Keywords Northern Song Dynasty; Bianjing (Tokyo); Catering industry; Business.
The text "sets the treasures of the four seas, all belong to the city; The peculiar smell of Atlas. I am in the kitchen. Meng Yuanlao, the author of Tokyo Dream China, wrote in the preface. This is a book that comprehensively reflects the social life of Beijing in the Northern Song Dynasty, and the prosperous catering industry described in the book is particularly eye-catching. Below I will study the catering in the Northern Song Dynasty from two aspects.
? First, the characteristics of diet
? (1) There are many kinds of fruits and vegetables. According to Tokyo Dream, there are 30 kinds of peaches, such as Dongtao peach, Flat peach and Rouge peach, 30 kinds of apricots, such as Jinxing, Ginkgo and Shuixing 16, 27 kinds of pears, such as Shuili, Hongli and Yuli, 27 kinds of plums, and 27 kinds of cherries, such as Purple Cherry and Mumei1. When it first came out, each pair was worth 30,000 to 50,000 yuan, and dignitaries rushed to buy it at a high price. It can be seen that the planting industry is relatively developed and the society is prosperous and stable, which can basically meet the fresh fruit needs of the people and nobles.
? (2) Love of mutton. Song people think that "ginseng tonifies qi, and mutton supplements shape". Therefore, expensive sheep and cheap pigs have become a social fashion, which is probably a unique feature of the diet in the Song Dynasty. Love love love in Tokyo has many records, including mutton wine, mutton rice, sheep in the oven, and even a special "hot mutton shop". Today, the protein of mutton is high in quality and low in fat, so favoring mutton can be regarded as a way of keeping in good health for the people in Song Dynasty.
? Second, the catering form
? (1) Festive diets are different. For example, in early autumn, melons, pears and dates were listed as the main fruits; In August and autumn, the club will cut pork and mutton, duck cake, wax gourd and ginger into pieces and spread them on rice with harmonious taste, which is called "social rice"; Eat crabs and grapes on Mid-Autumn Festival. Different diets express people's love for life, and also place their good wishes for family, people and things.
(2) pay attention to diet. During the Northern Song Dynasty, the catering industry was the most developed industry in Tokyo. There are hotels in the streets of Tokyo, and there are 72 large shops. There are countless small hotels such as "tea distribution", "butcher shop" and "cake shop" Big restaurant, the decoration in the store is very particular. In the dining room, "the two corridors are small pavilions", "hanging window bamboo and hanging curtains"; These designs not only satisfy customers' appetite, but also satisfy their eyes. What's more, the way people eat is also interesting. Two people need a pair of bowls, two pairs of plates and lamps, five fruits and vegetables, and three or five bowls of water and vegetables to eat. Even if a person drinks alone, the fruits and vegetables are delicate and delicate, and the bowls are like silver spoons, which is full of fun.
? In a word, we can see from Dream of China in Tokyo that in the Northern Song Dynasty, "glitz made the citizens lose their simplicity and roughness, and their feelings were delicate and rich, with high taste", and they paid more attention to the interest of life. The prosperous catering industry symbolizes the activity of the market economy, leaving behind precious food culture and bearing the breath of progress and prosperity of an era. Worthy of the title of "dynasty on the tip of the tongue"
Reference: The Dream of Tokyo in China by veteran Song Meng.