wheat koji as saccharifying starter, and carefully brewed in a ground tank by using the traditional old five retort process and double-row clean process. With its unique production technology, she created a typical style of fragrance, beauty, mellow, sweet and refreshing, and long aftertaste. Today, while adhering to the traditional brewing technology, Hengshui Laobaigan people have continuously studied, explored and improved, and established a whole set of technology, which has made the product quality increasingly stable, thus making Hengshui Laobaigan wine stand in the Chinese wine forest with its typical style and strong aroma, sauce-flavor and fragrant liquor.

Hengshui Laobaigan has enjoyed a high reputation since ancient times. Hengshui liquor had the reputation of "three drunks in different districts and ten fragrances in the altar" in the Ming Dynasty. It is said that there was a well-known Deyuanyong Hotel in the city when Hengshui Wooden Bridge was built during Jiaqing period of Ming Dynasty. Bridge builders often come here to get together and drink, and after drinking, they all boast, "It's so clean and dry!" Later, it was called "Laobaigan". The so-called "old" refers to a long history; "White" means that the wine is clear; "Dry" means high alcohol content, reaching 67 degrees. Its taste is "fragrant, sweet in the mouth and memorable after drinking". In 23 years (1934), he participated in the Panama Games, and in 37 years (1948), he was exhibited in Hungary. 1952 is one of the famous specialties of the motherland and was sent to the Korean battlefield as a condolence item.

Fuyang river

Fuyang River originates from the southern foot of Lushan Mountain in Fengfeng mining area of Handan, so it is named Fuyang River, which flows through Handan, Xingtai and Hengshui, and is called Ziya River after xian county in Cangzhou joins Hutuo River. With a total length of 402 kilometers, it is a backbone river for comprehensive utilization of flood control, irrigation, drainage and shipping.

Long ago, shipping and irrigation along the river developed. Historically, Fuyang River was the main shipping line from Handan to Tianjin, with many ships coming and going. At the end of the Qing Dynasty, Cross River in Ningjin County also had a ship donation bureau and a warehouse hotel, and business travelers gathered. Until the mid-1950s, there were still cargo ships coming and going, and 5 1 10,000 mu of land could be irrigated along the river. Since the 1970s, due to the large amount of water used in the upstream industrial and agricultural production, the river water has been reduced, and it is often cut off except during the flood season, and shipping has been replaced by land transportation.

In the past, the Fuyang River was not suitable for incoming water because of its different sizes and large curvature. Every flood season, it can't be discharged, and it often floods. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, bridges, sluices and culverts were built along the river, and the Liu Liu flood diversion channel was excavated, which reduced the pressure of the flood on the downstream. Now the total storage capacity of Fuyang River is much higher than before, and 1963 can pass safely in case of flood, which basically relieves the flood of Fuyang River.