Pepper originated in America and was introduced to China in the late Ming Dynasty. Li Bai is from the Tang Dynasty and can't eat Chili. Gong Zizhen is from the Qing Dynasty and may eat Chili.

According to historical records, the generation of Guizhou and Hunan began to eat Chili peppers during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty. People who started eating Chili peppers were basically in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. Because of the humid climate, many people use pepper to drive away cold and dampness, and it is the same now. People who love Chili peppers are basically near the Yangtze River.

The spread of pepper:

In the Ming Dynasty, the tribute and smuggling trade between Fujian and Zhejiang coastal areas and Nanyang was quite frequent. During this period, pepper was introduced to the southeast coastal areas in the form of maritime trade, and gradually introduced to the southern provinces according to the Yangtze River and its tributaries. However, after pepper was introduced into China, like tomato, it only existed as an ornamental plant at first, and its edible value was not discovered.

Pepper spread from Zhejiang to Hunan, and then from Hunan to Guizhou, Yunnan and Sichuan. Among them, Hunan was the first to eat Chili on a large scale, and it was simply not spicy and unhappy during Jiaqing years. During the reign of Kangxi and Daoguang, spicy food in Guizhou was widely eaten. Pepper was eaten late in Sichuan and was widely eaten during Tongzhi years, even later in Yunnan and Guangxu years.

Pixian bean paste, an important condiment of Sichuan cuisine, appeared in the middle of19th century. It can be seen that the tradition of eating spicy food in some parts of China was only formed in the Qing Dynasty.