With the complete birth of China's unification, the powerful Han royal family went further than the Qin Dynasty in terms of diet. The emperor of the Han Dynasty had the most complete food management system in the country at that time. Among the officials under the Shaofu who were responsible for the emperor's daily affairs, those related to dietary activities were Taiguan, Tangguan and Daoguan, who were respectively "main meal", "main cake bait" and "main rice selection". This is a large-scale official system. There are seven ministers under the Taiguan order, including Taiguan Xiancheng who is responsible for bringing food from various places, Daguancheng and Zhongcheng who are responsible for managing daily diet. Taiguan and Tangguan each had 3,000 slaves and maids, and their food expenses for the emperor and the harem amounted to 20,000 yuan a year. This expenditure is equivalent to the property of 20,000 households of average-level people in the Han Dynasty. The daily expenses amount to 548,000 yuan, which is equivalent to more than 2,700 good grains of rice on stone, or more than 91,000 kilograms of good meat. The etiquette of the Han Dynasty stipulates that the emperor's "food must have the taste of the eight delicacies." They "drink sweet and fat foods that are worth the taste of the world."

The changes in the seasons have a great influence on the living conditions of ordinary people in the Han Dynasty. Not a small impact. For example, Xu Qian, a man from the late Han Dynasty, said: "In the hot and scorching summer, even the nobles felt that "their bodies were painted like paint, the water was like flowing springs, the powder fans were effective, and the banquets were delicious." However, the seasons have a great influence on food life. Restrictions on the emperor and his concubines were reduced to the lowest level at that time. In winter, the emperor could enjoy green onions, leeks and other vegetables that only grew in spring, and these vegetables cost a lot of money. The eunuchs "covered their houses with fire day and night, waiting for the temperature to grow." In the hot summer, the emperor and his concubines "The ice is always laid, and the cold delicacies are passed down from time to time.

During this period, the spread of Chinese food culture to the outside world intensified. According to records such as "Historical Records" and "Hanshu", when Zhang Qian of the Western Han Dynasty was on an envoy to the Western Regions, he Through the Silk Road, Zhang Qian and others carried out economic and cultural exchange activities with Central Asian countries. In addition to introducing courgettes, walnuts, coriander, flax, carrots, pomegranates and other products from the Western Regions, they also introduced peaches, plums, and apricots from the Central Plains. , pears, ginger, tea and other products and food culture were spread to the Western Regions. Today, among the cultural relics unearthed from Han tombs in the original Western Regions, there is a grilling method in our country's traditional barbecue technology. The Silk Road spread to Central Asia and West Asia, and eventually the kebabs that people liked to eat were formed there.

The Southwest Silk Road, which is earlier than the Northwest Silk Road, starts from the southwestern city of Chengdu in the north. , passing through Yunnan and reaching Indochina, Myanmar and India, this Silk Road also played a role in spreading food culture to the outside world during the Han Dynasty. For example, during the Jianwu period of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Emperor Guangwu of the Han Dynasty sent General Fubo to conquer Jiaozhi. (now Vietnam). At that time, a large number of Han Dynasty officers and soldiers built cities and lived in Jiaozhi and other places, and brought the custom of eating rice dumplings during the Dragon Boat Festival on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month to Jiaozhi and other places. Therefore, they are still eaten in Vietnam and Southeast Asian countries. The custom of rice dumplings.

At the same time, the Chinese Wei Man once became king in North Korea. At this time, Chinese food culture had the deepest impact on North Korea. North Korea was accustomed to using chopsticks to eat, and the cooking ingredients used by North Koreans were, Koreans have obvious Chinese characteristics in their food combinations. Even in cooking theory, North Korea also pays attention to Chinese terms such as "five flavors" and "five colors".

Chang'an in the Tang Dynasty was at that time. As the center of world culture, China has gradually become a country with many ethnic groups, which has facilitated the exchange and integration of food cultures of various ethnic groups. Specialties from the Western Regions have been introduced to the mainland, which has greatly enriched the food and cultural life of the people in the mainland; The exquisite national cuisine and cooking techniques also gradually spread to the west, and were favored by the local people.

In the process of mutual exchanges, various ethnic groups continued to innovate the Chinese food culture. The ethnic minorities are still getting used to and accepting the production and lifestyle of farming agriculture while living together with the Han people, and have begun to live a settled agricultural life. The livestock industry in the interior has also developed rapidly, benefiting from the frequent exchanges between the Hu and Han ethnic groups. . This change also caused major changes in the traditional dietary structure of the Hu and Han people. "Eating meat and drinking cheese" began to become the unique dietary feature of the Hu and Han ethnic groups in the entire northern and northwest regions during the Han and Tang Dynasties.

There are about 160 kinds of vegetables that we eat every day, but among the more than 100 common vegetables, about half are native to Han and introduced from outside the region. The exchanges between ethnic minorities in the northwest have introduced many varieties of vegetables and fruits, such as alfalfa, spinach, brassica, courgette, beans, garlic, coriander, etc.; fruits include grapes, almonds, watermelon, pomegranate, etc.; and condiments include pepper. , sugar, etc. At the same time, cooking methods from the Western Regions were also introduced to the Central Plains, such as cheese, Hu cakes, Qiang-boiled Qiang Zhi, Hu-roasted pork, Hu soup, and sheep intestines, etc. were all introduced to the Central Plains from the Western Regions.

Various Hu food introduced in the Han Dynasty had gradually become popular in the Yellow River Basin during the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, and were favored by the majority of Han people, especially the cooking method of "Qiang Boiled Cang Zhi" The method is the most typical. The so-called "Qiang cooking" means boiling or boiling sheep and venison; "Qiangzhi" is similar to roasting whole sheep. Volume 4 of "Shi Ming" "Shi Diet" says: "Qiangzhi, roast them all, and cut each one with a knife." , because of what Hu Qiang did." It is precisely because of the freshness and delicious taste of "Qiang boiled Qiang Zhi" that it is favored by the majority of Han people, and has gradually become synonymous with the cultural exchanges between Hu and Han. On the other hand, the Han people have also continued to export the food civilization of the Central Plains to the Western Regions and surrounding ethnic minorities.

Among them are vegetables, fruits and tea produced in the Central Plains, as well as food preparation methods.

The Han and Tang Dynasties were also a period when traditional Chinese eating styles gradually changed. After the Eastern Han Dynasty, the Hu bed as a kind of seat was introduced to the Central Plains from the Western Regions and gradually became widely used. Since one has to hang one's feet on the ground when sitting on the bed, this changes the traditional kneeling posture of the Han people. New changes in furniture began in the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties and reached their climax in the Sui and Tang Dynasties. On the one hand, this is reflected in the fact that the height of traditional beds and tables continues to increase; on the other hand, the variety of new high-foot furniture is increasing, and chairs, tables, etc. have begun to be used. After the appearance of tables and chairs, it was natural for people to sit around the same table to eat. This had a fundamental impact on the traditional eating method of the Central Plains people, who sat on the floor and knelt on the ground.

Generally speaking, dietary customs are gradually formed over a long period of historical development and are therefore relatively stable. However, everything is in constant development and change, and the same is true for the dietary customs of any nation. As the times change, there will always be slow and gradual changes. Here, new dietary ingredients and cooking methods have become a new variable, and the emergence of new variables is not only related to social and economic development, but also to foreign cultural exchanges. The changes in food culture in the Tang Dynasty fully illustrate this point. The most imported food in the Tang Dynasty was "Hu food", which was a term used by people in the Han Dynasty for food introduced from the Western Regions. After Hu Shi was introduced to China through the Silk Road during the Han and Wei dynasties, it reached its peak in the Tang Dynasty. "New Tang Book·Yu Fu Zhi" says: "The nobles serve all kinds of Hu food in their royal palaces." There were many kinds of Hu food in the Tang Dynasty, including noodles, biluo, Hu cakes, etc. Hui Lin's "Sounds and Meanings of All Sutras" said: "This cake was originally a barbarian food. It was adapted from China, with slight changes, so it also has this name in modern times." Biluo's word originated from Persia. It is generally believed to refer to a food made of flour as a skin, filled with stuffing, and steamed or baked. In Chang'an during the Tang Dynasty, there were many restaurants selling Bilo, including Crab Roe Bilo, Pork Liver Bilo, Sheep Kidney Bilo, etc. Hu cakes are sesame pancakes with meat filling in the middle. Shop stalls selling Hu cakes are very common. According to "Zizhi Tongjian·Xuanzong Ji" records, when Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty fled to the Jixian Palace in Xianyang during the Anshi Rebellion, it was noon. "Famous wines from the Western Regions and their production methods were also introduced to China in the Tang Dynasty. According to Volume 970 of "Cefu Yuangui", Gaochang's horse milk grapes and their winemaking methods were introduced to Chang'an in the early Tang Dynasty. Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty personally He supervised the production and brewed wines of eight colors, "aromatic, spicy, and rich in taste. After being awarded to ministers, the capital began to recognize its taste." This resulted in many Tang poems praising wine. The Tang Dynasty also introduced sucrose and its sugar-making technology from the Western Regions, which added a bit of sweetness to ancient Chinese food. Its significance is no less than the introduction of wine-making methods.