□ Zheng Xuefu

　　On a summer night, the poet Lu You in the Southern Song Dynasty was lying under the willow tree by the pond, lying on the Taishi chair, looking at the stars in the sky, smelling the lotus incense, and making a bi-tube drink based on the local material. .

He described in "Bringing in the Coolness in the South of the Bridge": "Drawing a stick to chase the willows outside the cool, painting the south side of the bridge leaning on the Hu bed. The moon is bright and the boat flute is staggered, the wind calms the pond and the lotus is fragrant. The half-falling star river knows that the night is long and endless. The grass tree feels the city is desolate. Bitong is not slumped and drunk, and personnel are still busy with the sunrise." The "bitong" mentioned in the poem is "bitong drink", which began in Jinan, a spring city during the Wei and Jin Dynasties.

　　Duan Chengshi, a literati in the Tang Dynasty, recorded in "Youyang Zazu" that during the reign of Wei Zhengshi, Zheng Gongqi, the governor of Qizhou, built a garden in the lakeside area of ​​the north of Licheng.

In the park, there are vertical and horizontal ditches and streams, rippling clear water, lotus leaves and fields, lotus fragrance overflowing far, weeping willows on the bank, shade of the sun, pavilions, terraces, corridors, pavilions and rivers, beautiful scenery, it is a summer resort.

Because in ancient times, the prefects of the prefectures and counties were called "Shijun", so the name of this place was "Shijun Lin".

On the hot dog days, Zheng Gonggui would lead his aides or literati and elegant guests in the summer retreat, recite poetry, sing, dance and drink alcohol in Shijunlin.

One day, Duke Zheng had a whim, and asked him to pick fresh large lotus leaves, pour three liters of wine, pierce the middle part of the lotus leaves with a hairpin, make the lotus leaves and the lotus stems communicate, and bend the lotus stems into a trunk-like shape, sucking and drinking the lotus leaves. The fine wine in the middle, the fragrance and the fine wine blend, refreshing and delicious, refreshing.

Everyone imitated it, and after drinking it, they suddenly felt a cool and refreshing air infiltrating the lungs and suffocating the ileum.

Lu Wengui, a writer in the Yuan Dynasty, wrote about this in a poem: "In those days, when the summer was away, the sages were willing to come by. Xu Qing is shining with gold. The bottom of the leaf may be sweeter than honey, and the heart of the lotus is the heart of the lotus."

　　This invention and creation of Zheng Gonggui was highly praised by literati and scholars, and later spread to the people, becoming a common practice.

People also call Bitong Drink "Bitong Cup", "Lotus Cup" and "Lotus Cup". Because the stem tube of the lotus leaf is curved, it is similar to the trunk of an elephant, so it is also called "Elephant Trunk Cup".

During the Tang and Song Dynasties, it became a fashion to drink and cool off the heat with Bi-tong cups.

An anonymous poet in the Tang Dynasty wrote in the poem "Bitong Cup": "The smell of wine is mixed with lotus, and the fragrance is colder than ice. The wheel is like an elephant trunk, and it is free from blueflies." Cup" verse.

According to "Zhejiang Chronicle·Hangzhou House", "The West Lake in the Song Dynasty was famous all over the world. After July, many people fell into the city to enjoy the cool air, when the lotus flowers were in full bloom, and the hibiscus came out of the water. , Crank its handle, the rotifer is like the trunk of an elephant, drink it, put the boat in the deep place of the willows, and fish for the water, and it will return on the moon. Poetic and picturesque." Ouyang Xiu's "The Pride of the Fisherman: The Flower Bottom Suddenly Smells and Knocks Two Oars" describes: "The wine cup is rotated with lotus leaves, the lotus boat is swaying, and red waves are always in the cup. The fragrance of flowers and wine is fragrant." Song Dynasty poet Chen Mi also wrote in the poem "Nankang Ailian is a matter of time": "The most beautiful cup is a green tube, you can drink it when it's cool in the evening." Drinking in the Bitong, reciting poetry, Su Shi has a poem saying: "When the Bitong is like an elephant trunk, the liquor is slightly bitter." According to traditional Chinese medicine, "Spring is more sour, summer is bitter, autumn is more acrid, and winter is more salty." According to the opinion, eating more bitter food in summer can clear away heat and relieve summer heat, which is of great benefit to the body, so people think that Bitong drink has health-preserving function.

The poet Wusdao in the Ming Dynasty said in a poem: "The green leaves make a giant spring at night, and the blue clouds half roll out of the Fangtang. The soft silk still has the mouth of the ice silkworm, and the fine thread leads to the light of the jade rabbit. Be careful. After the third watch of the drunken soul, you will feel the fragrance of the wind and dew all over your body."

　　Bitongyin is romantic and elegant, and has the function of relieving heat and health care, and is favored by people.

However, when the autumn wind is bleak and the lotus leaves dry up, this natural drinking method cannot be reproduced. Therefore, cultural and creative products imitating Bitong cups came into being.

Folk imitation of clay pottery, royal palace nobles use gold, silver, jade, rhinoceros and other precious materials to make Bi-tube cups.

"The green leaves are rolled with high leaves, and the fragrance is drunk. The wine is just like the diarrhea, and the wind is clearing and dawning." This is the praise of the poet Gao Qi in the Ming Dynasty for the green drink.

　　Among the various materials of Bi-tong cups, rhino horns are the most precious.

With Zheng He's voyages to the West during the Yongle period of the Ming Dynasty, more and more rhino horns flowed into the Central Plains, and the craftsmanship of rhino horn cup carving became prosperous, and a group of famous rhino sculptors stood out.

In the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, the rhino horn-carved Bi-tube cup by Wuxi native Youtong is the most exquisite, and it can be said that a cup is hard to find.

You Tong, courtesy name Yuyuan, stage name "Zhisheng", his carving skills are family heirlooms. He is famous for his ingenious carving of rhino (horn), elephant (tusk), bamboo and jade, and is the crown of the Three Wu Dynasty. , won the reputation of "You Rhino Cup".

Because of his superb skills, Emperor Kangxi conscripted him into the inner garden to serve the emperor.

The Palace Museum has a Qing Dynasty rhino horn carved lotus-shaped cup (Bitong cup), 10.6 cm high and 16.8-10.6 cm in diameter.

The cup is carved in a wide angle into a lotus leaf shape with an open mouth and a wide outer side, and the veins on the leaves are vivid.

The lower part of the outer wall is engraved with lotus flowers and slightly rolled small lotus leaves and rushes, which are bundled into a lotus, and form a base, which supports the cup body smoothly.

There is a hole in the inner bottom of the cup that communicates with the flow, and the flow mouth is upturned.

The drinker holds the cup without tilting, and can directly inhale the wine in the cup from the spout.

This cup has a unique shape, unique ingenuity, fine carving, and elegant style.

　　Chinese culture has a long history and is profound and profound. A small bi-cone cup is not only a drinking vessel, but also carries a profound historical and cultural heritage. It has become a perfect and harmonious combination of man and nature, and has the pursuit of beauty and artistic appreciation value.

However, with the passage of time and the accelerated pace of modern life, the Bitong Cup is no longer seen in folk life, and can only be seen in museums.

In recent years, this elegant taste, which has been passed down for thousands of years, has been given new life. Bitong drink exists in the form of tourism experience in Jinan Daming Lake and other places, so that people today can also experience the "wine taste mixed with lotus smell and fragrance" in summer. It's colder than ice".