Wang Xizhi is a famous calligrapher. His "Preface to the Lanting Collection" is known as "the best running script in the world".

But in addition to his achievements in calligraphy, Wang Xizhi also has an eternal masterpiece "Niu Xin Zhi".

Is Wang Xizhi delicious?

The book "Taiping Yulan" compiled by Taizong of the Northern Song Dynasty in the eighth year of Taiping and the eighth year of Xingguo quoted from "Book of Jin" as saying: "Wang Xizhi is good at cooking." Is Wang Xizhi really the delicious "Xianzhi"?

Let’s talk about Hu Yajie, a rich girl from Beijing who talks about “owl” and “owl”. The fifth issue of this magazine introduces that the new eight treasures that appeared in the early Southern Song Dynasty are: dragon liver, chicken marrow, rabbit fetus, carp tail, scarlet lips, bear paws, crispy cheese cicada, and roasted owl. Compared with the other seven treasures, "Xianzhi" does not seem to be difficult to obtain. How could it be among the “treasures”? "Owl" has appeared in "The Book of Songs". Truffle Pan Shui said: "Flying owls gather in Pan Lin. I eat mulberries and bear my good news." The owl was originally considered a bird with "unpleasant sounds", but because it ate mulberries, it was rewarded with a nice sound. Sound.

After "The Book of Songs", "Zhuangzi Qiwu Lun" said: "Plan ahead and you will see the bullet and ask for help. "Holding a slingshot, I thought of roasting owl meat to satirize those who feel good about themselves and calculate too much. The official appearance of the name "Xianzhi" may also prove that at the latest during the Warring States Period, "Xianzhi" was already a A very strong food, everyone is familiar with it, so it was used as a metaphor by Zhuangzi.

Later, in the "Book of Rites", "Ku Fat" was listed as unfit for consumption, explained Zheng Xuan, a scholar of the Han Dynasty. It is said that "fat" refers to the thin meat on the side of the flank, but it does not explain why it is not suitable for eating.

Mistaken "owl barbecue" for "owl soup"

Owls and owls are not birds at all, owl is just a bird with an evil voice. But Xu Shen, a philologist of the Han Dynasty, said: "It is unfilial for an owl to eat its mother. Therefore, it is unique to kill thin people during the winter solstice. Liu Zhou's "Shuowen Jiezi" of the Southern Dynasties further explained the fact that "owls eat their mothers": "There is a bird in Yanzhou, named Xiao. It takes a hundred days to accompany its son. When its wings grow, the mother flies away." And there is "The adopted son of an owl, the older the son is, the more he will be harmed". Therefore, the "owl" is an unfilial "evil bird" that must be hunted and eliminated at the appropriate time.

But in the section of "Liu Zi's Greed" in the late Tang Dynasty, it was said that "the ancients were still eager to exterminate their clans, not because of their taste." Confused with "歩". Whether "owl" and "owl" are birds has always been a controversial topic.

In the late Northern Song Dynasty, Lu You's grandfather Lu Dian distinguished between "Xiao" and "Xiao" in his book "Bei Hu Lu". Lu Dianzhi said: "Owls eat their mothers." Cloud: "Unfaithful birds". Therefore, it is time to catch the owl. From the bird's perspective, the head is on the wood. The ancient emperor used spring to solve the Yellow Emperor's temple. The Yellow Emperor was heartbroken, Let the best companies use it. So the descendants began to eliminate disasters at the age of 18, and ordered Handong County to send owls and make soup to Guan Bai on May 5th.

Lü Dian described the winter solstice as the summer solstice, quoting the sayings of the "ancients", and attributed the era of "hurting the hearts of others" to the Yellow Emperor, and "making the best use of everything" evolved into May 5th of the Han Dynasty "Owl soup" for officials. Making "owl soup" and serving it to officials was a warning against unfilial piety, and it became a common allusion among later generations of literati.

As for owls, Lu Dian said: "Owls are as big as turtledoves and green. Woe to the people." "Piya" says: "Owls are bad birds." "Shuowen" Yue: "The bad birds are Bad bird. Jia Yi's book "Jackal" is also. Its meat is very beautiful and can be used for soup and moxibustion. "So "Kangwu Zhengsu" says, "When you see eggs, look for time and night; when you see bullets, look for moxibustion." : "Flying owls gathered Pan Lin. I ate mulberries and I was pregnant with my good news. "It is said that after the owl ate mulberries, it became beautiful and had a nice voice, so that Kuang Deyi could ch

"Owl "It is the "owl", which makes an evil sound, so it is the culprit. Jia Yi wrote "Ode to the Owl" because he heard the voice of the owl. Lu Dian specifically pointed out that "its meat is beautiful" and can be roasted and eaten. You can make "soup" without adding vegetables. It seems that "Xianzhi" is a delicacy handed down from the Warring States Period! So "Owl Roast" and "Owl Roast Soup" are two completely different concepts: "Owl Roast" is the same thing. It is a delicious food, but if you receive the emperor's "Owl Grilled Soup", you will definitely feel uneasy!

"Mao Shi Cao Mu Shu" quoted "Zhuangzi" in his later works. They are all copied in this way. However, the word "Mo Mo" cannot be seen in the entire "Poetry", and the records in "Taiping Yulan" are obviously wrong.

Wang Xizhi became famous after tasting "Niu Xinzhi".

Wang Xizhi is not necessarily not good at "cooking", but in the late Southern Song Dynasty, Zhu Mu once said, "Wang Xizhi went to visit Zhou Kai when he was thirteen years old. When it's different, it's important; you should cut your lips before you sit down. Hence his fame. When Wang Xizhi was thirteen years old, he went to meet the famous Zhou Kai. Zhou Kai was very grateful and specially cut a piece of contemporary food "Beef Heart Juice" to reward him. Wang Xizhi became famous from then on. This story can be found in "Book of Jin". The original text is: "Xi youth, modest in speech and not surprising in people. In the thirteenth year, I tasted Zhou Wei. It is different from one thing to another."

Once the beef heart is hot, the guests will not be jealous; cut it first. So he became famous. ”

Wang Xizhi was born in the second year of Tai’an, the reign of Emperor Hui of Jin Dynasty. His zodiac sign is Pig. When he was thirteen years old, it was three years since the founding of Jin Dynasty by Emperor Wu of Jin and only fifty-one years until Cao Wei's death. Zhou Kai - 322) was born at the beginning of the Jin Dynasty. He was in a high position at the time, and Director Wang hated him deeply. However, Boren saved Director Wang many times without letting Director Wang know about it. Wang Dun wanted to kill Boren, but Director Wang had no objection, which made Wang Dun unscrupulous. Later, when Director Wang saw the file, he learned that Boren had helped him many times and was heartbroken. He said to his son: "Although I don't kill Boren, Boren will die by my side."

"Roasted beef heart" was the top delicacy at that time, as the following story can prove: Wang Ji, the son-in-law of Emperor Wu of Jin Dynasty , was a handsome man for a while, but lived a luxurious life. Emperor Wu of Jin once tasted a very delicious "steamed gizzard" at home, which turned out to be steamed with "human milk". Emperor Wu was very dissatisfied. Emperor Wu's uncle Wang Kai was also very extravagant. He kept a cow named "Eight Hundred Mile Barge" whose horns and hooves were often polished. Wang Ji challenged Wang Kai to an archery challenge and bet ten million dollars on Wang Kai's cow. Wang Kai thought he had superb shooting skills and asked Wang Ji to shoot first. Wang Ji was shot by an arrow. He immediately ordered a cow heart, ate it and left.

The "eight-hundred-mile barge" refers to a cow with complex colors that can travel eight hundred miles a day. At that time, cattle were the main driving force, and the faster the cattle were, the more valuable they were. Wang Ji bet 10 million yuan on "ox heart". As a result, he "urges left and right to explore and stir up trouble, and then left." Later generations will record this incident as "betting on cattle for roasting". One can imagine how precious "Niu Xin Zhi" was at that time. Wang Ji was Wang Hun's second son, but he died earlier than his father, only 46 years old. His generation was before Zhou Boren, and we have reason to believe that the "time is important" period in "Ancient and Modern Shiwen Leiju" included the Wei Dynasty.

The relationship between Wang Xizhi and "Niu Xinzhi" has become a story through the ages, so later generations often talk about "Niu Xinzhi" and "Niu Xinzhi's reputation in other eras".