Chang'an during the prosperous Tang Dynasty was the largest city in the world at that time, with an urban area of ??83 square kilometers. All industries in the city were prosperous and the population was nearly one million, including tens of thousands of foreigners who lived there permanently.

American sinologists Fairbank and Reischauer said in "China: Tradition and Change": "As the eastern terminus of the overland trade route across Central Asia, and the capital of the largest empire in history, the city of Chang'an was crowded with people from Asia.

"People from all over the country." They crowd the streets of Chang'an and are engaged in business, religion, culture, and catering, and most of them are Hu people.

The influx of a large number of foreign guests also brought their culture with them. For a time, Chang'an was filled with Hu Qi and Hu Hua flourished.

Yuan Zhen, a poet of the Tang Dynasty, has a wonderful description: "Since the smoke and dust from Hu's riding, the smell of hair and fishy smell has filled Xianluo. Women learn Hu's makeup from Hu's wives, and their skills enter Hu's music and serve Hu's music." The most imported food in the Tang Dynasty was Hu's food.

After Hu food was introduced to China through the Silk Road in the Han and Wei dynasties, it reached its peak in the Tang Dynasty. According to the "Old Tang Book? Yufu Zhi", "the nobles served all the food as barbarian food, and all the ladies and gentlemen wore barbarian clothes."

There were many kinds of Hu food in the Tang Dynasty. According to Hui Lin's "The Sound and Meaning of All Sutras" in the Tang Dynasty: "Hu food eaters include sesame seeds, sesame cakes, Hu cakes, tanna, etc." The most famous of them is Hu cakes, which are sold in Chang'an.

Shop stalls are very common. According to the records of "Zi Zhi Tong Jian? Xuan Zong Ji", during the Anshi Rebellion, when Emperor Xuan Zong of the Tang Dynasty fled to the Jixian Palace in Xianyang, it was noon.

Chang'an's sesame cakes are famous all over the country. Bai Juyi gave a vivid and detailed description of Chang'an's sesame cakes in his poem "Sending Hu Cake to Yang Wanzhou", "The sesame cakes are like those from the capital, and the noodles are crispy and fragrant."

Western Region wine has a great reputation in Chang'an and has endured for a long time.

Western-style wine and its production methods were introduced to Chang'an in the Tang Dynasty. According to "Cefu Yuangui" records, Gaochang's Maru grapes and their wine-making methods were introduced to Chang'an in the early Tang Dynasty. Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty personally supervised the production and brewed eight colors of wine.

"The fragrance is pungent and strong, and the taste is rich. After it was given to the ministers, the capital began to recognize its taste." This resulted in many Tang poems praising wine.

The Tang Dynasty also introduced Sanle pulp and its brewing method from Persia. Li Zhao's "Supplement to the History of the Tang Dynasty" downloaded from the volume: "Sanle pulp is similar to wine, and the method originated from Persia. Sanle wine is called Anmol, Pili,

Harile. "This is a kind of fruit wine.

The Tang Dynasty also introduced Long Gao Liquor from Wuyi Mountain in the Western Regions, which was "black as pure lacquer and refreshing to drink".

The exchange of food culture between the Tang Dynasty and foreign countries caused a huge stir. In the city of Chang'an, people's material life advocated the customs of the Western Regions. Therefore, there were many hotels opened by Hu people in Chang'an at that time, accompanied by colorful decorations.

Li Bai and other literati often visited these hotels. There are many poems in Tang poetry mentioning these hotels and Orchid.

Chang'an also has a Hu food street and numerous "Hu Ji wine shops".

Li Bai has poems such as "The Orchid looks like a flower, and she laughs in the spring breeze" and "Where can she swim after the fallen flowers have trampled? She laughs into the Orchid's wine shop", which shows that there were many food and wine restaurants in Chang'an at that time.

In fact, the biggest difference between Hu food and Han food is the seasoning.

Through the Silk Road, the Tang Dynasty imported a large number of foreign condiments, the most famous of which was pepper.

Su Gong's "Tang Materia Medica" said: "Pepper raw from Xirong, shaped like a buckthorn, tastes very spicy when mixed and eaten." Duan Chengshi of the Tang Dynasty said in "Youyang Zazu": "Today, people use it to make Hupan meat."

.

There is also dill seed, also known as fennel, which is also a condiment introduced in the Tang Dynasty. Li's "Haiyao Materia Medica" calls dill seed "raw in Persia". These condiments are widely used in Chang'an's cooking.

.

During the Tang Dynasty, sucrose and its sugar-making process were also introduced from the Western Regions, which added a bit of sweetness to the food in Chang'an during the Tang Dynasty. Its significance was no less than the introduction of wine-making methods.

According to Wang Pu's "Tang Huiyao": "The Western countries produce stone honey, which is highly valued in China. Taizong sent an envoy to the Mogatuo Kingdom to obtain its method, and ordered Yangzhou to make the juice for frying sugarcane in the Chinese kitchen. The color and taste

"It is better than those from the Western Regions." Although China had a lot of sugar cane cultivation in the past, it was not very good at boiling cane sugar, and only knew how to make sugar syrup and soft candies.

Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty sent envoys to introduce sugar production technology through the Silk Road. As a result, the color and taste of the sucrose surpassed that of the Western Regions, and was used in Chang'an's food and cooking.

In addition, many exotic eating utensils were also introduced to Chang'an through the Silk Road. There were two ways: first, contributions from envoys, such as the "crystal cup presented by Y Binguo" recorded in "Gang Ji Zhu"; second, through trade.

For example, in 1970, the "gold-encrusted agate cup" unearthed from a Tang Dynasty hoard in Hejia Village, southern suburbs of Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, some people speculated that it was brought to China by Persian or Japanese traders.

Hu Shi had a huge impact on Chang'an. Chang'an in the Tang Dynasty had been immersed in the "Hu style" for a long time. In fact, it was also undergoing changes in customs and cultural innovation.

The people of Chang'an gradually accepted the Hu people's method of grilling animal meat and drank cheese and wine.

The popularity of Hu dance and Hu music and the appearance of Hu Ji in the city have added new vitality and color to Chang'an culture.

The food culture from various places brought by foreign cultural envoys flowed into Chang'an like a stream of fresh water. It is precisely because of this that the food culture of Chang'an in the Tang Dynasty showed a more colorful style than any previous historical period.