200 years ago, Shandong Confucianism established the aesthetic orientation of Chinese food, emphasizing deliciousness, neutrality, and health; in 1600, Qi Minshu Mei summarized the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River, "steaming, boiling, roasting, boiling, frying, poaching, deep-frying, waxing, salting, saucing, vinegaring, saucing, drinking, honeying, and peppering," which laid down the framework of China's culinary technology; During the Ming and Qing dynasties, a large number of famous chefs and dishes from Shandong entered the dynasty, further sublimating the elegant, righteous and peaceful style of Lu cuisine.
Classic dishes include sliced tofu, fried sea cucumber with scallions, shark's fin with three threads, roasted four treasures, sweet and sour yellowtail, nine-turned sausage, deep-fried double crispy, roasted abalone, braised prawns, pickled fish, fried fish, warm squid, fried squid rolls, clear soup with silver fungus, pork ribs, cooked duck, crispy chicken, yellowtail and bean curd soup, shredded Chinese yam, pear pills with honey, and powdered eggs in a casserole.
History of Development
Mountains are connected with the sea, a posting of thousands of miles. Shandong is located in the lower reaches of the Yellow River and has a mild climate. The province's rivers, lakes, hills, plains, oceans and other landscapes, making all types of Lu cuisine extremely rich and balanced: fruits and vegetables, livestock, seafood, freshwater and freshwater rivers, mountain mushrooms, dried foods and so on. The frequency of occurrence of each type of Lu cuisine ranges from 15% to 18%. Each type of food is best suited to different cooking techniques, a rich variety of food directly inspired by the richness and diversity of the Lu Cuisine cooking techniques. 2000 years, Shandong's unique material conditions and Confucianism, "never get tired of eating" spiritual pursuit, and ultimately formed the Lu Cuisine of the magnificent landscape.
Shandong has a long history of vegetable cultivation, many varieties, excellent quality, known as "one of the world's three major vegetable garden". Zhangqiu onion, Lanling garlic, Laiwu ginger, Jiaozhou cabbage, Weifang radish, Caoxian asparagus, Shouguang leeks and so on. They are famous both at home and abroad. High-yield and high-quality fruits, such as Yantai apples, Laiyang pears, Yangxin pears, Leling jujubes, Dezhou watermelons, Feicheng peaches, Qingzhou peaches, Dazeshan grapes, Caozhou papayas and so on. This is one of the best fruits. The output of aquatic products is among the highest in the country, and there are more than 60 kinds of seafood such as fish, shrimp, shellfish and algae in the coastal area, including small yellowtail, scallop, yellowtail, cod, redfish, pomfret, halibut, paintbrush, skate, eel, etc. The production of aquatic products is among the highest in the country. There are more than 20 kinds of algae freshwater fish resources such as seaweed, Ulva schreberi, reef membrane, purslane, lobster, sea radish, kelp, wakame, Artemisia inermis, sheepshead, seawater and so on, which mainly include crucian carp, carps, grass carp, black fish, hairy crabs, white shrimp, shrimp, snappers, bighead carps, silver carp and black carp, and so on. Animal resources mainly include Lusi yellow cattle, Bohai black yellow cattle, Mengshan yellow cattle, Dezhou donkey, Yimeng black pig, Doshan pig, Laiwu pig, Muwan head pig, Lotus pig, Yantai black pig, Changwei black pig, Fujian white pig, Pingdu black pig, red tea pig, big-tailed cold sheep, small-tailed cold goat, Lubei white goat, Jining green goat, Yimeng mountain east brewing industry has a long history. These are famous products from long time ago. The rich produce provides rich material resources for the development of Lu cuisine.
Spring and Autumn Period
The Qilu Toast appeared in the Spring and Autumn Period. It used cattle, sheep and pigs as the main ingredients, and also specialized in poultry, game and seafood. There were many written records about cooking requirements and fashion preferences. During the Western Zhou, Qin and Han Dynasties, Qufu, the capital of Lu, and Linzi, the capital of Qi, were quite prosperous cities. The restaurant industry flourished and a large number of famous chefs emerged.
The world's first statesman, Guan Zhong, advocated that "those who want to lose weight, love people, and people also want to lose weight". What you want and what you support, use your ears. "'If you carve the egg, you can take it away so you can accumulate and hide everything.' , This egg carving is not only the world's earliest record of food carving and processing, it is also typical of Keynesian economic thinking. His policy of stimulating consumption, expanding employment and increasing national income by encouraging the luxury catering industry is in line with the Keynesian economics of 20th century Britain, which allowed the Lu cuisine of 2,700 years ago to occupy the starting point of high technology. In his book, Guan Zhong elaborates on issues of food etiquette such as the order of serving. He said, "If you eat the wrong sauce, you can eat the sauce without contradiction. Whenever you buy vegetables, birds, animals, fish, or turtles, you should have the soup first. Don't put it in the gumbo, but in front of the sauce. It's the rice pieces, left wine right. "This means that the rules of etiquette must not be violated when arranging and displaying the various sauces. In general, birds, beasts, fish, turtles and other animals must be served with vegetable soup before eating meat. Soup and meat are arranged alternately, with the meat and vegetables in front of the sauce, and the seats are arranged in a square. Rice was on the last side and wine on the left; the pulp used for mouth cleansing was placed on the right side. This shows that Shandong cuisine paid great attention to etiquette and order of service as early as the Spring and Autumn Period, and this distinctive feature has continued to this day.
During the period when Guan Zhong helped Duke Huan of Qi, a large number of famous Lu chefs emerged. Wang Chong's Lun Heng Fu (论衡赋) has this account: "The flavor of dia is the same. There is water in acid and salt in light. Water and fire change, so the food is neither salty nor light . It is still sour and salty, and the water is bad and light." Lydia, mentioned in this article, was Duke Huan of Qi's favorite person and the most famous chef of his time. This shows that the great chefs of Qi and Lu during the Spring and Autumn Period were not only good at seasoning with salt, but also at changing water and fire. At the same time, they understood the fact that adding salt would make it sour.
For example, historian Qian Mu pointed out that "if the orthodox culture of China is compared to the Greek culture in the West, Shandong people in China should be the first to improve", and diet is no exception. Confucianism, which originated in Shandong, has not only shaped the Chinese characters for more than 2,000 years, but also shaped the concept of diet of the Chinese people. Confucianism attaches great importance to food, and even says that "civilization begins with food". Confucius, the founder of Confucianism, was not only a great thinker and educator, but also a great gourmet. Confucius systematically and comprehensively elaborated his views on dietary hygiene, health maintenance, cooking, knifework, seasoning and etiquette. As Zhang Dai's "Preface to the Gourmet Collection" says, "In the Middle Ages, knowledge of flavor pushed Confucius, and the food was never tired of it. The word "good" already means something. For cooked food, almost can not eat and can not eat; eat vegetables will not eat from time to time. Four words, food scripture also, that is, the theory of nourishing life also". Confucius's view of food laid the core concept of Chinese food aesthetics for the next two thousand years, and is an important cultural treasure of China.
Food, foodstuffs, beverages, stews, pickles, soups, and treasures are specifically described in terms of raw material combinations, cooking methods, and seasoning requirements. The requirements for seasoning are "harmony, spring sourness, summer bitterness, autumn spiciness, winter saltiness, smoothness and sweetness". A basic overview of the various cooking methods and requirements, such as boiling, poaching, roasting, stewing and grilling.
It can be seen that much of the earliest history of Chinese culinary theory came from Shandong and was widely circulated in Qilu, thus laying the foundation of Lu cuisine.
Qin and Han Dynasties
From the unearthed Han pictographs, there are about 40 images containing kitchen contents in China, and more than 20 images unearthed in Shandong Province top the list of all provinces, reflecting the status of Lu Cuisine in Chinese cooking in Han Dynasty. In particular, the Kitchen Picture Stone unearthed in Zhucheng Qianliangtai at the southern end of the Jiaodong Peninsula is a portrait stone from a Han Dynasty tomb with a very beautifully painted image of a kitchen. The stone is 1.52 meters high and 0.76 meters wide. The whole picture consists of half-finished food racks, butchering, cooking and brewing. Turtle, fish, rabbit, pig, etc. Hanging on the top end of the semi-finished food shelf. On the right side is a slaughtering picture depicting the handling of fish, slaughtering of goats, cows, pigs, dogs, chickens and ducks. In the soup and cooking section, there are scenes of pumping water, burning fire, chopping wood, making noodles, cooking, and barbecuing. In addition, there are many animals such as chickens, ducks, geese and dogs on the screen. We can clearly see from the Han pictorial stone tomb above that as early as the Qin and Han Dynasties, the cooking materials used in the Jiaodong Peninsula were already very rich, or the Qilu chefs cooked with a wide range of materials. It is worth noting that the kitchen staff was strictly divided into different roles, from the selection of raw materials, slaughtering, cleaning, cooking, barbecuing and other work processes, each in their own way and in an organized manner. Also, more notably, there was a man sitting on the floor, a woman beating him with a spoon in her hand, and someone else beating him with a stick. This could be a true reflection of the "kitchen discipline" that was practiced at that time. In the past, kitchen cooks used to reprimand their apprentices and even beat them with sticks. This also shows that there was discipline in the kitchen at that time. What is most noteworthy is that almost all of the 40 people appearing on the screen are wearing uniformly shaped hats. It can be seen that at that time there were uniform rules for the dress code of cooks on certain occasions. In addition, the Shandong Provincial Museum exhibits two vivid images of Han Dynasty chefs. The left side is 0.34 meters high. He is a cook who is killing fish. He is holding a sharp knife in his hand with a confident look that shows his knife skills; the right side is 0.29 meters high. He is a chef who is closing his face. It seems that he is also very skillful in his movements. From the above two artifacts can be fully seen, the Qin and Han Dynasties aquatic products in Lu cuisine material occupies an important position, which is also one of the characteristics of today's Lu cuisine material.
Northern Wei
From Jia Si-fo's book "Rites of Passage", it can be seen that the cooking technique of Lu cuisine had great progress in the period of North and South Dynasties. Jia Siqing, a native of Yidu, Shandong Province, was the governor of Lai County during the Northern Wei Dynasty. He focused on the investigation and summarization of agricultural production, agricultural by-products, livestock products and aquatic products processing technology throughout his life, and authored the book "The Book of Rites". This book is the earliest, most systematic and complete experience of processing various agricultural and sideline products in China and even in the world. Among them, 26 articles were written on food processing alone, introducing more than 100 kinds of processing varieties. This text introduces various food processing techniques such as brewing, frying, baking, steaming, steaming, pickling, steaming and cooking. For condiments, salt, soy sauce, fruit juice, vinegar, soy sauce, wine, honey, and chili pepper are introduced. It is worth noting that Jia also introduced the cooking methods of famous dishes, such as "braised dolphin" and "fried fish in honey sauce". This shows that Shandong's culinary skills at that time were comprehensive, and these skills were completely inherited from today's Lu cuisine.
The Tang and Song Dynasties
The Tang Dynasty was the pinnacle of the development of ancient Chinese civilization, and the culinary techniques of Lu Cuisine reached a very high level.
Tang Dynasty Linzi people Duan recorded "Qimin Shu Myo" years Lu cuisine cooking level of high: "In addition to spicy, good, five flavors, nothing to eat." The reason why Duan can record so much culinary information in the "Miscellaneous Collections", and he came from a gourmet family. Duan Shicheng's father, Duan Wenchang, was a great power in the Tang Dynasty. Very delicious. By the Tang Dynasty, Qilu culinary knives reached their peak, which is reflected in the historical materials and poems left over from the Tang and Song dynasties. It is recorded: "The scholar Duan Shuo tasted the southern filial piety, and he was a kind person, so he could blow lightly. If it matches the rhythm, it matches the skill of the visitor." Knife dexterity, shredded meat can be blown by the breeze, indicating that the shredded meat is good, good knife skills. At this time the Shandong folk food, fresh and light. At this time, Jinan's flavorful snacks invincible, wontons, cherry mallet, sugar water old pills, colorful cakes, food and so on.
In the Song capital and Lin'an there is a so-called "northern cuisine", is to Lu Cai as the representative of the northern cuisine. The Song "Qimin Yaojiao" also recorded the Shandong chef's knife show at the Taishan temple fair, saying, "There was a man who bent down to use it as a knife, took a catty of meat, transported the knife, removed the meat, and rubbed it. The soldiers were not hurt at all." This cutting skill is the same as the present-day chef's performance of shredding meat with a thick cloth, but more exciting. In the year of Bao Yuan, Kongfu was officially established, and the most important branch of Lu cuisine, Kongfu cuisine, was born - Dao.
Ming and Qing Dynasties
After the fall of the Northern Song Dynasty, the population of Han Chinese in the Yellow River Valley plummeted due to foreign invasion and prolonged war in the north. After the Song Dynasty moved its capital to Hangzhou, the economic center of China shifted from the Yellow River to the Yangtze River, but this did not prevent the continuous improvement of the culinary level of Lu cuisine. At this time, a large number of Ah Fai spices were introduced into Lu Cuisine, thus enriching its flavor. Due to its proximity to Beijing during the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties, Lu Cuisine cooks became an important source of manpower for the court and government cooks, and Lu Cuisine cooking was sublimated in the process of serving the court. Shandong became a source of supply for Beijing's high-quality ingredients, and Shandong ingredients such as abalone, sea cucumber, shark's fin, and oyster eggs became the main ingredients commonly used in Beijing's court and government dishes.
Taiwanese philosopher Zhang Qijun pointed out that Beijing held an important position in Lu cuisine during the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties: "Since Liao and Jin, Beijing has served as the royal capital for more than 700 years, especially during the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, which brought together the best talents from all over the country, and was the place where Beijing's great talents gathered. Whether it was aristocratic dining or official entertainment, the above mentioned good dishes were served, and these people had really eaten and seen the face of the world, and could not cope without the real thing. As a result, over the past 700 years, the best style of cooking has become a national achievement. Cuisine, under the guidance of a great official and a great scholar, is not just good technical taste, it is first class style and excellence that can't be matched anywhere else. This dish is opened by many big restaurants and Shandong people. Its style is: generous and noble but not niche, righteous but not partial, and generally of a high standard rather than requiring one or two dishes or partial flavors. It could be considered the quintessential Chinese cooking."
During the mid-to-late Ming Dynasty, Shandong's commodity economy flourished. Based on stories from the Song Dynasty, it realistically depicts the social customs of Linqing in Ming Dynasty Shandong. There are 108 dishes in the book, such as dry-steamed sun chicken, fried bones, three plates of chicken essence, fried meat intestines, fried silverfish, silver sprouts and bean sprouts, fried asparagus, yellow sprouts and leeks, and purple cabbage.
During the Ming and Qing dynasties, Shandong chefs not only monopolized the royal dining room in the Forbidden City and the catering market in Beijing, but also brought Shandong flavors to Beijing, Tianjin, the White Mountains, and the Black Waters through immigrants, and became the representatives of northern Chinese cuisine. As a result of radiation and public attention
In the 1820s and 1830s, when Fushan Harbor first appeared, there were 30 to 40 famous restaurants in Fushan County, Shandong. For example, Jishengge, built in the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty, was famous for its bird's nests, shark fins and sea cucumber seats. Its daily turnover exceeded 100 yuan. in 1936, taking advantage of the Qingming Festival, it earned more than 1,750 yuan. Because the Fushan people ran the business well and had many famous chefs, it soon became the mainstay of Beijing's catering industry. According to incomplete statistics, most of the famous restaurants in Beijing called "eight floors and eight mansions" were opened by Fushan people. The size of this restaurant is astonishing. It not only had elegant halls and facilities, but also had a stage for birthday celebrations and plays for the rich. "Dongxinglou" was once ranked first among the "Eight Buildings" in Beijing, and at its peak it had more than 200 employees. Another example is "Tongheju", the first of Beijing's "Eight Houses". Emperor Hirohito of Japan liked to eat Tonghe food. Hukou Village, Fushan County, there is a restaurant called Fengzeyuan, called Luan Tangxue, nicknamed Luan Pu Fort. Before the founding of the country, Cao Kun, Wu, Zhang and other big warlords often come here. In the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China*** and the State of China, it also became a place where party and state leaders entertained foreign heads of state and VIPs. Today, it is still famous for its authentic Lu cuisine.
There are about 3,000 overseas Chinese in Foshan City, Shandong Province, and more than 90 percent of the 10,000 of them are engaged in cooking. These people are located in more than 30 countries and regions on five continents. They run 600 to 700 famous restaurants.
Modernity
Since the 1980s, the state and the government have regarded the culinary art of Lu cuisine as a valuable national cultural heritage and have adopted a policy of inheriting and promoting it. On this basis, a new generation of chefs has flourished and made new contributions to the inheritance and development of Lu Cuisine.