Great dietary integration with surrounding ethnic groups With the complete birth of China's unification, the powerful Han royal family went further than the Qin Dynasty in terms of diet.

The emperor of the Han Dynasty had the most complete food management system in the country at that time.

Among the officials under the Shaofu who were responsible for the emperor's daily affairs, those related to dietary activities were Taiguan, Tangguan and Daoguan, who were respectively "main meal", "main cake bait" and "main rice selection".

This is a large-scale official system.

There are seven ministers under the Taiguan order, including Taiguan Xiancheng who is responsible for bringing food from various places, Daguancheng and Zhongcheng who are in charge of daily diet.

Taiguan and Tangguan each had 3,000 slaves and maids, and their food expenses for the emperor and the harem amounted to 20,000 yuan a year.

This expenditure is equivalent to the property of 20,000 households of average-level people in the Han Dynasty.

The daily expenses amount to 548,000 yuan, which is equivalent to more than 2,700 good grains of rice on stone, or more than 91,000 kilograms of good meat.

The etiquette of the Han Dynasty stipulates that the emperor's "food must have the taste of the eight delicacies." They "drink sweet and fat foods that are worth the taste of the world." Seasonal changes had a great impact on the living conditions of ordinary people in the Han Dynasty.

For example, Xu Qian, a man from the late Han Dynasty, said: "In the hot and scorching summer, even the nobles felt that "their bodies were painted like paint, the water was like flowing springs, the powder fans were effective, and the banquets were delicious." However, the seasons have a great influence on food life.

Restrictions on the emperor and his concubines were reduced to the lowest level at the time.

In winter, the emperor could enjoy vegetables such as onions and leeks that only grew in spring, and these vegetables cost a lot of money. The eunuchs "covered the verandas of their houses, stored fire day and night, and waited for them to grow." In the hot summer, the emperor and his concubines "The ice is always laid, and cold delicacies are passed down from generation to generation. During this period, the spread of Chinese food culture to the outside world intensified. According to records such as "Historical Records" and "Hanshu", when Zhang Qian of the Western Han Dynasty was sent to the Western Regions, he communicated with Central Asia through the Silk Road Various countries carried out economic and cultural exchange activities. In addition to introducing courgettes, walnuts, coriander, flax, carrots, pomegranates and other products from the Western Regions, Zhang Qian and others also introduced peaches, plums, apricots, pears, ginger, tea, etc. from the Central Plains. The products and food culture were spread to the Western Regions. Today, among the cultural relics unearthed from Han tombs in the original Western Regions, there are wooden chopsticks from the Central Plains. One of the traditional barbecue techniques in my country was also spread to Central Asia through the Silk Road. and West Asia, the local people's favorite kebabs were eventually formed. The Southwest Silk Road, which is earlier than the Northwest Silk Road, starts from the southwestern city of Chengdu, passes through Yunnan, and reaches the Silk Road of Indochina, Myanmar and India. Roads also played a role in spreading food culture to the outside world during the Han Dynasty. For example, during the Jianwu period of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Emperor Guangwu of the Han Dynasty sent General Fu Bo to march south to Jiaozhi (now Vietnam). At that time, a large number of Han Dynasty officers and soldiers were there. They built cities in Jiaozhi and other places, and brought the custom of eating rice dumplings on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month to Jiaozhi and other places. Therefore, the custom of eating rice dumplings is still preserved in Vietnam and Southeast Asian countries during the same period. North Korea became king. At this time, Chinese food culture had the deepest influence on North Korea. North Korea was accustomed to using chopsticks to eat. The cooking ingredients used by North Koreans and the combination of meals by North Koreans clearly have Chinese characteristics. , North Korea also pays attention to Chinese terms such as "five flavors" and "five colors". Chang'an in the Tang Dynasty was the center of world culture at that time. China gradually became a country with many ethnic groups, which provided opportunities for the exchange and integration of food cultures of various ethnic groups. Convenience. Specialties from the Western Regions were introduced to the mainland, which greatly enriched the food and cultural life of the inland peoples; and the exquisite dishes and cooking techniques of the inland peoples were gradually spread to the west, becoming increasingly popular among the local people in the process of mutual exchanges. Innovating the food culture of the Chinese nation During this period, the ethnic minorities in the west and northwest were still living together with the Han people and gradually became accustomed to and accepted the production and lifestyle of farming and agriculture, and began to live a settled agricultural life. However, the livestock industry in the interior There has also been rapid development, thanks to the frequent exchanges between the Hu and Han peoples. This change has also caused major changes in the traditional dietary structure of the Hu and Han people. "Eating meat and drinking cheese" began to become a trend among the Hu people in the northern and northwest regions during the Han and Tang Dynasties. The different dietary characteristics of the Han ethnic groups. Today, there are about 160 kinds of vegetables that we eat daily, but among the more than 100 common vegetables, about half are native to Han and introduced from outside the region. During the Han and Tang Dynasties, the mainland of the Central Plains introduced many varieties of vegetables and fruits through exchanges with ethnic minorities in the northwest. Vegetables include alfalfa, spinach, brassicas, courgettes, beans, garlic, coriander, etc.; fruits include grapes, almonds, watermelons, Pomegranate, etc., and condiments include pepper, sugar, etc.

At the same time, cooking methods from the Western Regions were also introduced to the Central Plains, such as cheese, Hu cakes, Qiang-boiled Bianzhi, Hu-roasted pork, Hu soup, and sheep intestines, etc. were all introduced to the Central Plains from the Western Regions.

Various Hu food introduced in the Han Dynasty had gradually become popular in the Yellow River Basin during the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, and were favored by the Han people. Among them, the cooking method of "Qiang boiled and roasted" is the most typical.

The so-called "Qiang cooking" means boiling or boiling sheep and venison; "Qiangzhi" is similar to roasting whole sheep. Volume 4 of "Shi Ming" "Shi Diet" says: "Qiangzhi, roast them all, and cut each one with a knife."

, because of what Hu Qiang did." It is precisely because of the freshness and delicious taste of "Qiang boiled Qiang Zhi" that it is favored by the majority of Han people, and has gradually become synonymous with the cultural exchanges between Hu and Han.

On the other hand, the Han people have also continued to export the Central Plains food civilization to the Western Regions and surrounding ethnic minorities.