Anecdotes and allusions

Famous gourmets

Business activities after the mid-Ming Dynasty were unprecedentedly prosperous. Not only were there a wide variety of goods, but the proportion of daily consumer goods such as grain, cloth, silk, cotton, salt, sugar, tea, and wine increased. As a result, the field of exchange moved from local markets to cross-regional markets, and even as far away as overseas. Under such conditions, on the one hand, the standard of urban life and consumption patterns have been improved, and on the other hand, people's horizons have been expanded, so that food consumption is particularly astonishing. Therefore, the extravagance and lust of the rich family and the exquisite diet of the literati formed a trend. Zhang Dai, who combined the two, spent a lot of space describing his family's dietary life and life in "Tao'an Dream Memories" Food and drink.

Zhang Dai, who claims that "no one in Vietnam has more delicious food than me", likes to eat specialties from various places, but he doesn't eat them if they are out of season or not of the best quality. For example: "People in Beijing must eat Ping Po Guo and Ma Ya Song; people in Shandong must eat morels, autumn white pears, civil fruits, and sweet seeds; people in Fujian must eat Fu Oranges, Fu Orange Cake, Brown Candy, Red fermented bean curd; those in Jiangxi must eat green roots and Fengcheng preserved fruits; those in Shanxi must eat celery; those in Suzhou must eat bone-in abalone, diced hawthorn, hawthorn cake, pine nut candy, white round balls, and preserved olives; those in Jiaxing must eat You must eat mackerel preserved fish and Taozhuang oriole; those in Nanjing must eat cherries, Taomen dates, chestnut dumplings, bamboo shoots dumplings, and hawthorn sugar; those in Hangzhou must eat watermelon, chickpeas, lotus root, and leeks. Buds, bamboo shoots, and Tangqi tangerines; those in Xiaoshan must eat poplar, water shield, dove bird, green crucian carp, and persimmon; those in Zhuji (now Zhuji, Zhejiang) must eat civet, cherries, and tiger chestnuts; those near the sea must eat Pillow melons; those in Taizhou must eat corrugated clams and Jiangyaozhu; those in Pujiang must eat fire meat; those in Dongyang must eat southern dates; those in Shanin must eat Potang bamboo shoots, Xie oranges, Dushan water chestnuts, river crabs, and Sanjiangtun Razor clams, white clams, river fish, and anchovies. "And no matter how far away, as long as you want to eat it, you will take the time to taste it. If you don't get it one by one, you will never give up.

Furthermore, Zhang Dai is good at eating crabs. He believes that food without salt and vinegar is the only one that tastes delicious. River crabs become more plump in October, and even the crab legs have a lot of meat. Especially the crab roe and crab paste inside the shell are thick and affordable. Therefore, every year from January to October, he holds a crab party with his friends. The dishes are served with fat cured duck, cow cheese, etc., and the vegetables and fruits are paired with bamboo shoots, oranges, and chestnuts. , Fengling, and the drink is Orchid Snow Tea.

A clever pair

Chen Jiru was the leader of the Shan people in the late Ming Dynasty and his reputation spread far and wide. He was closely connected with scholars in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and his lifestyle and literary works had guiding significance for scholars in the late Ming Dynasty. Zhang Dai's grandfather, Zhang Rulin, had a close friendship with Chen Jiru. In the 33rd year of Wanli (1605), Zhang Rulin gave Chen Jiru a big-antlered deer. Meigong took it to the West Lake, wearing a bamboo crown and feather clothes, and walked back and forth under the willows on the long embankment. Everyone who saw it admired him endlessly. Therefore, it is also called "Elk Lord". Such a gift seems very elegant. Chen Jiru said: "Su Zhi and Yu have been friends for thirty years, but their hearts are far apart, their sticks, poems and wine, and their breaths are connected." In the 30th year of Wanli, Zhang Rulin took six-year-old Zhang Dai to Hangzhou to meet Chen Jiru. This experience left a deep impression on Zhang Dai that he will never forget:

When he was six years old, his eldest father Yu Ruoweng took Yu Zhi In Wulin, I met Mr. Meigong, who was riding a deer as a tourist in Qiantang. He said to his elder father: "I heard that Sun Shan is the right one. I will interview him." Pointing to the "Picture of Li Bai Crossing a Whale" on the screen, he said: "Taibai rides a whale and quarries stones." Fishing for the night moon by the river. "Yu Ying said, "Mei Gong is crossing the deer, and the autumn wind is blowing in Qiantang County." Mei Gong jumped up and said, "The spirit is like this, my little friend wants to make progress for a long time." How could I expect that the rest of my career would be in vain?

Zhang Dai's couplets are neatly matched with Meigong's sentences, and there is a bit of teasing and ridicule. Meigong did not feel dissatisfied, but praised Zhang Dai's quick thinking. In such details, he showed his free and easy spirit. Mind and magnanimity.

Childhood memories are profound and tenacious, like a seed buried in the ground that will sprout, bloom, and bear fruit as we grow older. Meigong was a famous person at that time and was very busy in socializing and socializing. There was no trace of this incident in his memory. By the first year of Chongzhen, he had no impression of Zhang Dai. In this year, Zhang Dai wrote the book "The Biography of Ancient and Modern Heroes and Martyrs" and asked a friend to ask Chen Jiru to write the preface. The beautiful memories of his childhood made him full of admiration for Mei Gong. Although he had little direct contact with Chen Jiru, in the atmosphere of the late Ming Dynasty, Chen Meigong was not far away from Zhang Dai. In Zhang Dai's mind, Chen Meigong is a senior worthy of imitation. Zhang Dai was well aware of Chen Jiru's demeanor and articles, and traces of Chen Jiru's influence can be seen everywhere in his own poetry. The image of Chen Meigong has entered the deep level of Zhang Dai's consciousness and participated in the construction of Zhang Dai's thoughts and the design of his life.