China News Service, Beijing, September 28 (Reporter Shangguan Yun) In the slightly distant Qin and Han Dynasties, what did the ancients usually eat?
Is there a popular "Internet celebrity" food?
What cookware did you use to cook at that time?
Wang Hui, associate research librarian of the National Museum of China and author of "The Feast of Qin and Han Dynasties: The Powerful Era of Chinese Cuisine", said that during the Qin and Han Dynasties, the types of food were extremely rich, kebabs were all the rage, and there were also a lot of barbecue ingredients.
In addition to the usual common meat, there are many special grilled foods, such as quail and cicadas.
"The Feast of Qin and Han Dynasties: The Powerful Era of Chinese Cuisine".
Photo courtesy of the publishing house
She mentioned that being eclectic and accommodating hundreds of schools is the grandeur of Chinese culture, and the food culture included in it is no exception.
The reason for the endless growth of Chinese food culture lies in its openness and inclusiveness.
What are the types of food in the Qin and Han Dynasties?
Nowadays, when people meet and greet each other, they often say something like, "Have you eaten yet?" Some people ridicule it, which is enough to show the importance of diet in people's lives.
Chinese food culture has a long history.
Wang Hui mentioned that the types of grains in the Qin and Han Dynasties were extremely rich, far more than the "five grains" of rice, millet, millet (millet), wheat, and Shu (bean), such as barnyard, wild rice (carved Hu), oats, Taro, sorghum, buckwheat, barley, etc.
The Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine, which was written about in the Qin and Han Dynasties, mentioned: "The five grains are for nourishment, the five fruits are for help, the five animals are for the benefit, and the five vegetables are the supplement." auxiliary.
Over time, the Paleo diet has expanded.
According to historical records, the vegetables and fruits introduced to the Central Plains after Zhang Qian's access to the Western Regions included alfalfa, garlic, coriander, courgette, flax, walnut, fig, melon, and pomegranate.
Wang Hui said that with the frequent exchanges between the Han Dynasty and the Western Regions, winemakers from the Western Regions began to make wine in Chang'an.
Therefore, not long after the introduction of Eurasian grapes into the Central Plains, the Chinese mastered the Western method of making wine.
Wine, from the Ming Dynasty court manuscript "Food Materia Medica".
Image source: "The Feast of Qin and Han Dynasties: The Powerful Era of Chinese Cuisine"
The "Qi Min Yao Shu" written by Jia Sixie of the Northern Dynasty also recorded the production method of "Hu soup": using mutton as the main ingredient, with shallots, coriander, and pomegranate as seasonings, these seasonings are all produced in the Western Regions and are authentic Western style.
Wang Hui believes that the introduction of foreign ingredients not only enriched people's food types during the Qin and Han Dynasties, but also made a series of changes in people's cooking techniques and eating customs.
Kebabs are all the rage
During the Qin and Han Dynasties, kebabs were all the rage, and the barbecue ingredients were very rich.
Mawangdui Xiance records quite a lot of barbecue raw materials, including beef roast (roast beef), beef flank roast (roast beef flank meat), roast beef, hog roast (roast pork), deer roast (roast venison), roast beef Chicken (grilled chicken), Inuqiweizhi (grilled dog flank meat), Inuganzi (grilled dog liver)), grilled crucian carp on skewers, grilled carp on skewers, etc.
In addition to the usual common meat, there are many special grilled foods, such as quail and cicadas.
According to Wang Hui, the copper ovens in the National Museum of China are the utensils used by people to grill meat.
In the stone room of Wuliang Temple in Jiaxiang, Shandong, there is a picture of a feathered man offering kebabs to the Queen Mother of the West, and the Queen Mother of the West was a high-level immortal in the mythology system of the Qin and Han Dynasties. The wonderful taste.
There were many popular delicacies in the Qin and Han Dynasties. For example, the staple foods include: Hu cakes, soup cakes, Suo cakes, jujube glutinous rice cakes, new wheat rice, rice noodles, etc.; , fish, etc.
Not only that, Wang Hui said that there are dozens of ancient Chinese cooking techniques, including steaming, boiling, frying, sautéing, roasting, frying, boiling, soup, cannon, and popping, which can be described as the best in the world.
Among them, steaming and frying are the original creations of the Chinese.
The Han Dynasty copper oven is now in the National Museum of China.
Image source: "The Feast of Qin and Han Dynasties: The Powerful Era of Chinese Cuisine"
In "The Feast of Qin and Han Dynasties: The Powerful Era of Chinese Cuisine", she mentioned that the current clear records about stir-frying in historical records come from the "Fried Chicken Method" recorded in "Qi Min Yao Shu", so "scrambled eggs" is likely to be a The first stir-fried dish in Chinese history.
What can I eat for a meal?
During the Qin and Han Dynasties, the daily staple foods of ordinary people were wheat rice, cake bait, sweet bean soup, etc.; vegetables mainly included sunflower, leek, husk (the tender leaves of soybean), green onions, etc.; animal offal, chicken, fish and eggs were the most popular foods of the time. Frequently eaten meat and eggs.
Wang Hui said that at that time, although pigs were widely raised, ordinary people were reluctant to slaughter them on weekdays, and they could only be eaten during festivals, weddings, funerals, and sacrificial activities.
When a major event occurs in the country, when the emperor "gives the people a hundred cattle wine", the common people also have the opportunity to taste the beef.
Sheep were the top quality meat in the Han Dynasty, and were often given as rewards to ministers, doctors, and moral role models in the village.
"People's beverages are mainly pulp and wine. Various kinds of pulp are sold in Qin and Han stores. The pulp may be a sweet and sour drink made from rice juice." Wang Hui explained.
Qin and Han people are addicted to alcohol, and the folk wine is very popular.
There is a saying in society that "a meeting of a hundred ceremonies can't be done without alcohol", which means that drinking behavior mostly occurs in various major banquets, and drinking is generally not included in the daily diet.
The brewing portrait brick of the Eastern Han Dynasty is now in the National Museum of China.
Image source: "The Feast of Qin and Han Dynasties: The Powerful Era of Chinese Cuisine"
There are also many kinds of cooking utensils, mainly including stoves, steamers, kettles, and sundries.
Kettle and Sun are ancient "pots".
The kettles used alone are mostly used for cooking meat, and can be used alone or in combination with the kettle.
The kettle is matched, mainly used for steaming rice.
The copper urn with the head and the ring consisting of a urn, a kettle and a basin was very popular in the Qin and Han dynasties.
Wang Hui, for example, said that the bronze urns in the National Museum of China had smoky traces on the bottom of the cauldron and the bottom of the basin when they were unearthed, so they should be practical utensils.
The endless Chinese food culture
Accompanied by food culture, there are many feasts in Chinese history. For example, some are named after the food that is necessary for the feast, such as the "cherry feast" in the Tang Dynasty and the "soup cake feast" in the Tang and Song Dynasties.
It is named after the songs played during the banquet, such as "Luming Banquet".
During the Qin and Han Dynasties, the daily and life-oriented banquets were mainly family banquets, wedding banquets, birthday banquets, and festival banquets held by the people.
All kinds of banquets are held in the event of New Year's sacrifice, house building and house move, welcome new year and farewell to the old.
The function of this kind of banquet is to make friends and neighbors friendly and enhance feelings.
Wang Hui believes that the reason for the endless growth of Chinese food culture lies in its openness and inclusiveness.
Since Zhang Qian's mission to the Western Regions, in the long-term exchanges and integration, under the guidance of the idea of "harmony but difference", Chinese food culture has been constantly exhaling the old and accepting the new, maintaining fresh vitality.
At the same time, Chinese food culture has also been continuously exported to all parts of the world, such as tea, porcelain, brewing and cooking techniques, etc., which have profoundly affected the food life and customs of local people and enriched the treasure house of world food culture.
In addition, China has long formed a tradition of ancestor worship, so as one of the extremely important ancient rituals, the ritual is actually a feast of food and drink.
Human ethics education is the inherent "coagulant" for the sustainable development of Chinese food culture.
Respecting the elderly and loving the young is a traditional virtue of the Chinese nation. Taking the arrangement of seats in ancient banquets as an example, the etiquette of respecting the elders and the elders has continued to this day.
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