Zhang Qian is not only a pioneer of the Silk Road, but also brought back many delicious fruits from the Western Regions that we have never eaten. When we are dying, don't forget this explorer and gourmet!
Walnut, alias walnut, ranks as the four largest dried fruits in the world along with almond, cashew nut and hazelnut. "Zhenghe Materia Medica" says: "Sweet and nontoxic, it makes people fat and healthy, moistens muscles and blackens hair." Walnut originated in Iran and Afghanistan and was introduced to China through the Silk Road. "Rihuazi" said: "This fruit is native, brought back to the western regions by money, planted in the central part of Qin State, and gradually born in the East, so it is called Chencang thin-skinned walnut." Li Shizhen's Compendium of Materia Medica is interpreted as: "Qiang peach and walnut." Today, walnuts in Guanzhong area of Shaanxi Province are still top-grade fruits and nutritious food and medicine.
Figs, also known as bottom weighing. Youyang Miscellanies has been published for eighteen years: "The name of Persia is Ayi, and the name of Lin is the bottom. These trees are four or five feet long and have lush leaves. There are five leaves, like hemp, but they are solid, without flowers, solid red and taste like persimmon, but they have to be cooked once a year. " Fig is not only a fruit with high nutritional value, but also a good medicine. It tastes sweet and sour, and has the effects of clearing away heat and toxic materials, stopping diarrhea and promoting lactation.
Pomegranate, alias "An Pomegranate": Zhenghe Materia Medica quoted "Tu Jing" as saying: "An Pomegranate has never been out of the state, or Yun was born in the Western Regions. Lu Ji and his younger brothers Yun and Zhang Qian were Han envoys for 18 years, so they got an Pomegranate." "Pomegranate is also a high-quality fruit. Pomegranate originated in ancient Persia. In ancient China, pomegranate was called an pomegranate, specifically, it was "the pomegranate of an Guo and Shi Guo" or "the pomegranate of an Shi Guo". Later it was called pomegranate for short.
Grape, formerly known as grape. The Book of Qi Yaomin says: "Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty sent Zhang Qian to Dawan, took Pu Shitao and planted it next to the Forbidden City". Hanshu? "The Legend of the Western Regions" said: "Da Yue's home and rest in peace are similar to Dawan, and grapes are wine." The rich hide wine to more than ten thousand stones, and the long-term ones are unbeaten at the age of several decades. Thus, wine has a long history as a fine wine in the western regions. Tao Hongjing's "Records of Famous Doctors" also listed grapes as the top grade of fruits, calling them "non-toxic, insect repellent and beneficial to urination." The grape column of Zhenghe Materia Medica also records: "Today's doctors use more truth to treat qi sores and rashes, and it is very effective to study them with wine." As can be seen from the above, grapes from the western regions have many uses: top fresh fruits, raw materials for high-quality wines, raisins and medicines.
Watermelon was introduced into China from the Western Regions, so it is called "Watermelon". According to Xu Guangqi, a scientist in the Ming Dynasty, the book "Agricultural Administration Encyclopedia" records: "Watermelon is named after being planted in the western regions." In Ouyang Xiu's History of the New Five Dynasties? The process of watermelon introduction is recorded in the appendix of April 1st. Before Tang met Shi Jin. In the Five Dynasties, Hu Jiao lived in Khitan and began to eat watermelon, which was obtained after the Khitan broke Uighur. As early as 4,000 years ago, Egyptians planted watermelons, and then gradually moved northward, first from the Mediterranean coast to northern Europe, then south to the Middle East, India and other places, and then from Xinjiang to the mainland through the Silk Road. China is the largest watermelon producing area in the world at present.