At the end of the Spring and Autumn Period, wuyue fought for hegemony and Yue was defeated. Gou Jian, King of Yue, dedicated the beautiful scenery of Zhuji to Fu Cha, King of Wu. In order to please Shi, Fu Cha built Guanwa Palace and Gusutai on the top of Lingyan Mountain. "It takes three years to gather materials, and five years to become useful". During these three to five years, timber was transported along the river, and even the river port at the foot of the mountain was blocked. Over time, the village at the foot of the mountain was named "Mudu".
Fu Cha revolves around beautiful women every day, building buildings and singing and dancing, while Gou Jian is training in the dark. "It's never too late for a gentleman to take revenge." Until the hard-working Goujian dispatch troops cut Wu, Wu was unable to resist. Guanwa Palace was set on fire by vengeful soldiers from the state of Yue. Shi's whereabouts are unknown, but his name is at the foot of Mudu Mountain in history.
During the Three Kingdoms period, Mudu was an important town in Dongwu. In the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Sikonglu built a house in the former site of Guanwa Palace, and in his later years, he built the house into a temple, making Mudu a Buddhist resort. After the Ming Dynasty, Mudu became the busiest commercial port in Wuzhong because it was the gateway to Taihu Lake. Xu Yang, a court painter in Qing Dynasty, painted a picture of life in Gusu, Gan Long. In this long scroll of12m, Mudu occupied half of the prosperity. As can be seen from this picture similar to The Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival, there are groceries from Hangzhou people, official salt from Yangzhou people, silks and satins from Suzhou people, local products from Dongting people, and private gardens of scholars in Mudu ancient town in the heyday of Qing Dynasty. These rows of shops, elegant gardens, quaint stone bridges and unique scenery can now be carefully searched from the ancient town.
It is not without reason that Kangxi visited the south three times and went to the south of the Yangtze River six times, and each time he was partial to Mudu.
Yin Hong Fang Shan
In the spring of the sixteenth year of Qianlong, Qianlong made his first southern tour. The dragon boat crossed the canal, turned into Xiangxi, which is famous for its stone bath, and anchored at Mudu River Port. Yin Hongshan's house first caught the attention of the emperor.
In the Qing Dynasty, Yin Hong Mountain Residence was already a famous garden in the south of the Yangtze River. In the Ming Dynasty, it was connected by Xiuye Garden and Xiaoyin Garden, and the space was spacious. It has both the elegance of literati gardens in the south of the Yangtze River and the atmosphere of royal gardens in the north. It is far more beautiful than other gardens. Qianlong fell in love with it at once. After five trips to the south of the Yangtze River, Yin Hong Mountain Residence is a must-see.
Qianlong Palace is located in the former site of Tingwa Palace in Lingyan Mountain, and Yin Hong Mountain House is the place where courtiers and ci ministers live. The famous Liu Yong stayed in Yin Hong Mountain House twice and sang with his teacher Xu Shiyuan.
Xu Shiyuan was the last scholar. He doesn't seek fame and loves reading. He is very filial to his parents. He specially set up a stage in the garden and invited the troupe to sing at home on holidays. Emperor Qianlong visited Hongyin Mountain House and went to the theatre specially. Folklore, once saw the rise, this Qing emperor, who likes to dance with words and ink, came to the stage to dance with swords.
There is a dragon chair in the greenhouse of Yin Hong Mountain House with nine golden dragons hovering above it, which is made of Millennium rosewood. It is said to be a special seat for Kangxi's southern tour of Lingyan Mountain. Royal things naturally use exquisite materials. When Qianlong visited Mudu, he also had a preference for this chair. In order to see the play, he specially moved to Yin Hongshan's house. It's an honor for the Xu family. However, Xu Shiyuan was very afraid. He had to thank the son of heaven for his kindness and was afraid of being dragged down by improper guardianship. Later, he simply locked it in the living room and sent four servants to watch it day and night.
People are tired of things, which I'm afraid Qianlong didn't think of. Just like the imperial edict of Mudu in these private gardens, almost every household has it, which is also a family honor. But if it is not properly kept, it will be eaten by squid, and it will be incomplete. If it is light, it will be punished for six months, and if it is heavy, it will be taken off. If the family is unlucky, the black sheep are born, and the pawn is stolen, then they will be put into the prison of the punishment department and run away.
The emperor's favor is actually a double-edged sword, that is, what the people say is "to accompany the king like a tiger." You can show off, but you may get hurt at any time. Such examples are common in history.
Emperor Qianlong of Qing Dynasty (that is, Emperor Gaozong Li Hong) reigned for 60 years, not only in Qianlong 16th year (175 1), Qianlong 22nd year (1757), Qianlong 26th year (1762) and Qianlong 30th year (/kloc). In his book "Southern Tour of Imperial System", he said: "If you serve in the imperial system for 50 years, there will be two major events, one is the Western Division, and the other is the southern tour." Why did Emperor Qianlong go back to the north and south in such a hurry and went to Jiangnan for six times in a row? Some people say that Emperor Qianlong "envied Jiangnan and took advantage of the situation to make a southern tour", some people said that he "found out the truth of his birth" and some people said that he "hoped that the southern tour would solve social problems". So far, there are different opinions.
The latest statement is the "Huizhou Cuisine Theory" we introduced here, that is, after Emperor Qianlong went to Jiangnan, he made many trips to Jiangnan, in fact, in order to visit Yangzhou and other places again and taste Huizhou cuisine and other banquet dishes provided by Jiang Chun. Jiangnan cuisine such as "Anhui Cuisine" at the "Jiang Chun Anhui Cuisine Invitational Banquet" is unheard of not only in his life, but even after listening to it, it is unheard of or unseen, which greatly satisfies his curiosity and never forgets it. After returning to Beijing, I recalled and relished the Huizhou cuisine of Jiang Chun, a rich man in the south of the Yangtze River. I tried to get the chef to cook it several times, but it was always difficult to do so, and I could never make that taste. Therefore, we have to go to Jiangnan again and again and see Jiang Chun again, so that we can get a taste and get rid of our desire. As the saying goes, "Food is the most important thing for the people" and "eating" is the most important thing in the world.
At the same time, Emperor Qianlong visited the south of the Yangtze River six times because he took his team of chefs again and again, in order to learn the cooking skills of Anhui cuisine at reception banquets in Jiang Chun, and to purchase relevant raw materials of Anhui cuisine and bring them back to the palace for trial. However, it's no use, so we have to let them accompany us to study again and again until we are completely disappointed.
Among the above statements, only the "delicious temptation" in this sentence is the strongest reason why Emperor Qianlong visited Jiangnan six times. Other statements can only be explained as the reason for "going to the south of the Yangtze River", but not as the reason for his six consecutive trips to the south of the Yangtze River.
Therefore, we can even make a hypothesis that "Jiang Chun's Huizhou cuisine served as a banquet" made a great contribution to the health and longevity of Emperor Qianlong, who finally lived to 89 years old, the longest life span among more than 200 emperors in China history.
Jiang Chun (1720 ─ 1789) was born in Jiangcun, Shexian County, Anhui Province. The famous Huizhou merchants who lived in Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province in the Qing Dynasty had the most developed salt industry, ranking first among the "Eight General Merchants of the Huaihe River and Huaihe River" during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty. Because of its miracle of "building a white pagoda with salt overnight, Anhui cuisine will take over the task", it is known as "the best Huizhou merchant in the world". According to Yangzhou Yuanzhou, Jiang Chun was the chief businessman for forty years, and Meng Qianlong successively awarded the titles of "Chen Yuan Imperial Palace" and "Minister of Interior Affairs" and recommended one of them. He also sent a peacock feather, which was the only branch of salt merchants at that time. At that time, it was said that Jiang Chun "gave the cloth to the emperor" and "all the nobles were proud of it".
Emperor Qianlong visited the south of the Yangtze River six times, and all the materials were provided and the reception was planned, which was called "Jiang". Emperor Qianlong once played a message of symmetry with Jiang Chun in Jinshan Palace, and personally untied the royal lotus bag, giving enough face and being promoted to the rank of Qing Dynasty. He visited Jiang Chun's villa "Kangshan Caotang" twice, gave him precious jade and antiques, inscribed with a plaque of "Yixingtang", and praised Jiang Chun's miracle of "building a white tower with salt in one night" with "the rich wealth of salt merchants".
Although Jiang Chun, a big businessman in Huizhou, has been living and struggling in the atmosphere of "Huizhou Colony" he deliberately created: he lived in villas and private gardens with Huizhou characteristics, ate Huizhou cuisine cooked by a team of chefs and main raw materials brought from his hometown of Huizhou, played his own Huizhou opera classes such as "Deyin Class" and "Chuntai Class", and even had ordinary life conversations, because of the villagers' settlement, two things deserve special mention. One is Jiang Chunjia's Spring Opera Troupe. In the fifty-fifth year of Qianlong (1790), Jiang Chunjia went to Beijing with Sanqing Class, Sixi Class and Hechun Class to perform for Qianlong's 80th birthday, and performed the famous "Four Classes from Huizhou went to Beijing, which gave birth to Peking Opera". The other is that Jiang Chun took over the banquet, which was carefully cooked by his family chef team according to Jiang Chun's design.
Why can "Buyi Jiang Chun" attend every pick-up and get the approval and praise of Emperor Qianlong? The beauty is that what Jiang Chun offers is exactly what local officials lack, which Emperor Qianlong has never tasted. Jiang Chun played the "special" card.
So, what are these mysterious comprehensive recipes of "Jiang Chun Hui Cuisine Invitational Banquet"? The results show that they are:
Tea products: the traditional tea products of Huizhou Xigezi tea, which has become a masterpiece of Anhui intangible cultural heritage, show its customs and habits, including Huizhou traditional famous teas, such as Shi Ding Crisp, Cunjin Sugar, Poria Bunge, Cross Piece, Huizhou spiced tea eggs, etc.
Breakfast: "Stewed Bird's Nest with Rock Sugar".
Drinks: Huangshan Mao Feng, Huizhou Caoxi, etc.
Fruits: Shexian Santan loquat, yi county Liren Torreya grandis, etc.
Cuisine: Xiang Tuo Huizhou Lingshan Gong Mi fragrant rice, etc.
Tribute: Huizhou Four Treasures of the Study, Huizhou Gongju, etc.
Dishes: Jixi Yipin Pot, Gold, Silver and White Jade Plate, Red-billed Green Ying Ge, Thunderbolt, Stewed Tofu with Fish Head, Soft-hoofed Turtle, Civet in Snow Area, Spicy Bamboo Shoots, Roasted Tofu with Fat Chicken, Huizhou Wonton Duck, Shredded Vegetable Tofu, Huizhou Sufu, Zi Yuan Soup, etc.
"Six southern tours, he sleepwalked in the past", this is a poem written by Emperor Qianlong after six southern tours. From then on, "Emperor Qianlong went down to the south of the Yangtze River" became the swan song of China's romantic history; Since then, Jiang Chun, who has created the miracle of "building a white pagoda with salt overnight and Anhui cuisine taking over as emperor Qianlong", has also become the "best Huizhou merchant" in the history of Huizhou merchants; The "Jiang Chun Invitation Banquet" designed by Jiang Chun has been thoroughly remoulded in the "Huizhou Merchants Guild Hall" and has become one of the temptations for senior officials, white-collar workers, gourmets and all sentient beings to enter the "Huizhou Merchants Guild Hall".
Emperor Qianlong of Qing Dynasty (that is, Emperor Gaozong Li Hong) reigned for 60 years, not only in Qianlong 16th year (175 1), Qianlong 22nd year (1757), Qianlong 26th year (1762) and Qianlong 30th year (/kloc). In his book "Southern Tour of Imperial System", he said: "If you serve in the imperial system for 50 years, there will be two major events, one is the Western Division, and the other is the southern tour." Why did Emperor Qianlong go back to the north and south in such a hurry and went to Jiangnan for six times in a row? Some people say that Emperor Qianlong "envied Jiangnan and took advantage of the situation to make a southern tour", some people said that he "found out the truth of his birth" and some people said that he "hoped that the southern tour would solve social problems". So far, there are different opinions.
The latest statement is the "Huizhou Cuisine Theory" we introduced here, that is, after Emperor Qianlong went to Jiangnan, he made many trips to Jiangnan, in fact, in order to visit Yangzhou and other places again and taste Huizhou cuisine and other banquet dishes provided by Jiang Chun. Jiangnan cuisine such as "Anhui Cuisine" at the "Jiang Chun Anhui Cuisine Invitational Banquet" is unheard of not only in his life, but even after listening to it, it is unheard of or unseen, which greatly satisfies his curiosity and never forgets it. After returning to Beijing, I recalled and relished the Huizhou cuisine of Jiang Chun, a rich man in the south of the Yangtze River. I tried to get the chef to cook it several times, but it was always difficult to do so, and I could never make that taste. Therefore, we have to go to Jiangnan again and again and see Jiang Chun again, so that we can get a taste and get rid of our desire. As the saying goes, "Food is the most important thing for the people" and "eating" is the most important thing in the world.