The food, clothing, housing and transportation of the Gan people in the Tang Dynasty

Pursue high-end fashion, wear hats and love to eat Western Hu cakes 22 01:55 Source: Jiangnan Metropolis Daily

If you are an ancient person, you will be very lucky to live in the Tang Dynasty.

At that time, Chang'an was a world-class prosperous metropolis. "People sing and drink when they are young, and flowers dance in the spring of the Tang Dynasty." The writings of the cultural elite consciously reveal the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty. Countless poems describe the ups and downs of life in the Tang Dynasty and are full of fun.

Although the Jiangxi area at that time was far away from the political core area, it was also a relatively stable and prosperous area. Jiangxi people attach great importance to education, love reading, seek admission in science, and believe in Buddhism and Taoism. People's lives are as colorful as a kaleidoscope. The band of the Tang Dynasty sang in the song, "Chrysanthemums, ancient swords and wine are soaked in the noisy pavilions with coffee, foreigners worship the moon of the ancients in the Temple of the Sun, the prosperous Kaiyuan era is fascinating..."

Dream Back to the Tang Dynasty Heading towards Jiangxi, I brushed off the dust of thousands of years, dug out those difficult words from the pile of old papers, carefully rearranged them, and worked hard to combine them into vivid pictures.

Jiangxi people who pursue high-end fashion

In this year, the great poet Bai Juyi was 44 years old and had left the capital. He was demoted to Jiangxi for being the first to write a letter asking for the urgent arrest of Wu Yuanheng’s assassin. Sima of Zhouzhou (now Jiujiang). In his second year here, he wrote "Pipa Xing" which has been passed down through the ages. After all, Jiangzhou is different from the capital. The nobility, bureaucrats, and landlords here also wear silk and satin, but the number is limited. This is because of the limitations of local clothing production. Fortunately, Jiangzhou people will also follow the trend and use better clothing materials. They will all be purchased from overseas.

At this time, another famous poet Yuan Zhen stood leaning against the door, looking north at Chang'an. I remember when Yuan and Bai jumped over the Dragon Gate together and became close friends. After the separation, in addition to letters, he also sent rare clothing materials in Jiangxi to his friends. For this reason, Bai Juyi specially wrote a poem to thank his old friend. This poem called "Yuanjiu uses green silk cloth and white light" to describe the clothes like this: "Green silk cloth is light and the clothes are light. I cherish the capital and my hands are self-proclaimed. Poor friends are far away and work hard for you." I send you my sick wife to tailor for me. The hair on my hakama is as white as autumn, and the color of my shirt is as green as spring grass. It is better to miss each other than to meet each other.

What did people in Jiangxi wear at that time? Usually it is Shang, skirt, or trousers. Shang is also a skirt. In ancient times, there was not much difference between men's and women's clothing. The trousers were trousers, but they were quite different from today's trousers. The trousers had no front and rear crotch, only two trouser legs, similar to modern trousers. At that time, men's clothing was relatively simple. They wore futou, gauze hat, round-neck robe, and boots or shoes. There were no clear restrictions on the style. Women's clothing is more open and free, with hairpins on their heads and tight-fitting long skirts in various colors, mainly red. There is a saying in Bai Juyi's "Farewell Banquet at Jianglou" written by Bai Juyi in Jiangzhou: "Farewell music in the building urges us to leave and drink, under the lamp red skirts and green robes."

Jiangxi people, like other parts of the country, are also popular in wearing hats . "Taiping Guangji" once recorded the incident of officials in Xunyang County "taking off their clothes and abandoning their hats". Wearing a headscarf is also very common. "Taiping Guangji" tells a story. In the year of Wuzi, there was a severe drought, and the land was thousands of miles away. Long Changyi, a man from Luling, hoarded thousands of dendrobiums of rice and took the opportunity to sell it at a high price. Later, the price of rice dropped a bit, so Long Changyi wrote a prayer to pray to God for another month without rain, and went to Shengang Temple to pray in person. On the way home, Long Changyi sat in a pavilion to rest for a while. Suddenly, a black cloud came from behind the Shengang Temple, and then Long Changyi was shocked to death outside the pavilion. The government inspected Long Changyi's body, took off his turban, and found prayers in the bun.

Not satisfied with eating rice

As the main producing area of ??rice, the people of Jiangxi in the Tang Dynasty naturally ate rice mainly. But just like people today eating Western food, people in the Tang Dynasty would also try other flavors. What was popular in Jiangxi was "Hu Feng diet".

"Taiping Guangji" tells a strange story. During the Baoying period, a slave named Ah Liu of Longxing Temple in Raozhou (now Shangrao) came back from the dead. Hu Zaisheng made a living selling cakes, and he also sold cakes underground. "In addition, "Zhiyue Lu" records: "(Huaihai) Master Shenma was the waiter, and every time Tan Yue brought fast food, the master would open the lid. Master Ma picked up a piece of Hu cake and asked, "What is it? This happens every time for three years." It can be seen that Hu food is mainly popular in Jiangxi.

What is Hu Bing? This is a kind of pastry introduced from the Western Regions during the Han and Tang Dynasties. Like today's sesame cakes, there are vegetarian cakes, oil cakes, meat cakes, sesame cakes, etc. In addition, influenced by the Hu people, people in Jiangxi also eat flax rice.

In the third year of Wu Zetian's holy calendar (700), the imperial court ordered a ban on the slaughter of fish, crabs and shrimps. Cui Rong, a member of Fengge House, objected in a memorial, saying: "The states in the south of the Yangtze River depend on fish for their livelihood... Once it is banned, it will double the labor and disadvantages. The rich will not be reformed, and the poor will be embarrassed." This shows that fish, crabs and shrimps are important to Jiangxi. Human diet is very important. The south is rich in fish, and Wuchang fish, sea bass, crucian carp, etc. were famous economic fish at that time.

Bai Juyi once left evidence that in the 10th year of Yuanhe (815), the great poet found the boatman cooking fish on the ship where he was demoted to Jiangzhou. "There was a stove on the bow of the ship, and rice was cooked." "Red carp." Later, he wrote in Jiangzhou, "Hai Ri Rao shrimps and crabs... The tripod is tired of cooking turtles, and the plate is fishy and disgusting with braised seabass." At the same time, people in Jiangxi at that time had a rich ability to identify harmful aquatic products, such as "carp and fish, with stripes like tigers" and "undercooked, whoever eats them will die."

When it comes to eating game, in addition to fish, shrimp and other aquatic products, pigs, dogs, cattle, sheep, chickens, ducks, geese and even some wild animals are also eaten by Jiangxi people. For example, it is recorded that “there are ox-tailed civets in Hongzhou, and their meat is very delicious.” Ox-tailed civets are also called civets and are a treasure in game. "Taiping Guangji" records: Zhong Chuan, a native of Yuzhang, "is not engaged in agriculture, but is always good at hunting. Bears, deer and wild beasts will be harvested by anyone who encounters them."

Yan Zhenqing's grandson advocated brick houses

In the first year of Emperor Xianqing’s reign (656), “In the ninth month of the ninth month, there was a fire in Enzhou and Jizhou, and more than 200 houses in Canglin, Jiazhan, and houses were burned. In November, there was a fire in Raozhou.” Long live Wu Zetian and was granted the title of Yuan Dynasty In March of that year (696), another fire broke out in Fuzhou; in the fifth year of Kaiyuan of Xuanzong (717), "the fire spread to the two continents of Hongtan and burned down the county buildings. The county people saw the fire spirit flying in first, and the fire broke out immediately"; even more powerful It was July of the second year of Zhenyuan (786) of Emperor Dezong. “The fire in Hongzhou burned down the homes of thousands of people.”

The ancients were extremely respectful of fire. What is strange is that the area in Jiangxi in the Tang Dynasty Why do fires often occur?

This is actually potentially related to their homes. During the Sui, Tang and Five Dynasties, houses in Jiangxi were mainly grass and wood houses. Cutting bamboo to build houses is a characteristic of Jiangxi villages. When Yuan Zhen was demoted to Jingzhou, he wrote the poem "Thatched House". Although it is Chu vulgar, it is a description of the folk houses in Jiangxi (Jingchu) area. The construction materials of thatched cottages are mostly bamboo or thatch, which are very simple. They are mostly built along the waterfront and are low and narrow. During the drought season, it is easy to cause fires and spread quickly. In order to prevent fires, neighbors jointly patrol day and night.

The structure of a folk house generally has a hall, a room, a yard and a place for raising poultry. It was a trend in the Tang Dynasty for hermits and literati to build thatched cottages, which was most popular in Lushan in Jiangxi. This can be seen from some poems. Ma Dai's "Inscribed on Lushan Temple" said: "Baimao weaves thorns for the house, and several steps are stacked with stone." Bai Juyi's thatched cottage at the foot of Xianglu Peak in Lushan Mountain is very famous, and he wrote several "thatched cottage" poems for this purpose: "Five-frame" Three new thatched cottages, stone steps, cinnamon pillars and bamboo walls."

The fire disaster in Nanchang people's thatched cottages was not changed until a man named Wei Dan came. Wei Gong is actually quite famous, but his grandfather is even more famous, namely Yan Zhenqing, a legendary figure in the Tang Dynasty. It is said that Wei Dan's parents died when he was young, and he has been studying with his grandfather Yan Zhenqing. This Wei Danji was initially appointed as the magistrate of Anyuan County, but he asked his concubine brother to become an official on his behalf and went to Zige Mountain to study.

Later, Wei Dan served as the observer of Jiangnan West Road. He saw that the people in Nanchang mostly built their houses with thatch and bamboo rafters, which rotted over time and often turned into ashes. He was deeply concerned and recruited craftsmen. The people were taught how to burn bricks and make tiles to build houses, and the government funded the construction of a number of brick and tile houses, which were sold to the people at a low price or at a reduced price. How much the house prices are, Weidan sets the price based on the cost of manufacturing them, without seeking profit. People who have the ability to build tile houses receive timber and bricks from the government, and can be exempted from half of the tax, and the debt will be paid back slowly in the future. For those who fled and did not return, the government built houses for them; for those who were too poor to build houses, they were given money.

In a short period of time, Nanchang had 1,400 additional houses and more than 4,200 terraces, turning it into a metropolis in the south of the Yangtze River.

In addition, in the Tang Dynasty, the trend of building villas was popular among wealthy and prosperous families. Their layout was mainly small-space architectural structures, with exquisite layout, tranquility and elegance. There are also villa constructions in some areas of Jiangxi. "Taiping Guangji" records: "Zhang Yi, a citizen of Yichun County, lives in a villa with pavilions and water bamboos."

When traveling far away, there must be a banquet to say goodbye

Due to the influence of geographical environment, few people in the south kept horses and donkeys in ancient times. Strangely, it was quite common for people in Jiangxi to ride horses and control donkeys.

There are many stories in this regard in "Taiping Guangji". For example, "Hu's Son" in Volume 374 says that after the Hu family got unexpected wealth, they immediately "purchased servants and horses"; Volume 168 also says that a man named Xiong Zhiyi's scholars rode to Chang'an District to take the exam. These horses and donkeys used for traveling were not necessarily raised by the family. The horse and donkey rental industry was extremely prosperous at that time.

With rivers and lakes crisscrossing the country, boats are an important means of travel. In Jiangxi, those who have the conditions can bring their own boats, and it is very common for people to borrow them from each other. During the Tianbao period of the Tang Dynasty, a county captain named Cui went to Jizhou to take up his post. "He planned to rent a boat to leave. The servant said: There is a person from Jizhou named Sun who wants to return in Yun Kongzhou. The commission price is very cheap."

Although In the Tang Dynasty, road transportation and travel conditions were greatly improved compared to the previous dynasties, but it was still very difficult to travel far away, and "traveling not far away" was still a basic choice in people's lives. If you have to travel far away, the folk custom is to hold a family gathering and a banquet to say goodbye. The elders will advise you on the things you should pay attention to during the journey. You should also choose a good and auspicious day to offer sacrifices to the ancestors and gods and wish them a safe journey. Folk customs believe that May is an unlucky month and one should not travel. In addition, if you want to cross Guanjin on a long journey, you must carry a public document with you to prove your identity, status, and reason for traveling. Otherwise, you are likely to be regarded as a fugitive or exile and arrested by the government. These customs of traveling far away are of course also popular in Jiangxi.

(Note: The historical materials involved in the article come from "General History of Jiangxi·Sui, Tang and Five Dynasties Volume" written by Chen Jinfeng)