Sichuan cuisine originated from the ancient countries of Ba and Shu. As Chengdu gradually became the political, economic and cultural center of Sichuan, Sichuan cuisine has developed greatly. Chengdu is located in the eastern basin and has a humid climate of mid-subtropical and north subtropical. Because it is located in the center of the basin, the climate is hot and humid, so most of the dishes use dehumidifying seasonings as auxiliary ingredients. Zanthoxylum bungeanum played an important role in spicy seasonings in ancient China. Historically, it was also known as Sichuan pepper, Han pepper, Ba pepper, Qin pepper, Sichuan pepper, etc. It was once very commonly grown and used in China. Studies have shown that before the Qing Dynasty, Zanthoxylum bungeanum was widely planted in the upper and middle lower reaches of the Yangtze River Basin and the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River Basin in China, and was widely planted in the east, middle and west of China. The distribution of this kind of Zanthoxylum bungeanum production can be mutually proved by the fact that Sichuan pepper was widely used in the national diet from the Han Dynasty to the Ming Dynasty. This common practice of using Sichuan pepper in folk cuisine obviously does not exist now, because except for Sichuan people, almost all modern Chinese people talk about "hemp". Historically, Sichuan was the most important producing area of ??Zanthoxylum bungeanum and was also the most commonly eaten. Research shows that on average, Sichuan peppercorns were added to a quarter of the food in ancient China. Compared with the proportion of Sichuan peppercorns in today’s Chinese recipes, this proportion is very large. From the Northern Wei Dynasty to the Ming Dynasty, the proportion of Zanthoxylum bungeanum used gradually increased, reaching a peak of two-fifths in the Tang Dynasty and one-third in the Ming Dynasty. In the Ming Dynasty, with the introduction of chili pepper, Zanthoxylum bungeanum was gradually replaced. The extensive use of chili peppers in the Qing Dynasty may have also usurped the share of Sichuan peppercorns in the diet. As a result, the numbing flavor of Sichuan peppercorns that was very popular across the country before the Qing Dynasty was gradually pushed to a corner of Sichuan, making Sichuan cuisine a pattern of both spicy and spicy. In the Central Plains, only Shandong and other places still have a certain tradition of eating hemp.

The Sichuan Basin has a spicy tradition for nearly 2,000 years. As early as 1,600 years ago, the "Huayang Guozhi" of the Jin Dynasty recorded that the Shu people "love spicy food". As the center of eating Sichuan peppercorns, Sichuan has been a place of peppercorns for more than 2,000 years. After Sichuan people accepted chili pepper, they integrated it into Sichuan cuisine and made full use of it. When it comes to the sophistication of eating spicy food, people from Hunan and Guizhou cannot compare. In terms of chili peppers, there are chili powder, chili oil, chili sauce, slag chili peppers, dried chili peppers, paste chili peppers, pickled chili peppers, glutinous rice cake chili peppers, etc. in Sichuan cuisine. Combining chili peppers with other condiments can produce red oil flavor, spicy flavor, hot and sour flavor, spicy paste flavor, tangerine peel flavor, fish flavor, strange flavor, homemade flavor, lychee flavor, soy sauce flavor, etc. The taste of spicy food is exquisite. It can be called world-class. Sichuan people pay attention to restraint and moderation when eating chili peppers. They fry them until fragrant or add sugar to restrain the spiciness and leave an aftertaste. As experts say, they are spicy but not dry, spicy enough to be layered, palatable, comfortable, and spicy. It has to have charm. As one of the four major cuisines, Sichuan cuisine may have the largest and longest influence in the world and the country. "Spicy or not, it depends on the hometown people." Spicy eating has become an important criterion for identifying Sichuan people.