Mudu is located in the west of Suzhou City, on the shore of Taihu Lake. It is an ancient water town with a history of 2,500 years, the same age as Suzhou City.
At the end of the Spring and Autumn Period, Wu and Yue fought for hegemony and the Yue Kingdom was defeated. King Gou Jian of Yue used a beauty trick and offered beautiful women from Zhuji to Fu Chai, the King of Wu. In order to please Xi Shi, Fu Cha built the Guanwa Palace on the top of Lingyan Mountain and added the Gusu Terrace. "Three years of gathering materials, five years to complete." In the past three to five years, wood was transported along the river, blocking the river port at the foot of the mountain, "wood blocked the river". Over time, the village at the foot of the mountain was named "Mudu".
Fu Chai surrounded the beauty every day, carrying out large-scale construction projects, singing and dancing, while Gou Jian was secretly training his troops and horses. "It is not too late for a gentleman to take revenge in ten years." By the time Gou Jian, who was tired of his work and tasted courage, raised his troops to attack Wu, the state of Wu was already powerless. Resist. The Guanwa Palace was completely burned down by the vengeful soldiers of the Yue Kingdom. Xi Shi's whereabouts are unknown, but Mudu Qing's name at the foot of the mountain was left behind.
During the Three Kingdoms period, Mudu had become an important town in the Eastern Wu Dynasty. During the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Sikong Luwan built a residence on the former site of Guanwa Palace. In his later years, he turned his residence into a temple, and Mudu became a Buddhist resort. After the Ming Dynasty, Mudu became the busiest commercial port in Wuzhong because it blocked the gateway to Taihu Lake. Xu Yang, a court painter of the Qing Dynasty, painted a picture of Qianlong's life in Gusu called "The Picture of Prosperity and Growth". In this 12-meter-long scroll, Mudu accounts for half of the prosperity. From this picture scroll like "Along the River During Qingming Festival", we can see that in Mudu Ancient Town during the heyday of the Qing Dynasty, there were groceries from Hangzhou people, official salt from Yangzhou people, silks and satins from Suzhou people, local products from Dongting people, and other products. A private garden for literati. These rows of shops, elegant gardens, quaint stone bridges, and unique scenery can still be found in the ancient town.
When Kangxi visited the south three times and Qianlong visited the south of the Yangtze River six times, he always preferred Mudu. It was not without reason.
Hongyin Shanfang
In the spring of the 16th year of Qianlong's reign, Qianlong made his first southern tour. The dragon boat crossed the canal and turned into the Xiangxi stream, which was famous for its fragrance after Xishi bathed. Moored at the river port, Hongyin Mountain House first caught the emperor's sight.
Hongyin Shanfang was already a famous garden in the south of the Yangtze River during the Qing Dynasty. It was composed of two Ming Dynasty gardens, Xiuye ??Garden and Xiaoyin Garden. It is spacious and has the elegance of the gardens of Jiangnan literati. , and has the atmosphere of the northern royal gardens, with "the beauty of the streams, mountains, wind and moon, and the beauty of the flowers and trees in the ponds and pavilions", which is far superior to other gardens. Qianlong fell in love with it right away, and Hongyin Shanfang was a must-visit place during his five trips to the south of the Yangtze River.
Qianlong’s palace was located at the former site of Guanwa Palace in Lingyan Mountain, and Hongyin Shanfang was where he settled his retainers and ministers. The famous Liu Yong stayed at Hongyin Shanfang twice, and drank wine with his owner Xu Shiyuan. Sing harmony.
Xu Shiyuan was a failed scholar. He did not seek fame, but loved reading. He was very filial to his parents. He specially built a stage in the garden and invited opera troupes to sing operas at his home during holidays. When Emperor Qianlong visited Hongyin Shanfang, he would also go to see the opera. According to folklore, one day, the emperor of the Qing Dynasty, who liked to dance and write, actually danced on the stage with a sword to entertain the audience.
In the flower hall of Hongyin Shanfang, there is a dragon chair with nine golden dragons circling in it. It is made of thousand-year-old red sandalwood. It is said that it was the special seat used by Kangxi when he visited the palace in Lingyan Mountain during his southern tour. It is natural for royal objects to use exquisite materials. When Qianlong visited Mudu, he also had a preference for this chair. In order to watch a play, he moved it to Hongyin Mountain House. This is a great honor for the Xu family. But Xu Shiyuan was sincere and fearful. He wanted to thank the emperor for his favor, but was also afraid of being implicated due to improper storage. Later, he simply locked it in the flower hall and sent four servants to take turns guarding it day and night.
People are burdened by things, which Qianlong probably did not expect. Just like the imperial decree that almost every household in private gardens like Mudu has, it sounds like it is a family favor. However, if it is not kept well and is eaten by silverfish and becomes incomplete, the lighter case will be a six-month fine, and the worst case will be fined. The flower feathers on the head should be removed; if the family is unfortunate, a prodigal son is born, and he is stolen and pawned, he will be imprisoned in the prison of the Ministry of Punishment, which will be very bad.
The emperor's favor is actually a double-edged sword. This is what the people say: "Accompanying the emperor is like accompanying a tiger." It can show off its power, but it can also be hurt at any time. , such examples are common in history.
Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty (i.e. Gaozong Hongli) reigned for sixty years, not only in the sixteenth year of Qianlong (1751), the twenty-second year of Qianlong (1757), the second year of Qianlong In the 16th year of Qianlong's reign (1762), the 30th year of Qianlong's reign (1765), the 45th year of Qianlong's reign (1780), and the 49th year of Qianlong's reign (1784), he made six southern tours. He visited Huai'an, Yangzhou, Suzhou, Hangzhou, Huizhou, Jiangning and many other places in the south of the Yangtze River, and regarded his "southern tour" as one of the two most important events in his life. He said in "Records of the Imperial Southern Inspection": "In the fifty years since I came to the imperial throne, I have carried out two major events, one is the Western Division, and the other is the Southern Inspection." Why did Emperor Qianlong mobilize troops to move from south to north for six consecutive years? What about going to Jiangnan? Some say that Emperor Qianlong "envyed the south of the Yangtze River and traveled south to take advantage of the prosperity", some said that he "clarified the truth about his origins", and some said that he "hoped that the southern tour would solve social problems". The answers are still divided and inconsistent.
The latest theory is the "Hui Cuisine Theory" we introduce here, that is: Emperor Qianlong's many trips to the south of the Yangtze River after his first visit were actually to visit Yangzhou and other places again, and then come back again. Come to taste the feast dishes such as the Anhui cuisine provided by Jiang Chun. The "Anhui cuisine" and other Jiangnan delicacies served at the "Jiangchun Anhui Cuisine Reception Banquet" one after another were not only something he had never tasted in his life, but he had never even heard of or seen them. , so the curiosity is greatly satisfied, and once you taste it, you can't take it away or forget it. After returning to Beijing, I recalled and reminisced about the Anhui delicacies of Jiang Chun, a wealthy man from the south of the Yangtze River, several times. I ordered the imperial chef to cook them several times, but it was always difficult to achieve the desired taste. Therefore, we have to go to Jiangnan and see Jiangchun again and again in order to taste the taste and satisfy the craving. As the saying goes, "food is the most important thing for the people", and "eating" is the most important thing in the world.
At the same time, another reason why Emperor Qianlong went to the south of the Yangtze River six times was to bring his royal chef team with him again and again in order to learn how to cook the Anhui cuisine at the Jiangchun reception banquet. skills, and purchased relevant Anhui cuisine raw materials and brought them back to the palace for trial cooking. However, it failed to work, so I had to let them follow and learn again and again until they were completely disappointed.
Among the above statements, only the "delicious temptation" in this statement is the most powerful reason for Emperor Qianlong to visit the south of the Yangtze River six times; while the other statements can only be explained as " The reason for "going to Jiangnan" cannot be the reason why he went to Jiangnan six times in a row.
Therefore, we can even make the hypothesis that the Hui cuisine of "Jiang Chun Hui Cuisine Reception Banquet" is more important to this man who finally lived to the age of eighty-nine and is one of the 200-year-old Hui cuisine in Chinese history. Emperor Qianlong, who lived the longest among many emperors, made great contributions to his health and longevity.
Jiang Chun (1720-1789), also known as Yingchang, also known as Heting and Guangda, was a native of Jiangcunwai Village, She County, Ancient Huizhou Prefecture, Anhui Province. In the Qing Dynasty, there was a famous wealthy Huizhou merchant who lived in Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province and was engaged in salt business. He was the first among the "Eight General Merchants in Huaihe and Huaihe River" during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty. Because of his miracle of "building a white pagoda with salt piled overnight, and Anhui cuisine succeeding Emperor Qianlong", he is known as "the best Anhui merchant in the world" who "befriends the emperor with common people". According to "Yangzhou Hua Fang Lu", Jiang Chun served as the general merchant for forty years. He was successively awarded by Qianlong with titles such as "Fengchenyuan Yu of the Ministry of Internal Affairs" and "Chief Envoy". He was recommended to the first rank and was rewarded with a peacock feather, which was the salt of the year. The only one left in Shang Dynasty was that Jiang Chun was said to have "handled his cloth to the emperor" and "all his colleagues felt it was the greatest honor".
When Emperor Qianlong visited the south of the Yangtze River six times, Jiang Chun took care of all the supplies and planned the reception, which was the so-called "Jiang Chun Grand Reception". Emperor Qianlong once presented a symmetrical edict to Jiang Chun at the Jinshan Palace, personally unwrapped the royal robe and gave it to him, and granted him the title of Imperial Minister. He also visited Jiang Chun's villa "Kangshan Thatched Cottage" twice, gave him gold and jade antiques, inscribed a plaque on "Yixing Hall", and praised Jiang Chun's "heaping salt overnight to build a white pagoda" with the words "the financial resources of the salt merchants are so great". Miracle.
Although Jiang Chun, a giant businessman from Huizhou, has lived in Yangzhou for a long time, he has been living and working hard in the "Huizhou colonial" atmosphere he deliberately created: he lived in villas and private gardens with strong Huizhou characteristics, and ate It is the Hui cuisine delicacies prepared by the home kitchen team and the main raw materials brought from Huizhou, the hometown. What is fun is the self-organized "Deyin Class", "Chuntai Class" and other Hui opera classes, and even ordinary life conversations The language used is also the local dialect because the villagers live together.
There are two things worth mentioning in particular. One is: Jiang Chun's "Chuntai Class", in the fifty-fifth year of Qianlong (1790), and "Sanqing Class", "Sixi Class" and " Together with the Spring Troupe, they were ordered to come to Beijing to perform for Emperor Qianlong's 80th birthday, interpreting the very famous event in history that "the four major Anhui troupes came to Beijing, leading to the birth of Peking Opera"; the other one was: Jiang Chunjie The Qianlong Banquet was carefully cooked by his team of chefs based on Jiang Chun's designs.
Why was "Buyi Jiangchun" able to participate in every pick-up and receive high praise and praise from Emperor Qianlong? The beauty of that is that what Jiang Chun presented was exactly the "local Anhui cuisine" that local officials were indispensable for and that Emperor Qianlong had never tasted. Jiang Chun was playing the "specialty" card.
So, what exactly are these mysterious comprehensive recipes for the "Jiangchun Anhui Cuisine Reception Banquet"? The research results show that they are:
Tea product section: Presented with the traditional tea product of "Huizhou Tin Grid Tea" and its etiquette and customs, which has now become the representative work of Anhui Province's intangible cultural heritage, including Huizhou's traditional famous delicacies Refreshments include "Dingshi Crisps", "Cunjin Sugar", "Fuling Cake", "Jiao Slices", etc., as well as "Huizhou Spiced Tea Eggs".
Breakfast part: "Bird's Nest Stewed with Rock Sugar".
Drinks: "Huangshan Maofeng Tea" from Caoxi, Huizhou, etc.
Fruit section: Shexian Santan loquat, Yixian Liren torreya, etc.
Food part: fragrant rice made from Lingshan tribute rice, Huizhou Tuo Kueh, etc.
The tribute part: Huizhou Study Four Treasure Box, Huizhou Tribute Chrysanthemum, etc.
Dishes: Jixi Yipin hotpot, gold, silver and white jade plates, red-billed green parrots, a sound of thunder, fish head stewed with tofu, sandy horseshoe turtle, civet in the snow, wax-flavored political bamboo shoots, Fat chicken roasted tofu, Huizhou wonton duck, green vegetable shredded chicken tofu soup, Huizhou fuyi dumpling soup, etc.
"After six southern tours, I dreamed of traveling in other years", this is a poem written by Emperor Qianlong after his sixth southern tour. Since then, "Emperor Qianlong went to the south of the Yangtze River" has become a swan song in the history of Chinese romance; since then, Jiang Chun, who created the miracle of "heaping salt overnight to build a white pagoda, and Anhui cuisine succeeded Emperor Qianlong", has also become a Huizhou merchant. "The best Huizhou merchants" in history; and the "Jiang Chun Reception Banquet" carefully designed by Jiang Chun has now become a special feast in the "Hui Banquet Official Cuisine" after the rebirth of the "Huizhou Merchants Guild Hall" , has become one of the temptations for high-ranking officials, white-collar workers, gourmets and all living beings to enter the "Huizhou Merchants Guild Hall".
Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty (i.e. Gaozong Hongli) reigned for sixty years, not only in the sixteenth year of Qianlong (1751), the twenty-second year of Qianlong (1757), the second year of Qianlong In the 16th year of Qianlong's reign (1762), the 30th year of Qianlong's reign (1765), the 45th year of Qianlong's reign (1780), and the 49th year of Qianlong's reign (1784), he made six southern tours. He visited Huai'an, Yangzhou, Suzhou, Hangzhou, Huizhou, Jiangning and many other places in the south of the Yangtze River, and regarded his "southern tour" as one of the two most important events in his life. He said in "Records of the Imperial Southern Inspection": "In the fifty years since I came to the imperial throne, I have carried out two major events, one is the Western Division, and the other is the Southern Inspection." Why did Emperor Qianlong mobilize his troops in such a way to move all the troops back south and north for six consecutive years? What about going to Jiangnan? Some say that Emperor Qianlong "envyed the south of the Yangtze River and traveled south to take advantage of the prosperity", some said that he "clarified the truth about his origins", and some said that he "hoped that the southern tour would solve social problems". The answers have been divided so far.
The latest theory is the "Hui Cuisine theory" we introduce here, that is: Emperor Qianlong's many trips to the south of the Yangtze River after his first visit were actually to visit Yangzhou and other places again, and then come back again. Come to taste the feast dishes such as the Anhui cuisine provided by Jiang Chun. The "Anhui cuisine" and other Jiangnan delicacies served at the "Jiangchun Anhui Cuisine Reception Banquet" one after another were not only something he had never tasted in his life, but he had never even heard of or seen them. , so the curiosity is greatly satisfied, and once you taste it, you can’t take it away or forget it. After returning to Beijing, I recalled and recalled the Anhui delicacies of Jiang Chun, a wealthy man from the south of the Yangtze River, several times. I ordered the imperial chef to cook them several times, but it was always difficult to achieve the desired taste. Therefore, we have to go to Jiangnan and see Jiangchun again and again in order to taste the taste and satisfy the craving. As the saying goes, "food is the most important thing for the people", and "eating" is the most important thing in the world.