In fact, this is not difficult to explain. If you look at the bowl first, you will understand the three points.

Most of the bowls used by Shaanxi people are "cloth bowls", which are made of yellow adobe and range in diameter from three to more than ten inches. This kind of "cloth bowl" has a simple firing process, and is mainly made of coarse porcelain. The surface is glazed, mostly black or yellow or green, with blue patterns painted on it, with the meanings of "wealth and good luck", "peonies blooming" and "luck luck". Patterns and words such as "Jin Bao" imply a good harvest and hope for a good year. The clay is made of loess, so the color of the fired bowl often loses its original color, and it becomes black but not black, yellow but not yellow, green but not green, and blue with gray in it.

The loess contains a lot of sand and is not fine enough. In order to be strong and durable, the bowl made has thick walls and a deep mouth. Fired using a simple process, a finished large bowl often weighs two to three kilograms, so one of the eight strange things in Shaanxi is "inseparable from the bowl and the basin".

In addition to private kilns firing such large bowls, there are a number of Yaozhou kilns located in Chenlu Ancient Town, Yaozhou District, Tongchuan City. As early as the Tang Dynasty, they were the official kilns of Gyeonggi in Chang'an, the capital city. The old bowls made here are "all of the right size and shape. When struck, the sound is like a clang; when viewed from the perspective of the color, it is as warm as a bell."

Shaanxi people often like to gather together to form an "old bowl party" when eating.

In summer, they will be in a spacious, ventilated and cool place with dense leaves. In cold weather, they will gather at the base of a warm wall facing the sun. A family or a production team will gather together, choose a position or squat down, or put Cloth shoes and straw hats are placed under the buttocks. Over time, a grinding plate or a mill will be placed around the gathering place, and they will discuss farm matters while preparing meals.

First I was poor, then I got used to it.

Because I was poor and had little food, squatting could squeeze my stomach from bottom to top. In this way, I would feel full sooner after eating food. When you are poor, there are few vegetables to eat. A bowl of burning noodles with some spicy food will make you happy, so there is no need to sit around the table and pick vegetables to eat.

After squatting for a long time, you will gradually get used to squatting. If you squat like this, you will become a different person if you don’t squat!

Therefore, it has become a custom to sit down and squat when there is a stool.

Of course, now that Shaanxi is rich, it is hard to see people squatting and eating. With a table full of delicious food, who would be willing to give up and squat there alone with a bowl?

I’m not from Xi’an. This should be the case in many places in the northwest region. Basically, this phenomenon is more common in rural areas. Northwest people eat pasta as their staple food, mixed with vegetables, so it is convenient to carry it around. In the earliest days in rural areas, people carried rice out of the gate when eating (many people did not have gates at that time, so they chatted and exchanged information while eating, for convenience Squat on the spot, sometimes with your heels on the rocks, and over time the habit has been passed down. It is not that there is no bench, but it is more troublesome to bring a small bench. This is also in line with the generous and informal character of the people in Shaanxi. One of them is not sitting up while eating, and "Qi" is a dialect, which means squatting. Nowadays, some people still eat squatting to express this habit naturally, and sometimes it is a deliberate gesture, such as when we go out to ride a motorcycle. When a friend came, we treated him to some noodles and deliberately ate them while squatting on the bench to demonstrate this weird behavior. Modern people may find it a bit unsightly and weird, but the reason is actually that simple.

My family is from Xianyang, and I am now in Xi'an. I also lived in a rural area when I was a child. It is true that villagers at that time liked to squat outside when eating. I personally think the reason is not complicated, and it is easy to understand from a modern perspective. 5 points below.

1. Eating a bowl of noodles is very fast. For example, it is not so slow to eat a bowl of noodles with a ready-made bowl of noodles. For an adult man, eating only takes a few minutes, which is faster than squatting. People at that time were generally thin, so squatting was very easy for many stars on the set or in the working environment. There is no table or stool, so I choose to eat while squatting. You can see that this beautiful woman can do it easily even in high heels.

2. Since they are all about eating pasta, they can fit themselves in one bowl. You have to eat everything, so you can walk around with the bowl in hand.

3. Just eat together.

Nowadays, it is very common to have dinner together at the company. At that time, there were even fewer leisure and entertainment options. There was no TV or mobile phone, so eating was more boring than it is now. In my own home, there were seniors and juniors, and there was nothing suitable. People who like to chat, so they like to find buddies and friends to eat together.

Just like in the company now, if your department is full of colleagues with very different ages, when having lunch, they may find people of similar age in other departments to work together.

4. There is a lack of public dining space, but it is convenient to go out and everyone lives close by. Now the company has a canteen or various restaurants under the office building, so that you can have space to eat together with people from other departments. But if you are at home, it is not particularly convenient to go to other people's homes or have others come to your home. At that time, everyone lived on the first floor, so it was very convenient to go out. All your good friends were already there. It doesn't seem difficult to understand that you choose to go out with a bowl to eat and chat with your good friends.

5. The bowl is very heavy. Shaanxi's old bowl noodles are very heavy, and there is also a saying among the Eight Oddities that bowls and basins cannot be separated. So at this time you are holding a huge bowl and chatting with your buddy on the village street. Squat down and put your hands on your thighs to save effort.

So in summary, the scene is roughly like this: Your company is a bungalow, with all departments on the first floor. Your department only has elderly uncles and aunts, and your good friends are all in other departments. There is no collective canteen, and the restaurant at the door has no tables and stools. During lunch time, they were already holding bowls at the door and chatting about the latest big gossip in the company. At this time, you were also holding an old bowl. There is no wifi in the company and you are not allowed to use mobile phones. You walked out of the door naturally, feeling that the old bowl was very heavy and there were no tables or chairs on the street. After your hands were sore, you squatted down and blended in.

If after all I have said, you still feel that no matter what the circumstances, you will not squat down to eat, then there is no need to worry about it, because you can still sit even if there is no table or stool. Eat on the ground.

You see, just like my husband.

Because it is a lifestyle habit. In Shaanxi, people like to hold bowls and chat with their neighbors at the door of the house when eating. There are not many tables and stools, so they sit or squat, all over the world. Parents chat for a short time, and squatting makes everyone closer. Over time, it becomes A unique custom!

We don’t call it squatting, we call it squatting

Wei Dian, my family is from Lantian, and I am now in Xi’an. I also lived in a village when I was a child. It is true that villagers at that time liked to squat outside when eating. I personally think the reason is not complicated, and it is easy to understand from a modern perspective. The main ones are the following 5 points.

1. It’s very fast to finish a bowl of noodles. Regarding things like squatting your legs to make them numb, eating a bowl of noodles is not that slow. Holding a ready-made bowl of noodles and eating directly, it only takes a few minutes for an adult man, which is faster than squatting on a large scale. People at that time were generally thin, so squatting was very simple. Many celebrities often choose to squat and eat because there is no table or stool on the set or in the working environment. You see, beauty Zhang can easily do it wearing high heels.

2. Pasta is easy to move. Since I eat pasta, I can fit everything I want to eat in one bowl, so I can move around with the bowl in hand.

3. Just eat together. Nowadays, it is very common to have meals together in the company. At that time, leisure and entertainment methods were even more scarce. There was no TV or mobile phone, so eating was more boring than it is now. In my own home, there were seniors and juniors, and there was nothing suitable. People who are chatty like to eat with their buddies and friends.

Just like in the company now, if your department is all colleagues with a big age difference, during lunch, you may find people of similar age in other departments to work together.

4. There is not enough space for dinner appointments with the public, but it is convenient to go out and we live close by. Now the company has a canteen or various restaurants under the office building, so that you can have space to eat together with people from other departments. But if you are at home, it is not particularly convenient to go to other people’s homes or have others come to yours. At that time, we all lived on the first floor, so it was very convenient to go out. All your good friends were already here. At this time, you choose to go out with a bowl to eat and chat with your good friends. It seems not difficult to understand.

5. The bowl is very heavy. Shaanxi's old bowl noodles are very heavy, and there is also a saying among the Eight Oddities that bowls and basins cannot be separated.

So at this time you are holding a huge bowl and chatting with your friends on the streets of the village. Squat down and put your hands on your thighs, which saves effort.

Friends who want to understand and learn authentic Shaanxi snacks and pasta can pay attention to Weidian catering and food culture. I come from Xi'an Weidian Shaanxi snack training and will publish some cooking techniques or introductions to traditional Shaanxi snacks from time to time. Interested friends can contact Xi'an Weidian Xueshang by private message. I have written many articles before introducing various snack technologies, recipes, equipment, culture, and history!

I’ve been there; people there can’t eat while standing or sitting, and eat more while squatting

Why do people in Xi’an like to squat when eating noodles? You understand this

When you are poor, you squat to eat, and sometimes you bring food with you and eat on the roadside, even in the working space, eating in the middle of the busy life, and there is no more leisure time to enjoy life. , the habit becomes natural, and there has been a phenomenon of eating while squatting.

Also, due to economic constraints, it is not common to have high tables and low benches, right? In today's society, if we deliberately say "Xi'an people like to squat when eating noodles", it is more of a joke and a gimmick.

For example, in some comics and live video broadcasts, the width and length of the belt exceed people’s imagination. Moreover, squatting on the bench and holding a Laohai bowl as big as a pot, the real Is your family life like that?

Of course, there are some restaurants that have big bowls but nothing in their belly. They are not pursuing the hype effect, but seeking to bring more profits by attracting attention, so why bother?