The Qin and Han Dynasties were a magnificent era. The vast territory, numerous ethnic groups, and differences in natural environments determined the basic structure of food and the differences in eating habits in different regions. Below is an introduction to the Qin and Han food customs compiled by the editor of Baidu.com. I hope it can help you.

Food Customs of the Qin and Han Dynasties

Due to differences in social status and economic status, the meal preparations and dietary levels of various social strata during the Qin and Han Dynasties were very different. People in Qin and Han Dynasties had two or three meals a day. Chao Cuo said, "If you don't eat for a day, you will be hungry." It can be seen that the prevailing meal system in society at that time was still two meals a day, eating in the morning and evening. However, the upper class was not limited to two meals a day. For example, King Li of Huainan was convicted and moved to Shu. Emperor Wen ordered that various places still treat him as a prince and king, with "three meals" a day. With the increase in grain production, people's food ration standards have also improved, and the two-meal system has gradually transitioned to a three-meal system. Zheng Xuan of the Eastern Han Dynasty once said, "Eat at three times of the day, morning, evening, and noon." Even at noon, you have to eat. Banquet activities were an important phenomenon in the food culture of the Qin and Han Dynasties. They involved many aspects of social life such as festivals, weddings, childbirth, visits by relatives and friends, farewells, and funerals, and became an important link between interpersonal relationships. Regardless of the banquet activities in the palace or among the people, certain etiquette and customs must be followed. At a banquet, the host and guests sit in a certain order. If there is only one guest, the host and the guest sit across from each other. Husband and wife also sit opposite each other during family banquets. If there are many guests, the host is usually in the middle and the guests sit in two rows. The ranking of guests is divided into honor and inferiority. Generally speaking, the seats in the hall or in single rows are the upper seats, the seats under the hall are the lower seats, the seats facing east are the honor seats, and the seats facing the north are the humble seats. Wine is an indispensable drink in banquets, and people often use wine to cheer up. At that time, people drank very generously and liked to drink it all in one gulp. Because drinking alcohol is a sign of respect for the host or guests, getting drunk at banquets is common. Toasting birthdays was called "Weishou" in the Han Dynasty. It is a relic of the social etiquette in the banquet activities in the pre-Qin Dynasty. The longevity is not limited to the younger generation to the elder, the host and the guests attending the banquet can "longevity" each other. In addition to wishing the other person a long life, longevity speech mostly involves praising the other person's character and ability. There are often some entertainment activities during banquets. In addition to Kabuki performances, there are also impromptu singing and dancing by banquet participants. This is mainly reflected in the "dance to belong to each other" that appears at the climax of the banquet, that is, the host dances first, then finishes dancing, and then "Belong" (instruct) one guest to dance; after the guest dances, he will dance to another guest, and so on. All guests are required to participate in the dance. Anyone who does not dance or dances in a non-conforming manner is considered disrespectful to others. One thing that can be mentioned in particular is that at that time, women could have banquets with men in public places, and they could also be invited to other people's homes to have banquets with men. This is indeed unimaginable after Chinese society became conservative and had strict etiquette and customs.

It should be pointed out that many dietary customs in the Qin and Han Dynasties were more the privileges of the upper class, and the general public basically had no connection with them. When the people are in a low-level diet and the dignitaries are enjoying the delicacies of the world, the most basic survival needs are what the people urgently desire. The upper class created ancient China's rich food culture, but this does not mean that ordinary people had enough food and clothing.

Food production and utensils in the Qin and Han regions

1. Diet utensils

"Food is not as good as beautiful utensils" was written by Yuan Mei of the Qing Dynasty in "Suiyuan Food List" An old saying quoted. During the Qin and Han Dynasties, there were many types of eating utensils in various shapes. From serving utensils to drinking utensils, from eating utensils to tables, almost everything is available. Based on a comprehensive review of documentary records and archaeological data, it can be said that the combination model of modern Chinese tableware has taken shape in the Qin and Han Dynasties. Serving tableware is an important part of tableware, and the types are the most abundant. They mainly include tripods, pots, pots, jars, pots, bottles, bells, statues, plates, boxes, etc. During the Qin and Han Dynasties, the tripod was still used as a ritual vessel in sacrifices, ceremonies and other ceremonies, but it also began to be used as an ordinary eating utensil, and was mainly popular among the upper-class aristocratic and bureaucratic societies. Utensils such as pots and basins can not only be used as containers, but also as tableware. Pots and bottles are vessels for holding wine pulp. A bell is also a vessel for holding wine. The difference from a pot is that a bell is not only a wine vessel, but also a measuring vessel. Zun is an important wine-holding vessel handed down from the pre-Qin period. It is mainly used when offering sacrifices and entertaining guests. Kui is the utensil used for serving soup. Bowl, also known as bowl, is the predecessor of bowl and is used for serving rice or soup. Food utensils for eating mainly include chopsticks, daggers, spoons, ladles, etc. Chops and daggers were important eating utensils in the Han Dynasty and were usually mentioned together. The "chopsticks" used today were mostly thick at the top and thin at the bottom, and were mostly made of bamboo or wood. The dagger has the functions of cutting and picking food. Due to the need to take soup from the food container, the flat dagger gradually evolved into a spoon with a deeper concavity. The spoon unearthed from Han tombs actually has the prototype of the current "spoon". Drinking tableware mainly includes bottles, bottles, cups, etc. The 卮 is a round drinking vessel, while the bottle is slightly smaller and has a lid. Cups, also known as ear cups, are not only used as wine vessels, but are also often used as tableware to hold food. During the Qin and Han Dynasties, people followed the pre-Qin custom of eating separately. Because people at that time sat on the floor, the tables for placing food were very low, and heavy and large utensils were placed on the ground outside the tables, so the communal eating system was obviously very inconvenient. Many of the murals and portrait stones in Han tombs reflect the banquet habits of people at that time sitting on the floor, one person per table.

2. Food preparation

During the Qin and Han Dynasties, there were many ways to prepare staple foods. The main staple food types included rice, cakes, bait, and porridge. Desserts also appeared.

The staple food preparation method handed down from the pre-Qin period is to add water to boil corn, wheat grains, and rice after removing the bran. It was still widely used in the Qin and Han Dynasties. In the concept of Han Dynasty people, "rice" and "food" are closely related. Liang rice cooked with fine millet was more common in cities during the Han Dynasty, while wheat rice was the staple food of the lower class people in the north. When eating rice, often pour vegetable soup on the rice. If the condition is poor, salt, vinegar and other condiments should also be added. Since the Qin and Han Dynasties, the improvement in food processing methods is mainly reflected in the transition from grain food to pasta. With the widespread use of mills, grinding flour became easier and easier, and the variety of pasta also increased. People refer to food made from gluten-removed wheat flour kneaded and steamed with water as cakes, and food made from rice flour and water kneaded and steamed is called bait. By the Eastern Han Dynasty, the types of cakes had increased significantly, including Hu cakes, soup cakes, steamed cakes, etc. According to literature records, Hu cakes may have been introduced to the Central Plains from the Western Regions. They are low on all sides and bulging in the middle, like a turtle shell, with sesame seeds on them, similar to today's sesame cakes. Steamed pasta is called steamed cakes, and boiled pasta is called soup cakes. As for soup cakes, some scholars believe that they are noodles or noodles based on literature. In addition, porridge was also a common staple food at that time. Millet, wheat, rice, and beans can all be used to make porridge. Depending on the concentration and ingredients of the porridge, it is also called mince, porridge, or soup. Compared with staple food, dishes can better reflect the style of Chinese food life. During the Qin and Han Dynasties, the main cooking methods for meat included broiling, boiling, decoction, curing, and preserved meat. Roasting, that is, grilling, was one of the main methods of cooking meat in the Han Dynasty. To cook, put the meat in a vessel such as a cauldron and cook it. The methods of decoction and dry decoction are similar to boiling. The difference is that in the former, the juice is boiled until the juice dries up, while in the latter, the soup must be retained. Waxing means dismembering animals and then air-drying them to make them easier to preserve. When they are ready to be eaten, they are cooked. To make preserved meat, first cut the meat into pieces, simmer with ginger, pepper, salt, black bean and other seasonings, cook it, and then dry it in the sun. Raw food was also called "荍" in the Han Dynasty. The method of eating fish is often used to cut it into thin strips, and the eating method is similar to today's sashimi. Vegetables are prepared similarly to meat. It can be said that in addition to stir-frying, traditional Chinese cooking methods have appeared in the Qin and Han Dynasties. What needs to be mentioned is the invention of tofu. It is said that tofu was invented by Liu An, King of Huainan, but the evidence is not very sufficient. The portrait stone tofu production workshop diagram unearthed from the Huting Han Tomb in Xinmita, Henan Province proves that tofu and soy products were already produced in the Han Dynasty. Tofu, a popular food with rich nutrition and unique flavor, is still loved by Chinese people today.

The diet structure of Qin and Han dynasties

In ancient China, agriculture was the foundation of the country, and agricultural products became the main food in agricultural areas. The ancients used to refer to edible agricultural products as "grains", but there has always been controversy over the specific meaning of grains. The main food crops "grains" during the Qin and Han Dynasties included millet, broomcorn millet, wheat, bean sprouts, and rice. Millet was the main food crop in the northern region during the Qin and Han Dynasties, also known as grass, which is commonly known as millet today. Millet is what people today call yellow rice. Ji is millet, and after the shell is removed, it is called millet. Before the Spring and Autumn Period, "millet" was the most important food crop. However, after the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, its status began to decline and its planting area decreased. It was mainly planted in the northwest region. Wheat crops are mainly distributed in the Yellow River Basin, and types include barley, wheat, etc. Depending on their planting time, there are also differences between spring wheat and winter wheat. The Western Han Dynasty was a period when wheat crops, especially winter wheat cultivation, were promoted. Shui is the general name for beans. It has been one of the main grains in the northern region since the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. There are varieties such as soybeans, adzuki beans, and peas. In the Han Dynasty, the consumption of beans was no longer as good as before, and the proportion of beans planted in the Yellow River Basin also decreased. Rice mainly grows in the area south of the Huaihe River, and there are many varieties. The three major varieties of rice, indica, japonica, and glutinous rice, have existed since the Han Dynasty. During the Qin and Han Dynasties, due to climate factors and the construction of water conservancy facilities, the planting area of ??rice in the northern region expanded. Due to the differences in natural conditions and crop planting conditions in various regions, the characteristics of staple foods in each region gradually emerge. During the Han Dynasty, people in the north ate millet and wheat as their staple food, while people in the south ate rice as their staple food. This was how the biggest difference in diet between the north and the south of China was established. At that time, the vegetables that people consumed were mainly divided into two categories: artificial cultivation and wild collection. Many vegetables that can be seen today, such as leeks, mustard greens, onions, garlic, melons, gourds, bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, etc., were already available at that time. For the needs of the palace's diet, the Han Dynasty even had greenhouses similar to today's to cultivate some off-season vegetables. Livestock and poultry, the most commonly eaten at that time were pigs and chickens. As for aquatic products, the quantity and variety consumed by residents near waters are much higher than those in other areas. The aquatic products consumed in the Mainland are mainly freshwater products, such as fish, shrimp, crab, etc. As for fruits, in addition to the wide variety of fruits seen in the Mawangdui Han Tomb, due to the opening of the Silk Road, grapes, pomegranates, walnuts, etc., also gradually appeared on the food tables of the Han people.