First of all, whole grains. China has a farming civilization since ancient times. The rulers of Han Dynasty attached great importance to agriculture, which led to the rapid development of grain agriculture in this period. The staple food is more abundant, including millet, millet, wheat, rice, wild rice, buckwheat, highland barley, taro, sorghum and so on.
Second, meat. Due to the improvement of dietary consumption level in Han dynasty, the proportion of meat in people's dietary life in Han dynasty increased obviously. The sources of meat in Han society are mainly domestic and wild. Domestically, it mainly refers to six kinds of domestic animals, including horses, cows, sheep, pigs, dogs and chickens, while in the wild, it mainly includes rabbits, tigers, wolves, bears, deer, monkeys, owls, pheasants, wild ducks, partridges, geese and sparrows.
Among the six livestock in Han Dynasty, pigs and chickens were often eaten. The reason why the pig was turned into a sacrifice at the time of sacrifice was because it was "easy to get", which showed that the pig was already a kind of domestic animal that people raised and ate on a large scale in the Han Dynasty. According to the biography of Han Huo Zhi, a city extending in all directions can slaughter and sell thousands of cows, pigs and sheep within one year. It can be seen that besides pork, beef and mutton were also the main source of meat in the Han Dynasty. The large-scale development of sheep industry in Han dynasty also made mutton a food that ordinary people could put on the table.
Third, vegetables. Vegetables, an indispensable food in the diet of Han people, can even replace the staple food with vegetables and fruits in famine years. There are many kinds of vegetables in Han dynasty, including sunflower, leek, onion, giant knotweed, Sue, ginger, asparagus, garlic, leek, mustard and so on. The increase of vegetable varieties further marks the improvement of people's diet and living standards in Han Dynasty.
Fourth, 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 government even set up an official in charge of fruit-Guo Sheng. "Historical Records Biography of Huo Zhi" has a cloud: "An Yi Qian Shu Zao; Yan, Qin Li; Shu, Han, Jiangling Wanshu Orange ... These people are like thousands of families. " It can be seen that the scale of orchard planting in Han Dynasty is very large. Besides peaches, plums, dates, apricots, thorns, plums, pears, chestnuts, hazelnuts, oranges and grapefruit, there are also loquat, cherry, sugar cane, melon, banana, longan, lychee, sugarcane, coconut and grapes, pomegranate and watermelon in the western regions.
Wine-a drink highly praised by people in Han Dynasty
Drinking was prevalent in Han Dynasty. Whether drinking in the palace or entertaining guests at home every day, there was always the shadow of drinking. The development of agriculture and the accumulation of social economy provided the necessary material basis for the development of wine culture in Han Dynasty. In the Han dynasty, people divided grain wine into three classes, rice wine was the first class, millet wine was the middle class and millet wine was the inferior class. Compared with the pre-Qin period, there are more kinds of wines in this period, besides fruit wine made of grapes and sugarcane, there are osmanthus wine, chrysanthemum wine, horse wine made of horse milk, pepper wine soaked with pepper, cedar wine made of cypress leaves and so on.
The drinking atmosphere in this period also promoted the great development of the wine industry. Private liquor shops and large liquor workshops go hand in hand. Private wineries are generally small workshops, making their own wine and selling them themselves. They are numerous and widely distributed, and have the functions of selling wine and drinking for people. The workshops run by large industrial and commercial households are profitable because of their large scale and prosperous location. There is a cloud in Biography of Historical Records of Huo Zhi: "Most cities are connected with each other, and a thousand wines are brewed at one year old ... This is also a thousand times better than at home, and its rate is also high.
The introduction of seasoning has a great influence on the taste of diet.
With the development of diet, people are no longer satisfied with the original natural taste of food, and begin to try to pursue and mix delicious food, which also promotes the continuous development of seasonings. The five flavors of seasoning are mainly sour, bitter, spicy, salty and sweet. Among the five flavors, salty ranks first. In the Han Dynasty, salt was not only directly used for cooking, but also mixed with beans, meat and other foods to make sauce. In the Han Dynasty, plums were not only used as fruits, but also as condiments. "Acyl" was regarded as an important acidic condiment in the Han Dynasty, which was the predecessor of vinegar. There are two kinds of sweet condiments eaten in Han Dynasty: pulp and honey. Among them, pulp is mainly made of food crops; Shimi is an exotic product, actually a kind of candy boiled with sugarcane juice, and its technology gradually matured in the late Eastern Han Dynasty.
The Carrier of Diet Culture in Han Dynasty —— Eating utensils
Tableware in Han Dynasty is mainly divided into cookware, tableware and drinking utensils.
First, cooking utensils. Cooking utensils refer to appliances that process food raw materials into edible state. The main cooking utensils in Han Dynasty are stoves, pots and stoves. In the Western Han Dynasty, the stoves in the Central Plains were generally three-dimensional rectangles, which were called square-headed stoves. Most of the stoves in Guanzhong are horseshoe-shaped stoves, which are called round-headed stoves. Most of them have only one fire hole, with an oven door in front and a chimney in the back, and their shapes are relatively simple. In the Han Dynasty, people used pots to cook food. Pots were mostly made of iron, pottery and copper. Its shape is similar to that of the existing pot, with a bulging belly and a closed mouth, smooth inside, ears upturned outward, and some brackets.
Second, tableware. Tableware refers to utensils used to eat and hold food. There are many kinds of eating utensils in Han dynasty, such as cases, ding, pots, plates, boxes, chopsticks, knives and so on. Materials include pottery, porcelain, gold and silver. But during this period, lacquerware was widely used.
Third, drinking utensils. Wine vessels in Han Dynasty are the main body, the carrier of wine culture, and also contain very rich historical information. In addition, drinking utensils also include drinking water, soup and other utensils and containers for holding drinks, mainly including cups, cups, cups, cups and clocks. Cup is the main drinking vessel in Han dynasty, which is used to hold soup, porridge, wine and water. Zun was the most important wine container in Han Dynasty. There are two main forms of Zun in Han dynasty, except Xiao Zun, which are pot-shaped and pot-shaped, and the bottom is divided into three feet and circle feet.
Food culture displayed by food customs and etiquette
First, banquet and drinking. Banquet became a common practice in Han Dynasty. Whether visiting relatives and friends, getting married, or moving, people will have a big banquet and drink a glass, which is an important part of the diet culture in the Han Dynasty and an indispensable part of people's contact feelings and interpersonal relationships today. Whether it is a palace banquet or a folk banquet, we must abide by the corresponding etiquette and customs. The court banquet is more rigorous. Uncle Sun Tong of the Western Han Dynasty established a banquet ceremony system. "When the ceremony is over, do your best and buy French wine. All the attendants sat in the temple with their heads down, so they began to live their own lives for each other's honor. After nine lines, the flatterer said "stop drinking"; Although there are many rules for civilian banquets, it is necessary to "decorate a few branches, repair the sister-in-law" and "sprinkle clothes at night". The rules of what to eat also vary from class to class. " The son of heaven has six beans, six princes, two princes, eight doctors and six doctors. "In addition, the seating at the banquet also has corresponding etiquette, generally in the master bedroom, with guests on both sides. The direction of the seat is the respect of the East and the inferiority of the North.
Second, the holiday diet. New Year's Day is one of the most important festivals in the Han Dynasty, also known as "Zhengri", which refers to the first day of the first month. On this day, people drink pepper, cypress wine and peach soup. Peach soup is wine made from peaches, while pepper and cypress wine is wine made from herbs or cypress leaves. Royal nobles and officials at all levels should congratulate the emperor and then attend the banquet. The Cold Food Festival began at the end of the Western Han Dynasty, about one or two days before Tomb-Sweeping Day in the lunar calendar. On this day, "no food for five days", cooking and making fires are forbidden, and people eat cold food. The ninth day of the ninth lunar month is called the Double Ninth Festival. The main customs are drinking chrysanthemum wine, eating tent bait and enjoying dogwood. "Miscellanies of Xijing" records: "On September 9th, Pei Cornus ate bait and drank chrysanthemum wine, which made people live longer".
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It can be seen that as early as the Han Dynasty, people's diets had been diversified. And also derived various forms of food culture, which has a far-reaching impact on future generations.