There are two theories about the origin of Chongqing hot pot:

Genghis Khan said that the origin of hot pot was not in Sichuan, but it was invented by Genghis Khan. He fought all over the world for many years, and it took a long time to see the soldiers eating traditional barbecue mutton. In order to make the troops not delay the fighters, he cut the mutton into small pieces and threw it into a boiling pot, and from then on there was a hot pot in the world. From a certain point of view, it was the hot pot that made the Mongolian cavalry fill their stomachs, captured the Central Plains in high spirits, and went all the way west to Central Asia.

The invention of the Three Gorges Tracker said:

More than 1 years ago, in the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River, a group of trackers, with heavy steps and tired bodies, built a clay stove by the river. They took out the peppers, peppers and spices they carried with them, took the water from the Yangtze River, boiled it into soup, supplemented with spirits, and scalded fresh fish, live shrimps and various vegetables. After some heroic, passionate, and exhausted, the trackers roared their passionate songs and set off with their ropes on their backs. Leaving behind a dirt stove and plumes of smoke.

? Exhibition materials:

Although the container, preparation method and seasoning of hot pot have gone through thousands of years of evolution, the same thing has not changed, that is, the pot is burned with fire, and the food is cooked (rinsed) with water (soup). This cooking method appeared as early as the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, and it can be said that it is the embryonic form of hot pot.

It is recorded in Biography of Han Poems that in ancient times, sacrifices or celebrations were eaten by "striking the bell and setting the tripod", that is, people gathered around the tripod and put beef and mutton in the tripod to cook and share, which was the sprout of hot pot. After the evolution of Qin, Han and Tang dynasties, it was not until the Song Dynasty that there was a real record of hot pot.

Lin Hong, a poet of Song Dynasty, mentioned eating hot pot in his "Mountain Family's Clear Confessions", which is what he called "offering sacrifices in summer". He said that when he visited Wuyi Mountain and visited the teacher's road, he got a rabbit in the snow without a chef to cook it. "Shiyun, only a thin batch is used in the mountains, and wine, sauce and pepper are expected to flow. Put the stove on the table, use half a cup of water (half a bucket), wait for the soup to ring a cup (after the soup is boiled), and divide it into chopsticks, so that you can put it in the soup (rinse) and cook it (eat it), so that you can use the juice for (everyone) to eat at will. " From the way of eating, it is similar to the current "rabbit meat hotpot".

it was not until the Ming and Qing dynasties that hot pot really flourished. On the 1th day of the first month in the forty-eighth year of Qing Qianlong, Emperor Qianlong hosted 53 tables of palace chafing dishes, which was the best in China at that time. When Emperor Jiaqing of Qing Dynasty ascended the throne, there was a "thousand banquets", and the number of hot pots used reached 155, which was amazing.