【Commentary】Liu He, the grandson of Emperor Wudi of Han, experienced the ups and downs of King Changyi, "Emperor of Han", and Marquis of Haidu in his life. After his death at the age of 33, the Marquis of Haidu was abolished, and the wealth and artifacts bearing the princely symbols were buried in tombs. According to archaeological findings, as early as the Han Dynasty more than 2000,<> years ago, the prototype of "hot pot" and "sauce" appeared on the table of Liu He, Marquis of Haidu.
Recently, the reporter walked into the site of the Han Dynasty Haidu Marquis in Nanchang, Jiangxi, which is the largest, best preserved and richest typical Han Dynasty capital settlement site found in China, and a total of more than 1,<> sets of cultural relics have been unearthed, and among them, a lot of utensils related to eating and drinking are accounted for, enough to witness the exquisite and elegant food of the Western Han nobles.
【During the same period】Nanchang Han Dynasty Haidu Marquis Site Museum Director Zhao Yibo
We have unearthed a large number of utensils in the Haiduhou Tomb, with more than 10,000 sets, and there are many types of utensils unearthed, including copperware, pottery, jade, bamboo simple, wooden and lacquerware, of which the proportion of eating utensils is also very large. Eating utensils are divided into drinking utensils and eating utensils. Drinking vessels can be said to be drinking vessels and drinking fountains. Eating utensils mainly include cooking utensils, as well as eating utensils.
【Commentary】Zhao Yibo, director of the archaeology department of the Haidu Marquis Site Museum in the Han Dynasty in Nanchang, introduced to reporters that among the large number of food ware cultural relics unearthed, the two food utensils "Wen Ding" and "dyeing furnace" have a sense of traversal, which can show that there was already a habit of eating hot pot among the nobles of the Han Dynasty.
【During the same period】Nanchang Han Dynasty Haidu Marquis Site Museum Director Zhao Yibo
Among the artifacts unearthed in our Haiduhou tomb, there are two representative food vessels, one is Wen Ding and the other is a dyeing furnace. In the process of excavation, there are chestnut and taro residues inside this Wending, in fact, this utensil is equivalent to our hot pot today. In the Han Dynasty, the meal system was implemented, and next to this hot pot there was a matching edible utensil that was a dyeing oven. The use of this utensil is to put carbon in the carbon furnace, the heat of this carbon is conducted to the upper ear cup, the food in the ear cup is heated, and it can be eaten by dipping it in meat sauce, and the unearthing of these two utensils also represents the habit of eating hot pot among the nobles of the Han Dynasty.
【Commentary】The bronze dyeing stove in one set also confirms the food culture of the Han Dynasty of "sitting on the ground and eating separately". The reporter saw in the "Lile Banquet" exhibition area in the Haidu Houguo Archaeological Site Park of the Han Dynasty in Nanchang, the seats on the banquet were placed separately, there were bamboo mats under the seats, the bamboo mats were placed in the four corners of the table town, various food and wine vessels were placed on the table, and there were bronze chimes and other musical instruments on the opposite side to complement each other, and the elegant pomp and circumstance of the Western Han nobles during the banquet can be seen.
In addition to the hot pot, the archaeological team of Haiduhou Tomb also cleaned and restored a "baking oven", supported by four legs, with charcoal at the bottom, which is very similar to modern barbecue ware, and it can be speculated that "barbecue" has also become popular among the Western Han aristocracy. A variety of crops such as rice, marijuana, melon, plum and other crops were also unearthed in the grain storage of Liu He's tomb, and chestnuts, taro and other ingredients were also found in the unearthed utensils, confirming the richer staple food varieties in the Western Han Dynasty.
【During the same period】Nanchang Han Dynasty Haidu Marquis Site Museum Director Zhao Yibo
Han Dynasty due to the increase of productivity, led to the rapid development of agriculture, in the Han Dynasty its food is actually similar to what we have today, the staple food is mainly millet, millet, wheat, anthracite, rice five categories, meat is also horses, cattle, sheep, dogs, pigs, etc., and our ingredients today are similar, plus Zhang Qian brought back melons, grapes, pomegranates and other types of vegetables (fruits) after the Western Regions, greatly enriched the table of the Han Dynasty, especially the food culture of the nobles.
【At the same time】Hot pot, eating barbecue, tasting fruits, drinking fine wine....... From the tomb of Haiduhou, it is enough to glimpse the rich and developed food culture of the Western Han royal family. However, thousands of years ago, the bells of the court aristocracy have long become a "common meal" in the lives of the people.
Reporting by reporters Hua Shan and Li Yunhan in Nanchang, Jiangxi
Responsible Editor: [Ji Xiang]