Zhang Guiqin

"Yutian Rouge Rice", or Rouge Rice for short, originated from the ancient Rouge Rice, an extremely valuable crop. Midan rouge rice, oval cylindrical, slightly longer than ordinary rice grains, extremely nutritious, inside and outside are dark red, along the lines of crimson rice lines, when cooked, the color as rouge, the aroma of the nose, very tasty, and if the white rice mixed cooking, can make the white rice stained with the same color to send out the same aroma (Baidu words). Domestic existing "Yutian rouge rice" including Kangxi rouge rice, Yao Di rouge rice, palace rouge rice, etc., this rice porridge eat very good. Dream of the Red Chamber", Jia mother and other masters ate "imperial field rouge rice" should be Kangxi rouge rice.

One, the mother of Jia consumed "Onada rouge rice"

1, Jiafu "Onada rouge rice" is the head of the tribute

"Dream of Red Mansions" fifty-third "Ningguo House New Year's Eve sacrifice ancestral shrine! Rongguofu Lantern open night feast", almost new year, black mountain village Zhuangtou Wu into filial piety to the Ningguo Fu tribute, Jia Zhen took over the list, see:

Thirty big deer, roe deer 50, ...... imperial field cochineal rice two stone, Bixiong 50 dendrobes, white glutinous 50 dendrobes, powder Japonica 50 dendrobes, miscellaneous colors sorghum grain Each fifty dendrobiums, under the use of standing rice one thousand stone,......

The tribute items are magnificent, but far below Jia Zhen's budget, "...... I just looked at that list, this year you old goods and come to the ring to come. " Wu Jinxiao heard, busy said:

Master's this place is still good! My brother is only a hundred miles away from my place, who knows that it is a big difference. He is now in charge of the government of the eight manor, more than the master of this side of a few times, this year, only these things, but more than two or three thousand taels of silver, is also a famine hit it.

"That the government", referring to the Rongguo House, Rongguo House of the Zhuang head will also be tribute to the "imperial field rouge rice". U Jin Xiao tribute, but also led to a conversation between Jia Zhen and Jia Rong father and son, pointing out the dilemma of the Rongguo House can not make ends meet:

Jia Zhen said: "...... is not as good as the House, these years added a lot of money spent on things that must be unavoidable is to be spent, but not to add some of the silver industry. This 2012 has lost a lot of money, not and you want, find who to go!"

Jia Rong also laughed to Jia Zhen said: "really that house poor. A few days ago, I heard Miss Phoenix and Yuanyang quietly discuss, to steal out of the old lady's things to pawn silver."

Jia Lian and her husband and wife found Yuanyang to borrow the pawn, thought to do it secretly, but there is no impermeable wall in the world, not only Mrs. Xing knew, Ningguo House of Jia Rong and other people also know about it. The same thing, different people reacted differently. Mrs. Xing took the opportunity to mooch, Jia Rong thought that the Rongguo Fu is really poor, Jia Zhen thought it was Wang Xifeng in the ghost:

Jia Zhen laughed and said: "That's your Phoenix girl's ghost, where it is poor to so. He must be to see too many ways to go, really lose a lot of money, I do not know to save that money, first set up this method to make people know, said poor to so. I have a reckoning in my heart, but not to such a field."

This passage shows that although Jia Zhen is a bastard, he is not incompetent.

2. The shortage of "Imperial Field Rouge Rice" implies that the Jiafu is in decline

The seventy-fifth episode of Dream of Red Mansions, "Opening the Night Banquet with Different Signs of Sorrowful Sounds, Appreciating the Mid-Autumn Festival with New Words of Good Prophecy", is the second day after Madame Wang ordered Sister Feng to lead the raid on the Grand View Garden. On the second day after Mrs. Wang ordered Sister Feng to lead a raid on the Grand View Garden, You and Li wait for Mother Jia to eat, "You brought a bowl of red rice porridge". After she ate it, she ordered You to eat it with her. Jia mother saw the subordinate to You's food is white japonica rice, some angry, fuming: "How you faint, serving this rice to your grandmother." The subordinate and mandarin ducks, Mrs. Wang all rushed to explain:

Mandarin ducks said: "Nowadays are available to make hats, to a little surplus can not be." Mrs. Wang busy back: "This year drought and flooding uncertainty, the rice on the field can not pay by the number. These fine rice is more difficult, so can eat as much as off to go, lest a short, buy not good taste." Jia mother laughed: "This is exactly 'clever daughter-in-law can not do no rice porridge' to."

From this unusual incident, it is easy to see that the Jiafu has been "no better than in the first convergence of time".

Reading the text of this time, I have a feeling that mandarin ducks rely on the love of Jia mother, began to expand.

Seventy-five, Jia mother ate "rice porridge", is used "imperial field rouge rice" cooked.

Gengchen this "stone" in the Wu Jinxiao into the tribute "imperial field cochineal rice two stone" at a clip of the cloud: "in the garden in the word" ('word' should be 'Zhi') has said this ') had this to say." In the garden magazine" is rich in content, knowledge is very strong, is the Qing dynasty during the Kangxi period by Liu Tinggui, compiled into the "Siku quanquan", the original is divided into two volumes, the Kangxi fifty-four years when the publication was changed to four volumes.

Two, Jiafu "imperial field rouge rice" produced in Nanjing

1, Cao Fu test planting "imperial field rouge rice"

Kangxi Emperor Xuan Ye creation of the national classic "a few flaws in the compilation of things" has this record: Kangxi Twenty years in late June of the lunar calendar day, the emperor in the Xiyuan (now the Zhongnanhai in Beijing) Fengze Garden paddy field side walk, suddenly found that there is a rice spike, it is solid and full, already ripe, and the stem is higher than all the rice above. Kangxi Emperor will pick and collect to do the seed. The second year of trial planting, really June first cooked. So expand the planting area, year after year, breeding a new variety. This rice color reddish, because of the growth of Yuan Tian, so called "Royal Field rouge rice", also called "Yutian rice", the folk are called "red rice".

In the fifty-fourth year of the Kangxi period, Xuan Ye gave one stone of this rice seed to Li Xu (Cao Xueqin's maternal uncle), a weaver in Suzhou, and ordered him to sow it in Suzhou. Cao Fu (Cao Xueqin's paternal grandfather), a weaver in Jiangning, asked Li Xu for a bucket to plant in Jiangning (present-day Nanjing). Thereafter, Cao Fu said in the Qin fold to Kangxi: "Long live the gift of rice, slave to his maternal uncle Li Xu divided into a bucket of rice seeds, slave first six liters of seed, planting a mu of another, in April within the rice seedlings, harvested in July, the grain four stone two bucket, for fear of the new rice harvest is late, not as good as the planting, so stay with the original seed of four liters in June cloth out of the seedling, the first season mowed after the field is immediately plowing and hoeing, re-inserted the second! Season rice seedlings, about October can be harvested. Jiangning people's farmers see this year two harvest rice seed, not happy and enthusiastic, seeking seed cloth seed."

Cao Yin has died, Kangxi will be "Royal Field rouge rice" rice seed to Li Xu seeding. Li Hsu was Cao Yin's great-uncle, the uncle of Cao Fu's generation, and Cao Xueqin's maternal uncle. Cao Fu may be hoping to win the Kangxi Emperor's reliance, perhaps in order to bless the Jiangning folks, from Li Xu there to ask for a bucket of rice seed of the Imperial Carmine Rice, for trial planting. After the success of the test planting, especially to the Kangxi Emperor to explain the causes and consequences.

2, Jia mother ate the "imperial field rouge rice" produced in Nanjing

Congxi fifty-five years, Cao Fu will be harvested rice seeds, scattered to the people sowing, he said in another zhang fold to the Kangxi Emperor, "I received last year, Qinqi two-season rice seeds, I Yangtibi body of long-lasting love for the people to the intention, scattered to the people of the countryside, oracle, the people of the countryside, the people of the countryside. Scattered to the people in the countryside, Oracle to the law of sowing, this townspeople to get the seed home, the harvest was presented to the sample to come. Each acre of grain harvest three stone seven or eight buckets ranging." After another folding cloud: "At present the second rice has come to fruition, according to the townspeople reported to come, each mu of grain harvest two stone one or two buckets to two stone seven or eight buckets, etc., all pleased and enthusiastic, passed on as a different treasure. Where there is property home, all heard of the wind to seek seed, and from then on spread widely, the people are more than once the rice harvest, the benefits of a lot of, are all the long live the flood of grace and virtue of being also."

Reading Cao Fu's zhangzuo, you can know that Nanjing species "imperial field rouge rice" (i.e., "red rice"), from Cao Xueqin's father Cao Fu began. Cao Xueqin grew up in Nanjing Jiangning Weaving Department to live, naturally able to consume the "imperial field rouge rice", he put the "imperial field rouge rice" and "red rice porridge" into the "Dream of Red Mansions" is a very It is a very natural thing.

Wu Zhenliang in the Qing Dynasty in the "Yang Ji Zhai Series Record", also wrote the Kangxi Emperor found, test planting "Royal Field Rouge Rice" process, and wrote: more than 40 years after the subsequent, all cooking this rice to do the Imperial meals, the outside world can not be obtained. Subsequent planting gradually wide, within the warehouse inventory began to be more. Emperor Shi Zong when the Governor of Hedong Tian Wenjing first healed, tasted this rice to give, as the best porridge. That is to say, the Kangxi period, "Royal Field rouge rice" production is still very little, the general public is not eaten. To the Yongzheng Emperor's time, "the Royal Field rouge rice" stock only a little more, only occasionally to give this rice to the important ministers.

The Yongzheng Emperor could not have rewarded Cao Xueqin's family with the precious "Imperial Rouge Rice", and Cao's family consumed the "Imperial Rouge Rice", which should have been planted by Cao Fu in Nanjing.