Chaoshan dialect textbooks written by missionaries hundreds of years ago, blue and white porcelain tableware from the late Qing Dynasty used in the Central Restaurant, five-grade official hats from the Qing Dynasty... Yongping Building No. 1 - Shantou Opening Port Cultural Exhibition Hall is in full swing Completed. Currently, the exhibition hall has received more than 180 cultural relics. From these precious cultural relics donated by enthusiasts, we can seem to see the prosperous memory of the commercial port for hundreds of years. A few days ago, some donors visited the exhibition hall in advance and told reporters the wonderful stories behind the cultural relics. Missionaries compiled cultural relics and Chaoshan dialect teaching materials. Among the cultural relics donated by enthusiasts, there is a group of books that are particularly eye-catching. It is nearly ten Chaoshan dialect reference books, textbooks and other works compiled by foreign missionaries that have been collected for many years by Professor Lin Lunlun, the dean of Korean Normal University and an expert in Chaozhou studies, including "Chaoyin Bible", "Shantou Dialect Dictionary", "Shantou Dialect Dictionary" English-Chinese Teochew Dialect Vocabulary" and so on. Lin Lunlun believes that it is a very meaningful thing for Jinping District to build the Shantou Opening Cultural Exhibition Hall. These cultural relics that bear witness to the opening of Shantou as a port are "physical evidence" of Shantou's overseas cultural characteristics and are also precious documents of great commemorative value. The books donated by Lin Lunlun were not easy to collect. He and his friends obtained them from famous libraries at home and abroad. Some were copied from the libraries of Harvard University, the University of Hong Kong, and the National Library in Beijing. Some were given to him by friends who knew his professional hobbies and specially copied them in libraries around the world. According to Lin Lunlun, in the mid-to-late 19th century, groups of missionaries who went to eastern Guangdong to spread the gospel of Christianity worked hard to learn the main dialect in eastern Guangdong, namely Chaoshan dialect, in order to master the language tools to communicate directly with the parishioners. . In the process of learning, they learned words, made flashcards, and compiled dictionaries. After they learned the words themselves, they compiled spoken language textbooks for the second and third generations of missionaries to come to Chaoshan. These works are basically published and distributed by Western religious groups, and some are compiled after decades of accumulation and revision by church missionaries. The biographies of the compilers of textbooks and reference books all emphasize that to preach in eastern Guangdong, one must first "learn the accent", that is, the Chaoshan dialect. The authors of these books are usually highly educated and have a relatively high level of education. I have been exposed to English dictionaries in both the UK and the US. The book spells Chaoshan sounds in Roman and explains the meaning of the words in English to facilitate communication between Western missionaries and Chaoshan believers at that time. These dictionaries were the first of its kind to produce English-Chinese dialect dictionaries. In addition, there are some traditional views on Chaozhou dialect dictionaries that need further discussion because of the dictionaries compiled by foreign missionaries. According to research, the earliest reference book on Min dialects in eastern Guangdong compiled by locals is Zhang Shizhen's "Zixue Jinliang: Fifteen Tones of Chaosheng", which was published by Shantou Book Newspaper Lithography Press in 1913. These reference books compiled by foreign missionaries were not only published 30 years or even half a century earlier, but were also quite standardized. They are precious materials for studying the history of dialect dictionaries. The tableware of Central Restaurant reflects the changes of Chaozhou cuisine. What kind of utensils were used in restaurants in Shantou nearly a hundred years ago? This batch of restaurant tableware from the 1920s and 1930s donated by Huang Chuhua, vice chairman of the Shantou Food Society, gives us the opportunity to understand the food culture of that era. Huang Chuhua was born in a family of chefs and is keen on exploring Chaoshan culture. In particular, he has collected many collections related to the history and culture of Chaoshan cuisine. He said that the donated restaurant tableware is both exquisite and experienced, and is a testimony that Chaozhou cuisine originated in Chaozhou and flourished in Shantou. According to Huang Chuhua, most of these tableware are blue and white porcelain fired in the late Qing Dynasty, including blue and white stew cups used by Central Restaurant, Yongping Restaurant, etc., Xi'er nine-piece plate, Gaozhilian bowl, etc. Judging from the small and exquisite size of these tableware, Chaoshan catering has gradually developed from the original large plates, big fish and meat to the direction of exquisite, meticulous and divided meals. From this, we can see the development of Chaoshan cuisine in the times. Huang Chuhua said that the opening of Shantou as a port has promoted economic prosperity, with frequent business trips and constant banquets between officials and gentry, which has accelerated the development of the catering industry. At that time, there was a famous song circulating in Chaoshan: "'Central' has a good posture, 'Yongping' has a good layout, 'Mingfang' has a good air, and 'Taofang' has a good shark's fin." This was how people praised these four major restaurants at that time. There was also a saying at that time, "There is thunder in the sky, and there is Xiangtong on the ground." Xu Xiangtong was from Chaozhou and worked as a chef at Yongping Restaurant in Shantou. This rumor extols that Chaozhou cuisine is famous for its exquisite craftsmanship and is a true portrayal of Chaozhou cuisine's prosperity in modern history. The reason why Chaozhou cuisine is famous is because of its exquisite workmanship and very light taste, which is easily accepted and loved by everyone. At that time, eating Chaozhou cuisine in the four major restaurants was a symbol of nobility and status. The old master collects Teochew-style cake molds passed down from generation to generation. Luo Muliang, 75, has been an artist for more than 50 years. He has been engaged in Teochew-style cakes since his father's generation and has collected various cake molds in this industry. After learning from the newspaper that the Jinping District Government had collected cultural relics from Shantou since the opening of the port, Luo Muliang could not sit still. He thought that instead of keeping the collection at home, it would be better to take it to the exhibition hall to let more people know about the Chaozhou-style pastries. Many variations. Luo Muliang donated more than 60 molds at one time, including molds and wooden sticks for making pancakes, steel molds for mung bean cakes, large moon cake molds, red cake molds for weddings, etc. There is a toy cake mold imprint, including fish, shrimp, crab and other patterns. Although the stencil is carved from wood, the pattern is lifelike. There is also a chess pastry mold. The pastries printed with this mold were also very popular among chess fans at that time.

A red Jin box made of gold paint is usually used to put various candies to entertain guests during the Spring Festival. It was collected by Luo Muliang before liberation. In addition to the mold, old man Luo Muliang also took out an industrial and commercial license from that year. This also witnessed the proliferation of shops and economic prosperity in Shantou after its opening as a port. The fifth-grade straw hat of the Qing Dynasty appeared in the exhibition hall. Among the antique cultural relics on the first floor of the exhibition hall, the fifth-grade straw hat of the Qing Dynasty donated by Mr. Lin, a member of the Provincial Collectors Association, is very eye-catching. According to Mr. Lin, the official hats worn by officials in the Qing Dynasty were also called big hats. There were two types: one was worn in winter and was called "warm hat"; the other was worn in summer and was called "cool hat". At that time, the highest official of the Qing government in Shantou was Wupin. This straw hat was also collected from Shantou itself. The "treasures" donated by Mr. Lin also include some teaching materials that are more than a hundred years old that he collected from various places. The reporter saw that these textbooks were yellowed, but the handwriting was still legible. These teaching materials were used by Lingdong Tongwen School at that time. Around 1899, Qiu Fengjia moved Dongwen School in Chaozhou to "Tongqing Shantang" in Shantou and renamed it "Lingdong Tongwentang". This was not only the first new school in Guangdong, but also one of the few in the country in the late Qing Dynasty. It is now the third primary school on Waima Road, Shantou City. In 1908, the school was changed into a business school. The teachers and students of the school actively participated in the formation of the Chaozhou Tongmenghui branch and the Shantou Tongmenghui, and made historical contributions to the Revolution of 1911 with people with lofty ideals from all walks of life.