Necessary expenses every day

firewood, rice, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar and tea have been collectively called "seven things to open the door" since ancient times, which means that no matter how poor or rich you are, you can't live without these seven things from the moment you open the door in the morning. However, eight things are listed in Meng Liang Lu compiled by Wu Zimu, a Song Dynasty man: firewood, rice, oil, salt, wine, sauce, vinegar and tea. However, wine is not a daily necessity for people, so in the Yuan Dynasty, "wine" was gradually removed and became "seven things". There is often a phrase "seven things to get up early and open the door, rice, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar and tea" in Yuan drama.

In the old society, ordinary families worked hard for their lives every day, mainly for the "seven things to open the door". Some elegant people are also inevitably worried about eating. The feelings of these literati are also different from those of ordinary civilians, or they are inspired by feelings or games, leaving poems about "seven things" to future generations.

seven things into the poem were first seen in the 2% discount of Liu Hangshou, a zaju of the Yuan Dynasty: "Teach you to be a master, not a master, until you are a master; Seven things to open the door early, rice, oil, salt, sauce and vinegar tea. " Between the lines, the hard work of being a master for the "seven things" is vividly shown. Tang Bohu, a famous painter and writer in the Ming Dynasty, touched the scene on New Year's Eve and sang a poem "New Year's Eve", which clearly stated "seven things": "All the rice, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar and tea are in other people's homes; There is nothing in the twilight, and the plum blossoms are seen in Zhutang Temple. " The poem not only reflects the author's poor living conditions, but also reflects the author's optimistic attitude towards life, which makes him feel interesting after careful reading.

songs like this are often seen in the works of Anonymous. For example, there is a poem entitled "Avoidance of Debt": "The front door is in a mess, and the rice, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar and tea; I don't care about his mother. I went out the back door to see plum blossoms. " This poem is obviously a poor scholar's self-deprecating work out of helplessness. After reading it, we can feel the author's mood of seeking happiness in poverty and seeking pleasure in sorrow. Another poem "Untitled" says: "Painting, calligraphy, piano, chess, poetry, and hops, which were inseparable from it in those years; Now the seven words have changed, rice, oil, salt, sauce and vinegar tea. " As can be seen from the poem, the author once lived a leisurely and prosperous life, but later he was reduced to running for food. How can he not sigh in the face of a poor life! There is also a poem that also expresses "poverty", entitled "Hundred Sighs": "Every rice, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar, tea, and now it takes a rainy day; I don't dare to sigh for a long time, lest I move Gaotang to worry for me. " This one is obviously different from the previous ones: I am too poor to sigh, for fear of alarming my elderly parents, so I have to suffer by myself. After reading it, people will feel the author's filial piety.

However, the above poems are all written by literati. And a poem written by a housewife to her husband on the theme of "Opening the Door" makes people feel another way when reading it: "Congratulations to Lang Jun for having her again, and I will wash my hands and not be the master today; Everything is delivered when you open the door, rice, oil and salt sauce and tea. " Obviously, the housewife was very dissatisfied with her husband's concubinage, but she dared not express it clearly, so she had to write this poem and complain. The so-called "open things" are naturally seven pieces of "rice, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar and tea", but only six pieces are "delivered" when saying "all delivered", except one piece-"vinegar". This is by no means the housewife lost it carelessly, but left it for herself to eat. It can really be said that no vinegar is better than vinegar at this time. (Yuan Wenliang)