Tracing China: Through history, dialogue between ancient and modern

Chapter 261
Holding several modern menus in his hands, Liu Bang looked left and right, still uncertain what to eat.

A menu of eight major cuisines.

Each serving has nearly ten pages, a dazzling array of dishes, and complicated and dazzling dish names, which can really give people a headache.

Looking at Emperor Gaozu who had difficulty choosing, the host Lin Feng sitting opposite asked, "Emperor Gaozu, in this era, what kind of food did the ancients inside and outside the imperial city eat on weekdays?"

Regarding the period of the Han Dynasty, what did the ancients eat as staple food, non-staple food, snacks, etc.?
Perhaps many modern people do not understand.

Facing the face of Han Gaozu, Lin Feng talked about all kinds of information about the diet of the Han Dynasty that he had been looking for in modern times.

What did the Han Dynasty eat?
A diet with five grains as the main body, supplemented by meat, vegetables and fruits.

Five grains mainly include millet, millet, millet, wheat, rice, wild rice, buckwheat, barley, taro, sorghum, etc.

Meat.

Due to the improvement of the dietary consumption level in the Han Dynasty, the proportion of meat in the dietary life of the Han Dynasty people increased significantly.The sources of meat in the society of the Han Dynasty were mainly divided into two categories: domestic and wild. The domestic mainly refers to the six animals: horses, cattle, sheep, pigs, dogs, and chickens, while the wild mainly includes rabbits, tigers, wolves, bears, deer, and so on. Monkeys, owls, pheasants, ducks, partridges, geese, sparrows, etc.

Among the six domesticated animals in the Han Dynasty, pigs and chickens were often eaten.

The reason why pigs became sacrificial offerings was simply because they were "easy to get", which shows that pigs were already a kind of livestock raised and eaten on a large scale by people in the Han Dynasty.

"Hanshu Huozhizhuan" records that cities extending in all directions can slaughter and sell thousands of cattle, pigs, and sheep within a year, which shows that in addition to pork, beef and mutton were also the main source of meat in the Han Dynasty.

The sheep raising industry developed on a large scale in the Han Dynasty, which also made mutton a food that ordinary people could also put on the table.

What about vegetables?
This is an indispensable food in the dietary life of the people of the Han Dynasty. In addition to adjusting the taste, vegetables and fruits can even be used to replace the staple food in times of famine to survive the famine.

There were many kinds of vegetables in the Han Dynasty, including sunflower, leek, onion, scallion, Polygonum, Su, ginger, Yun, garlic, shepherd’s, mustard, etc. The increase in vegetable types further marked the improvement of people’s dietary and living standards in the Han Dynasty.

In terms of fruit, since the Western Han Dynasty, due to the improvement and development of fruit tree planting technology and garden agriculture, the variety of fruit trees has increased significantly, and the imperial court even specially set up an official "Guo Cheng" in charge of fruit.

"Historical Records Huozhi Biography" has a saying: "A thousand jujube trees in Anyi; a thousand chestnut trees in Yan and Qin; The scale is very large.

In addition to the peaches, plums, jujubes, apricots, thorns, plums, pears, chestnuts, hazelnuts, oranges, pomelo known in the pre-Qin period, there are also loquats, cherries, sand tang, melons, bananas, longan, Lychees, sugar cane, coconuts, grapes, pomegranates, watermelons and so on from the Western Regions.

In addition, I have to mention that the drink that was highly respected by the people of the Han Dynasty-wine.

Drinking was prevalent in the Han Dynasty, whether it was a banquet in the palace or daily drinking at home or entertaining guests, the shadow of wine was always indispensable.

People in the Han Dynasty divided grain wine into three classes.

Rice wine is the best.

Millet wine taste is medium.

And millet wine is inferior.

Compared with the pre-Qin period, there were more types of wine in this period. In addition to fruit wine made from grapes and sugar cane, there were osmanthus wine added with osmanthus, chrysanthemum wine, horse wine made from mare’s milk, and wine made from mare’s milk. Pepper wine soaked in pepper, cypress leaf wine made from cypress leaves, etc.

The drinking atmosphere during this period also contributed to the great development of the brewing industry.Private restaurants and large-scale wine workshops run in parallel.

Private wine shops are generally small workshops, brewed and sold by themselves, with a large number and wide distribution, and already have the two functions of selling wine and serving people to drink, while the workshops run by large industrial and commercial households are large in scale and prosperous in location The profit is huge. "Historical Records · Huozhi Biography" has a saying: "In the capital of Tongyi, there is a thousand brewing at one year old... This is also more efficient than a thousand-year-old house.

People in the Han Dynasty cooked rice and vegetables with seasonings. The five flavors of seasonings mainly include sour, bitter, pungent, salty and sweet.

Among the five flavors, salty ranks first.

In the way of eating salt in the Han Dynasty, in addition to using it directly for cooking, it was also mixed with beans, meat and other foods to make sauce for consumption.

In the Han Dynasty, in addition to being eaten as fruit, plum still had the function of seasoning.

"Acyl vinegar" will also be used as an important acid condiment, which is the predecessor of later vinegar.

There are two kinds of sweet condiments eaten in the Han Dynasty: Yi and stone honey.

Among them, maltose is mainly made of food crops.

Stone honey is a kind of foreign food, but it is actually a kind of candy made from sugarcane juice. The technology gradually matured in the late Eastern Han Dynasty.

"Emperor Gao Zu, then you all eat really well!" Lin Feng was quite surprised. He never thought that the eating habits of the ancients had been so advanced more than 2000 years ago.

"Xiaolin, are you thinking too much?"

Liu Bang squinted his eyes, and said angrily, "I have never heard of many of the things you said."

Lin Feng, "..."

Now it was his turn to be embarrassed.

Think about it too, now is the early Han Dynasty, where can there be so many rich ingredients?

I am afraid that it will not be until the time of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, when the country is rich and the people are strong, and species are introduced from abroad, that there will be many edible species.

Liu Bang twitched his lips and said, "Nowadays, the common people outside generally have rice, millet, and wheat as their staple food, and the cooked rice is barley rice, which is yellow. The poor have one meal a day and live with porridge and water. As for the food you mentioned Vegetables, thank God if you can have wild vegetables to eat, with a little money, go to the street vendor to cut some meat, and go back to stew with a lot of messy vegetables and wild vegetables, these days..."

Lin Feng asked, "Where's the palace?"

Liu Bang sighed and said, "The people are so poor, I want to set an example for the world, and I can't eat and drink! Two meals a day, you can add some side dishes at will. If you are hungry, you can't stand the hunger until late at night. , let the servants get some appetizers."

Lin Feng joked with a smile, "Emperor Gao Zu, you can still drink with food, life is not too sad!"

"Where is the wine..."

Liu Bang said depressedly, "Food is extremely precious, how can we make wine at will. I use tea instead of wine. Only when there are banquets and festivals, I will let slaves serve wine. But don't try to drink too much. Everyone has a ration. After drinking It's over."

Lin Feng said, "So, there are no wine shops in the market inn outside?"

Liu Bangdao, "It does exist, but most people can't afford it, and a few years ago, I have issued an order to announce to the whole country that private brewing of wine is not allowed. Once caught, they will be directly tortured and served, even if it is a method of meritorious nobles. "

Lin Feng said, "Are there nobles in this era?"

Liu Bangdao, "There are, but most of them are abandoned, like a lame toad, which can't jump far."

Lin Feng was a little surprised, "Emperor Gaozu, do you dare to touch the interests of the great clan?"

At this time, not many years have passed since the end of the Great Qin Dynasty, and the remaining prestige of the Six Kingdoms actually still exists.

"Why don't you dare to move?"

"I was born as a commoner, and I didn't rely on these big clans of common people."

"Nowadays the world is poor, and nearly half of the wealth in Kyushu is in their hands. I want to make the world peaceful and the people live and work in peace and contentment. Naturally, these behemoths have to contribute their own strength. Otherwise, why should they be in my big world?" The Han Dynasty gained a foothold?"

"Xiao Lin, to be honest, the so-called governance by doing nothing, the so-called recuperation, is not what is recorded in the history books."

"In secret, I have done many great things, including abolishing those big clans and returning wealth to the world."

"It's amazing, isn't it? I did what the Emperor Shihuang dared not do back then."

Liu Bang had an expression of being barefoot and not afraid of wearing shoes, and his face was full of pride. It could be seen that he had done a lot for the new Han Dynasty.

Lin Feng suddenly heard something.

Looking outside the main hall, he asked, "Emperor Gaozu, since the founding of the Han Dynasty, you have been personally leading troops to fight against the kings of the opposite sex for the first ten years. Is this how the food, grass and money needed for sending troops came?"

Liu Bang didn't answer, but asked instead, "Xiao Lin, do you know that I must destroy the king of the opposite sex?"

Lin Feng said, "Historical records say that Emperor Gaozu is worried that these kings of the opposite sex will grow stronger and threaten the central government."

"That's just one aspect."

Liu Bang continued, "The main reason why I want to kill these kings of the opposite sex is that I am too old. The ancient sages said that I know the destiny at fifty, and my ears are compliant at sixty. I am already past the age of knowing the destiny, and I don't know it How many years to live, the Empress is young, how can he check and balance these powerful kings of the opposite sex?"

When Liu Bang started the incident, he was already 48 years old. In ancient times, he was considered an old man.

It's no wonder that he will personally lead the army to cut off the king of the opposite sex who was once proclaimed personally.

Lin Feng asked, "Emperor Gaozu, since you know about your age, why did you let Empress Lu take charge of the universe? Don't worry. After your death, the Lu family took power and tampered with your Liu family name." Jiangshan Sheji?"

According to the materials of later generations, Liu Bang did not kill Empress Lu because of multiple levels of reasons:
First of all, as Liu Bang's first wife, Empress Lu was of great help to Liu Bang.

Empress Lu's father is a well-known local rich man with a wealthy family. When Empress Lu married Liu Bang, Liu Bang was still an out-and-out "dick man", which is a typical "marriage of humiliation".

Faced with such a good thing that falls from the sky, Liu Bang should be rare, and he is also grateful.

Later, no matter what situation Liu Bang was in, Empress Lu would never leave him, and she played the role of a "virtuous housemate". Generous sponsorship" played an important role in Liu Bang's fortune.

In short, Empress Lu has an unparalleled kindness to Liu Bang, so even a hard-hearted and ruthless person like Liu Bang would not easily do evil to the "benefactor" Empress Lu, and it is reasonable not to kill her all the time.

Secondly, Liu Bang had no reason or reason to directly execute Empress Lu.

Empress Lu understands politics and rules. In the battle for the harem with Madam Qi, the scheming Empress Lv had the last laugh. Although Madam Qi was favored by Liu Bang, she still became the loser.

Among them, although Liu Bang wanted to "show his sword" against Empress Lu, Empress Lu did not allow Liu Bang to catch a fatal handle, and directly found the heinous crime, so he couldn't find a chance to do it.

At the same time, Empress Lu also won the support of important officials in the court through special means. In this way, Liu Bang was even more unable and dare not to use his trump card against Empress Lu.

So even though Empress Lu prevented Mrs. Qi from "taking the position", even though Empress Lu was arbitrary and has a heart like a poisonous snake.

However, under "ignorance and fearlessness", Liu Bang could only let Empress Lu go.

Liu Bang replied, "The queen can't die, the prince is young, and needs the queen to frighten the courtiers behind the scenes, and the queen has always been with me, especially when dealing with the king of the opposite sex, she has contributed a lot..."

Thinking about it, Liu Bang is worried that the kings of the opposite sex everywhere will become bigger.

Even if there are a few auxiliary ministers appointed before death, I am worried that these court ministers will take the young emperor off!

After all, the lesson of Li Si and Zhao Gao of the Qin Dynasty is there.

Instead of delegating power to outsiders, it is better to let the woman who has accompanied him for most of his life to help the emperor of the Liu family grow up.

The result after this trade-off is reasonable.

Lin Feng said, "Emperor Gaozu, it has been rumored in later generations that even if you want to kill Empress Lu, you are powerless even if you want to kill Empress Lu because of your intertwined relationship with relatives. Is there such a thing?"

"fart."

As if he had been seen all over, Liu Bang said angrily, "My mighty Ninety-five-year-old, can't move a queen? Can't kill a woman?"

By observing his words and demeanor, Lin Feng can be sure that Liu Bang is not talking nonsense.

That's right, after all, Liu Bang is a generation of high-ranking emperors, how could he not be able to deal with a Lu Zhi?
After all, this old ancestor of the big man existed like a hero who overthrew the Qin Dynasty and fought to the death with the Overlord of Chu.

After some conversation, it returned to the topic.

"Xiao Lin, what is the bright red dish on the menu?" Liu Bang asked.

"Chili, in the later era, was introduced to Kyushu from overseas." Lin Feng said.

"how is the taste?"

"It tastes spicy. When you eat it, your mouth will feel like it's burning, and it will also increase your appetite..."

"Indeed, it makes people drool just looking at it, not bad, not bad, this chili fried pork, spicy chicken, boiled fish, mapo tofu all come here."

Liu Bang's ordering speed began to speed up. There are actually four principles in his order.

Look delicious, order.

Meaty and fatty, order.

The name sounds nice, click on it.

Pleasing to the eye, click again.

Not long after the order was over, Liu Bang almost ordered most of the dishes that were linked to "meat" on the eight menus.

Lin Feng put away the menu and said after counting, "Emperor Gao Zu, each dish has three servings, which is enough for more than 30 people."

Liu Bang frowned, "Where are there more than 30 people?"

Lin Feng said, "All the emperors of the Han Dynasty!"

Liu Bang looked around and asked in a daze, "Where is it? In the entire palace, there is only one emperor!"

Lin Feng said, "The younger generation will use their ability to shift stars and gather more than 30 emperors of the Han Dynasty, that is, your descendants, Emperor Gaozu, to come to this time and space and enjoy this feast together."

Liu Bang's eyes were as wide as copper bells, with a suspicious expression on his face, "During the hundreds of years of the Han Dynasty, all the emperors who ascended the throne will gather here? Do you want to start a feast of emperor gatherings in this palace?"

Lin Feng said, "Yes, Emperor Gaozu, now you still need to order to set up banquet seats one by one in these four weeks."

Liu Bang, "Young man, you didn't lie to me, did you?"

Lin Feng said, "This junior dare not lie. In five minutes, all the emperors will be here one by one."

Liu Bang was so excited that he almost danced, ran out and gave orders.

How happy is it that the ancestors and descendants live together for hundreds of years?
……

(End of this chapter)