Huizhou cuisine refers to Huizhou cuisine, which originated in Shexian County (ancient Huizhou) at the foot of Huangshan Mountain. Later, because Tunxi town near Xin 'an River became the distribution center of famous teas such as "Qihong" and "Tunlu" and local products such as Huimo and Sheyan, the business rose and the catering industry developed, and Huizhou cuisine was transferred to Tunxi and further developed. Anhui cuisine is famous for cooking delicacies and game.
Huizhou merchants, known as "Xin 'an dajia" in history, started in the Eastern Jin Dynasty and developed gradually in the Tang and Song Dynasties. The late Ming Dynasty to the late Qing Dynasty was the golden age of Huizhou merchants. At that time, the number of merchants, the scope of activities and the abundant capital in Huizhou were all ahead of the commercial groups at that time. Zhu Que, the grandfather of Zhu Xi, a famous mathematician in the Song Dynasty, was a typical representative of Huizhou merchants at that time. The business stacks, houses (hotels) and restaurants he operated once accounted for half of the city in Zhangzhou, and he was known as "Zhu Bancheng". During the period from Jiajing of Ming Dynasty to Qingganlong, there were about 80 famous merchants in Yangzhou, among which Huizhou merchants accounted for 60%. Among the top ten salt merchants, Huizhou merchants account for more than half. Huizhou merchants are rich in the world, live luxuriously, and prefer the flavor of their hometown. Their rich drinks and luxurious banquets have contributed to the development of Huizhou cuisine. Where there are Huizhou merchants, there are Huizhou Cuisine Pavilions. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Huizhou merchants flourished in Yangzhou, Shanghai and Wuhan. At one time, there were more than 500 Huizhou restaurants in Shanghai. By the time of the Anti-Japanese War, there were still more than 130 Huizhou restaurants in Shanghai and more than 40 in Wuhan. Interestingly, according to Old Shanghai, around 1925, there were only Huizhou and Suzhou restaurants in Shanghai at the beginning, and then Jinling, Yangzhou and Zhenjiang restaurants. The so-called "Suzhou" also refers to Tianfu Garden, Jiuhua Garden and Dingbanyuan, which were originally established in Suzhou by Hui merchants Tai Zhiwang and Tai Jialie who moved to Shanghai. It can be seen that the development of Huizhou cuisine is also very rapid. According to Zeng Juesheng's article "Huizhou Merchants and Huizhou Gang in Wuhan before Liberation", it is introduced. Until the liberation, the Hui Cuisine Hall in Wuhan still occupies the primary position in the catering market: "It can be said that the largest group in the wine and food industry in Wuhan ... is welcomed and patronized by people."
Huizhou has always had a rich collection of humanities and a prosperous style of writing. Under the guiding ideology of learning to be an official and writing to the world, "Lianke three halls write, Shili four Hanlin", "father and son prime ministers", "brothers Hanlin" and "four generations and one product" all appeared in this ancient land of Huizhou. Huizhou has a saying that "charming children don't care about books, but caring about books is like raising pigs". To be an examiner, you have to go out of Huizhou, and Huizhou merchants are Hong merchants, who go to Jiangsu and Zhejiang, North China and Southwest China through various waterways and even cross the ocean. Among the top ten business gangs, Huizhou merchants ranked first. As a result, a group of foreigners, three generations, four generations are "ancestral home in Huizhou." Huizhou people, "thirteen in the city" to defend their homes, "seventeen outside" to break into the world. In this situation, Anhui cuisine, as a cuisine, has appeared in the whole country.
Ancient Huizhou was also the birthplace of Huizhou merchants, who dominated China's business circles for more than 300 years in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. There was a saying that "Huizhou merchants can't be a town without emblem" and "Huizhou merchants are all over the world". Huizhou studies, which are composed of Huizhou merchants, Huizhou operas, Huizhou cuisine, Huizhou carvings, Xin 'an Neo-Confucianism, Xin 'an Medicine, Xin 'an Painting School, Huizhou Seal Carving, Huizhou Architecture and Huizhou Bonsai, are even more profound. It has the same influence as Dunhuang studies and Tibetan studies.
Huizhou has unique tourism resources, great density and high grade. Apart from two world heritages, there are also a national historical and cultural city, three national scenic spots, a national nature reserve, a world geological park, two national geological parks, three national forest parks, 10 national historical relics protection units and a national historical protection block. Huangshan, a national treasure, is famous in the world for its wonderful pines, strange rocks, sea of clouds, hot springs and winter snow. It is the symbol and pride of the Chinese nation. Huangshan has the all-round three-dimensional beauty of "wonders on the mountain and wonders under the mountain". The world cultural heritage of Xidi and Hongcun is the historical remains of Huizhou's material civilization. The memorial archway stands for Huizhou people's spiritual home. More ancient villages and ancient buildings reflect Huizhou's ancient prosperity and prosperity. The primitive nature of Guniujiang conveys the ancient, simple and original ecological treasures of Huizhou, and Xin 'anjiang and Taiping Lake, which span the north and south of Huangshan Mountain, add to the beauty of Huangshan water.
According to the Ming history; At that time, "Huizhou merchants and Shanxi merchants were the most prominent among the big businessmen", and "Xin 'an was the first to be promoted by Jiangnan". Since the Tang Dynasty, there has been a saying that "there is no town without emblem", which shows that Huizhou in ancient Jiangnan has developed commerce and numerous merchants. With Huizhou businessmen going out to do business, Huizhou cuisine has also spread all over the country. There are Huizhou restaurants in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, Wuhan, Luoyang, Guangzhou, Shandong, Beijing, Shaanxi and other places, especially in Shanghai, which is the first place to enter Shanghai.
According to the Records of Huizhou Prefecture, as early as the Southern Song Dynasty, cooking with the special product "horseshoe turtle in the sand and oxtail raccoon dog in the snow" in the mountainous areas of southern Anhui was well-known all over the country. The dishes along the Yangtze River are represented by Wuhu and Anqing, and later spread to Hefei. It is good at cooking fresh river and poultry, and its smoking technology is unique. The dishes along the Huaihe River are mainly composed of local flavors in Bengbu, Suxian and Fuyang.
Huizhou cuisine originated in the Tang and Song Dynasties, flourished in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, and continued to develop during the Republic of China, and further developed after the founding of the People's Republic of China. Huizhou cuisine is a bright pearl in the treasure house of Chinese food culture with rich local characteristics and profound cultural connotations.
Huizhou is located in the mountainous area, with few wars. Since the Tang and Song Dynasties, a large number of immigrants from the Central Plains have moved south to Huizhou, living together, building temples and repairing genealogy, and forming a strict clan system. All ethnic groups and factions have their own idols to worship. In order to worship the Buddha, the people have produced their own unique food offerings, the most typical of which is the "Sai Qiong Bowl" activity to worship Hua Wang, the leader of the peasant uprising at the end of Sui Dynasty. This annual worship activity not only displays hundreds of bowls of offerings carefully cooked by the Wangs, but also creates generations of folk cooks.
From the late Ming Dynasty to the late Qianlong period of Qing Dynasty, Huizhou merchants reached their peak, ranking first in the national 10 business gang in strength and influence, and their footprints were all over the world. With the development of Huizhou merchants, Huizhou cuisine gradually became famous. Where there are Huizhou merchants, there are Huizhou restaurants. Huizhou people have set up thousands of emblem halls all over the country, including more than 140 in Shanghai alone, which shows its wide coverage and great influence.
In the long history, Huizhou cuisine has been assiduous, eclectic, constantly summarized and innovated through the hard work of Huizhou chefs in previous dynasties. With the characteristics of local materials, strict selection of materials, skillful use of fire, unique kung fu, good at stewing, appropriate shade, paying attention to food supplement, paying attention to culture, and profound foundation, it has become a famous cuisine that is elegant and popular, suitable for both north and south, unique and self-contained.