Now, in addition to a small number of documents, history books and literary works, there are unearthed bamboo slips, and even vivid Han stone reliefs, brick reliefs and murals, which more intuitively reflect the content of food culture. In particular, some meat-based non-staple food explanations are more specific, deliberately showing that meat represents the value trend of food and appetite.
"Zhou Li? "Tianguan" said: "Where the king gives six grains, six animals are meals. "It can be seen that China has had the theory of' six sacrifices' since the pre-Qin period. It has also been mentioned many times in the Book of Songs. " "Six Livestock" includes horses, cows, sheep, dogs and chickens. The "Six Sacrifices" of horses are mainly used for transportation, military supplies and national border defense. Therefore, in addition to horses, five other species together with fish constitute the main part of ancient carnivores. With the continuous development of social diet in the Han Dynasty, Han people gradually discovered the nutrition and value of meat food, and the proportion of meat food in the diet was greatly improved compared with the previous generation. Until later generations, the main meat categories had occupied and occupied a major position in the Han Dynasty.
Meat diet structure
1. Cattle is one of the six animals. In ancient times, cattle were mainly used for food and sacrifice. In the middle and late Spring and Autumn Period, with the emergence of iron plows and Niu Geng, cattle were mainly used for raising livestock. However, the basic national policy of agriculture-oriented in Han dynasty attracted much attention, and the cattle industry quickly entered a climax and lasted for a long time. Therefore, the proportion of beef in the whole meat is always the largest, so it can be said that beef was the first-class meat in Qin and Han Dynasties.
In Han dynasty, the scale and quantity of cattle raising increased obviously. Historical records? In Biography of Huo Zhi, many people are "angular", richer than "thousands of families", and the scale of raising cattle has also increased rapidly compared with the previous generation. Historical records? "Biography of Huo Zhi" cloud, and Qiao Yao's "Once a swift horse, twice as many cows" "Han Shu? It is said that in the early years of the Western Han Dynasty, the Panchen Lama was disturbed by "a thousand horses, cattle and sheep" and the Book of the Later Han Dynasty? According to Biography of Ma Yuan, at the end of the Western Han Dynasty, Ma Yuan "had thousands of cows, horses and sheep for farming in the north".
The rulers of the Han Dynasty took strict measures to protect cattle, even forbidding the slaughter of farm cattle at will. As the saying goes, "whoever steals a horse dies, but whoever steals an ox gets worse." Bamboo slips of Qin tomb in Sleeping Tiger Land? Eighteen Qin laws? According to the stable garden law, for every inch that the waistline of a cow is reduced, it is necessary to slap the person in charge ten times. The Law Question and Answer also stipulates that male and female servants who steal cattle are sentenced to the capital and civilians are sentenced to one year's imprisonment. "Once"? Emperor Guangwu Ji: Emperor Guangwu's four-year imperial edict "Don't slaughter cattle and horses". Only when there is a big event in the country and the emperor "gives a hundred cows and wine to the people" can the people eat beef. What about the reflection? Shu Wei? "Biography of Chen Jiao" records that at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, people in Quzhou prayed for blessings by killing cows, so the government "abandoned the city" according to law. It can be seen that cattle, as the most important farming tool, rather than food, are highly valued.
During the Han dynasty, the price of cattle was also relatively high. According to Nine Chapters of Arithmetic, the price of a cow is around 1800 yuan. Therefore, only princes and nobles and wealthy families have the conditions to slaughter cattle. Stone reliefs of the Han Dynasty unearthed in Zouxian and tengxian, Shandong Province, all have the scene of a bull. Therefore, the poor can't afford to buy cattle, so they can only buy them in a joint venture at the time of the sacrifice of the country and kill the meat, such as "Nine Chapters of Arithmetic?" The chapter of "insufficient profit" contains 126 households bought a cow, which is a reflection of this situation.
2. Sheep and mutton are the main meat varieties in Han Dynasty. Since the Han Dynasty, the proportion of mutton in the ancient diet was slightly better than that of pork. Mutton will be regarded as exquisite meat and will be given as a reward. In the East View of Han Ji, there are "every wax in Jianwu is given to the doctor by letter" and "a sheep is given";
After the discussion draft? It is recorded in the Biography of Five Luns that in the Eastern Han Dynasty, a captain rode more and more, and used "300 sheep" and "5,000 kilograms of meat" in winter. If each sheep produces 20 kilograms of meat, 6000 kilograms of mutton is used, which also accounts for a large part. It can be seen that mutton is also one of the most important meats. In some literary works, "lambs don't drink" is involved, but pork is rarely mentioned.
Sheep are herbivores. Sheep industry was developed in Han Dynasty. Besides the grasslands in the north, a large number of sheep were raised in inland areas. Historical records? "Biography of Huo Zhi" said: "Longmen, Jieshi North Sodom, cattle and sheep."
Qi Yaomin Shu? When introducing pasture planting, sheep raising takes "1000 sheep" as a typical example. From "1000 sheep" to "1000 sheep", it shows that the development of sheep industry in Han Dynasty seems to have doubled.
In addition, there are often gray pottery sheep models and sheep bones unearthed in Han tombs, and there are often pictures of slaughtering and peeling sheep on Han stone reliefs. Meat animals such as dogs, sheep and cows are often unearthed in Han tombs in Yangzhou. This can also reflect the prosperity of animal husbandry in Han Dynasty.
There were many names of pigs in ancient times, among which swimming, tapir and dolphin were the most common. Pork, like mutton, was the main raw material of meat food in Han Dynasty. On the kitchen map of the front balcony of Zhucheng, Shandong Province, there is a picture of an expert killing pigs, with pig heads, pig livers and pig hind legs hanging on the wooden frame behind him. Due to the development of animal husbandry, people also make surplus meat into pickled products and store them. The most telling thing is that there are a large number of models of pottery pig houses, pottery pigs, jade pigs and gold-dyed talc pigs buried in the Han tombs in Yangzhou. Huainanzi? It is stated in Yun Lun Xun that "pork is a sacrifice at the time of sacrifice" because "it is believed that the families of descendants are often livestock and easy to get things".
Pig-raising was very common in Qin and Han dynasties, such as the domestic slaves of the rich in Sichuan in the Western Han Dynasty. "Once"? Biography of Wu You mentioned that Wu You, the son of an official in the Eastern Han Dynasty, was twenty years old and had no gift from others. "He often drives cattle in Changhuanze"; "Once"? There is also a record of "herding dogs to raise diseases" in Biography of Du Qiao.
Qi Yaomin Shu? The article "Raising Pigs" said; "The pig is very aquatic, and the algae are so close to the shore that pigs are fat." Common in literature are "eating grass" and "Han Shu? "Gong Chuan" and "Ze Zhong Mu" are found in the later Han Dynasty? Biography of sun qi
Because grazing is the main way of raising pigs in Han Dynasty, the cost is low, so the amount of raising pigs is relatively considerable. With the development of agricultural production, large-scale pig farmers appeared in the early Western Han Dynasty, which made a fortune. Historical records? "Biography of Huo Zhi" mentioned that there are thousands of pigs (250) in Zezhong. "This person sued thousands of households." . Due to the rapid development of pig industry, pigs have become one of the most important meat sources in people's diet.
When there were dogs in the Han Dynasty, people generally liked to eat dog meat, so dog meat became one of the main meats at that time. Bamboo slips of Qin tomb in Sleeping Tiger Land? Eighteen Qin laws? According to the field law, the owner of the park can kill the folk dogs when they enter the forbidden park to catch animals, "eat their meat and enter their skin." In the Book of Rites, it is mentioned many times that Zhou eats dog meat. "Mandarin? "Yu Yue Shang" records that Gou Jian, the king of Yue, met once every ten years. In order to encourage fertility, it is stipulated that "a husband (boy), two pots of wine and a dog should be born; Give birth to a woman, two pots of wine and a dolphin (pig). "From this perspective, at first, dog meat was more valuable than pork. After the Warring States Period, killing dogs has become a specialized profession, such as Nie Zheng, a chivalrous man in Historical Records, and Fan Kuai, who fought in the north and south with Emperor Gaozu. At first, they all took killing dogs as their profession.
The dishes made by dog meat are also very rich, which are recorded in bamboo slips of Qin and Han Dynasties: spiced dried dog meat, dog broth, dog celery soup, dog bitter soup, roasted dog ribs, roasted dog liver and so on. Kong Ying Da in The Book of Rites? In Quli Shang, the note that "a good dog leads him to the left" says: "The big one is a dog, and the small one is a dog". From the analysis of the meat samples from Mawangdui Han Tomb in Changsha, Hunan Province, it was found that the meat eaten by the Han people at that time was small dog meat that had been kept for one year, and piglets born for two to six months were the best. It shows that Han people pay more attention to its size and tenderness when eating meat. Gray pottery dog models are often unearthed from Han tombs in Yangzhou. In Huai Nan Zi, pork and dog meat are mentioned together; "Tai Xun" says: "Stripping dogs and burning tapirs will make five flavors flat", and the idiom "Stripping dogs and burning pigs" comes from this.
Chickens often eat chicken and eggs in their daily lives. Ordinary families regard "killing chickens to get millet" as a home-cooked dish to treat the elderly, which shows that the Han people have a considerable understanding of the nutritional value of chickens and eggs, and the number of chickens and the output of eggs have reached a high level. The chicken industry in Han Dynasty was very developed, and it was the largest animal species at that time. The folk chicken industry flourished in Han Dynasty. "Miscellanies of Xijing" records that Chen Guanghan's family in Guanzhong has "10,000 chickens will be 50,000 chicks", which is the largest chicken industry recorded in the government documents of Han Dynasty.
Eggs, chicken skeletons, ceramic chicken models and chicken trees are often unearthed in Han tombs all over the country. Chicken trees, broilers, ducks and geese with meat are often unearthed in Han tombs in Yangzhou, Yizheng and Baoying. More than 10 eggshells are preserved in Portuguese on bamboo slips of Mawangdui Han Tomb in Changsha, Hunan. Unearthed calves often have records of steamed leek eggs, detained leek eggs and other dishes, which shows that boiled eggs were very common at that time and the eating method was basically the same as today. There is a short article "Chicken in white soup, a pot of stewed vegetables" in the Han Tomb of Mawangdui No.1 in Changsha. There is a record of "five chicken eggs" in the interpretation of Han bamboo slips in Juyan. Chicken is the main meat food for families to celebrate holidays and entertain guests. Such as the Book of the Later Han Dynasty? In Biography of Guo Tai, in the Eastern Han Dynasty, Mao Rong, a farmer, "killed the chicken for cooking" and Guo Tai, a guest, "set it for himself".
6. Fish In the Han Dynasty, fish also played an important role in the diet. Hanshu? Geography says: "Jiangnan is a vast area ... people feed on fish and rice, and fish, hunt and cut mountains for a living." Historical records? Biography of Huo Zhi called Shandong "the land of fish and salt", and Yandi, near the Bohai Sea, was blessed with "fish, salt, dates and chestnuts". It can be seen that fishery has been compared with cattle, sheep, pigs and dogs. In the period of food shortage, fish is used to make up for it. "Used to be"? "Dong Zhuochuan", Dong Zhuo conquered the Qiang people and besieged them. "Food is scarce, and it is urgent. It's a fake raft in the water. I thought I was fishing. Shen's Coastal Soil and Water Records says that "the fertile land not only produces food, but also produces fish." ... take raw fish and store it in a big earthenware, use it with salt water, and eat it every month to take it. " It can be seen that Han people can also use salt to store raw fish, which has another delicious taste.
There were many people who made a living by fishing in Han Dynasty. The developed fishery in Han Dynasty provided rich food raw materials for people to eat fish and shrimp. Fish sauce, fried fish and fish soup have become everyone's favorite dishes. Fu Weng in Shu makes a living by fishing, and the peak of Nanyang "catches the invisible and finally gets home." Many kinds of fish are listed in the remaining four seasons food system. The fish remains unearthed in Mawangdui, Changsha are also recorded: carp, crucian carp, mandarin fish, hairtail ... Carp is the most common fish and the most consumed fish, which has become the main breeding object. Tao Zhugong's "Fish Culture Classic" recorded the related problems of carp culture. Hanshu? Liu Qing, the king of Guangling, recorded that there were ponds in the gardens of Qing Liu, where fish were raised.
Fish are also used. In the landlord's manor in the Eastern Han Dynasty, special fish ponds were often built for artificial breeding. Fishing gear used for waterlogging control mainly includes nets, sweeps, forks and hooks. Huainanzi? Said Xun Lin summed up the fishing skills as follows: "The fisherman is still, detaining the boat by death, the net is moving, the cover is being made, and the shovel is being lifted. If not, you will get a fish. " Here, static, dynamic, restraining and lifting are used to indicate the operation methods of several fishing gears. These capture methods can be clearly shown in Han portraits. "Once"? "Biography of Liu Ban" contains: "Private capital fishes to help the population", especially in Lianjiang coastal areas.
In addition to the above-mentioned main meat varieties, Han people also have the habit of eating animals in the water. In the Han bamboo slips of Juyan, you can find some short articles about eating animal viscera, including liver, stomach, kidney, intestine and so on. For example, 286 bamboo slips of Juyan Han Dynasty? The entries recorded in 19B include head, neck, heart, liver, lung, scar, tongue, stomach and boundary. Juyan Han bamboo slips were broken into 5 1.235, which contained books on the distribution of liver, stomach, kidney and intestine.
Second, meat cooking technology
As can be seen from the above dietary structure, the dietary level in Qin and Han dynasties was indeed greatly improved compared with the previous generation. Relatively speaking, in the Han Dynasty, most farmers were vegetarian, but relatively few ate meat. On the contrary, nobles not only "eat meat", but also pay attention to eating meat. According to documents and unearthed objects, the cooking skills of the Han Dynasty also developed to a fairly high level. But bacon, barbecue, bacon and other eating methods are commonly used by nobles to eat meat.
That is, raw meat slices, Han Shu? Dong Fangshuo biography: "Raw meat is delicious." It is made of carefully selected fresh meat, and Shuo Wen Jie Zi says, "Fine-cut meat is also". Such as "definition name? Interpretation of diet: "finely cut the meat to make it scattered, and the dividends will be white, and it will be harmonious. "Han people pay attention to eating raw meat. The specific way to eat it is to separate the sliced meat from the fat and add seasoning to eat it raw. It is said that Confucius is very particular about food. In "The Emergent Hard Years", it is recorded that he "never tires of fine food and never tires of fine food". "Never tire of eating" means that the thinner the sliced meat, the better. In Youyang Zamei, there is a man named Duan Shuochang, who is very skilled in cooking and the sliced meat is thin enough to blow. Fish can also be sliced and eaten raw. It was called "fish" in ancient times and now it is called "sashimi". Generally speaking, "sashimi" is a unique Japanese dish, but it has existed in China since ancient times. As early as the pre-Qin period, people had the habit of eating sashimi, such as The Book of Songs? Xiaoya? In June, there was a record of "drinking friends and heating turtle carp", that is, "carp" is sashimi made by carp; There is also a "fish" in the menu of literati banquets listed in "Yili" and "Book of Rites". This is still the case in the Han Dynasty. For example, in Lin Yulang of Han Yuefu, there is also a poem, "Just ask me about my delicacies and enjoy the carp on a golden plate". Huainanzi? Insufficient dispersion "contains:" The burning case is full, and the turtle licks the carp. "Yangzhou is located between the Yangtze River and Huaihe River, with the sea in the east. It is a famous water town Zeguo, rich in aquatic products. Eating fish was a hobby of people at that time. 1939, three complete fish bones were unearthed from No.7 Han Tomb in Huchang, Yangzhou. It can be seen that Han people loved to eat fish before they died, and they never forgot it after they died.
Food is raw meat, and choosing not to eat it will inevitably lead to a stomachache. The biography of Hua Tuo recorded the story that Chen Deng, the satrap of Han Guangling, was "malnourished" and asked Hua Tuo to treat the disease. Chen Deng, the satrap of Han Guangling, said, "Suddenly there is a bruise in my chest, and there are worms in my chest ... When the worms move, their heads are red. The bust is still a raw fish. " From eating to getting sick, it can be seen that Chen Deng is addicted to fish.
Roast, from fire to meat, can be seen from the font refers to barbecue. The origin of barbecue with fire is very early. According to ancient records, tunnel people in primitive society invented "taking fire through tunnels to turn it into irritability" and "everything is wrong?" "Five Fools" ended the backward lifestyle of "eating hair and drinking blood". But at that time it was just raw food for cooked food. "Braised in soy sauce" is developed from this. The existing portrait of Zhu fin's tomb in Han Dynasty: a man standing by the fire, holding a drill in one hand and a mutton string in the other, fanning the fire with a rectangular fan, and then roasting it with charcoal fire, similar to modern mutton string. It can be seen that kebabs have a long history, but at that time, only princes and nobles like Zhou Wenwang and Zhu Fin could afford them. Reflection? Shu Shu? Guan Yu was described as "scraping bones to cure poison" in Ancestors, and he was not afraid of pain. Guan Yu invited the generals to eat and drink, his arm was bleeding, and the table was full of dishes, while Yu Jian was drunk and laughing. ""cut the main wine ",that is, eat large pieces of barbecue with a knife and drink at the same time. The famous dishes "Roasted Dolphin" and "Roasted Goose and Roasted Duck" recorded in the Book of Qi Yaomin are also baked.
Eating and baking generally refer to delicacies, but what about Mencius? Gong Sunchou asked Mencius, "Which is more beautiful?" Mencius replied categorically: "Awesome!" Later generations used the idiom "household name" as a metaphor for excellent poetry, which made people memorable.
Repair meat and bacon are both salted and cured meat. Shuo Wen Jie Zi says, "Bacon is dry" and "Repair is preserved." The difference is that Xiu Xiu is bacon strips made of ginger, cinnamon, pepper, salt and other seasonings, and bacon is dried bacon, just like Zhou Li? Celestial officer? Jia Shu, the cook, said, "Those who add ginger to forge laurels are lazy; Without ginger and cinnamon, it's called salting. " Rhyme Society also explained: "Thin the milk, beat it, and apply ginger and pepper to forge it. "The practice is to cut the meat into pieces, then add salt and dry it. Trimmed and pickled meat is also often used at banquets. " "Neze" lists cattle repair, deer breast, breast removal and so on. Xiuzhi bacon, ten for a string, The Analects? "Uncle" remembers that Confucius taught students to charge "bundle training" as tuition. Therefore, later generations often use the word "bundle repair" to replace teachers' remuneration.
The method of making bacon is very popular, and there are many kinds of meat made with bacon. The pottery pier unearthed from the Han tomb in Luoyang has the inscription "chicken breast". The bamboo slips in Juyan Han Dynasty include "keeping a preserved sheep" and "buying 100 Jin of beef to cure the preserved sheep".
In addition, there are other ways to eat meat, such as frying and steaming. I won't list them here.
Third, the characteristics of meat.
1. In the Han Dynasty, agricultural cultivation was the mainstay, and the proportion of meat in diet cattle was naturally much smaller than that of grain. However, with the development of family animal husbandry, meat consumption has increased compared with the previous generation. In the middle of the Western Han Dynasty, Huan Kuan wrote on the theory of salt and iron? "Lack of Salt" compares the situation of livestock in the early years of the Western Han Dynasty: Shu Ren, an ancient man, ate quinoa and Epimedium, drank wine and smoked wax outside his hometown, and offered sacrifices without wine and meat. So princes don't kill cattle and sheep for no reason, and doctors don't kill dogs for no reason. Today, there are hundreds of people in Luxiang County, and thousands of people are slaughtering for no reason, gathering in the wild, leaving millet and going home with meat. The winner "slaughters the sheep and kills the dog", and the poor also "smells like chicken". After decades of development in the early Han Dynasty, by the early years of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, animal husbandry had made remarkable progress and provided more meat. It is also recorded that the rich "beat the ox and beat the drum", the middle-class family "slaughtered the sheep and the dog" and the common people "worked hard for the chicken forever".
However, with the constant use of foreign troops during the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the social economy was destroyed, the annexation of farmers by the rulers increased, and the life of ordinary farmers who could eat meat gradually disappeared. By the Eastern Han Dynasty, the proportion of meat was already very low. "Once"? According to Zhou Xie, Min Zhongshu, a native of the Eastern Han Dynasty, "drinks water, is old, sick and poor, can't get meat, and buys a piece of pig liver every day". The old saying "If you know the beauty of meat, you must chew on it" and the craftsman's play book "If you drink and eat meat, you must learn from it" unearthed from the tomb of the Eastern Han Dynasty in Wang Du all show that ordinary people are eager for meat but can't get it.
2. Judging from the contents reflected in the kitchen images in stone tombs and murals in the Han Dynasty, the diet structure of people in the Han Dynasty is very rich. The most prominent thing is meat, and the slaughter scene ranks first in the kitchen. Among them, livestock include cattle, pigs, sheep and dogs; Domestic food includes killing chickens, ducks and geese; And water and blood. It is also delicious for people to eat. Dialect refers to Beiyan dialect: "wearing the five internal organs of cattle and sheep is called the shoulder"; Joint School 173.8 "Ten Jin of meat per Jin of 30 yuan"; However, the joint school is 258.3 kg, the stomach is 24 yuan, and the kidney, intestine and liver are respectively 10 yuan and 27 yuan, which shows that people are in the water.