The spirit of the country is manifested in cultural exchange and tolerance. Based on Chinese civilization, unfolding the historical record, and following China's "Sea and Land Silk Road", we can see the unique imprint left by China in the mutual learning with the civilizations of all countries in the world. China exported the "Four Great Inventions" and silk, porcelain, tea and other products to the countries along the way, and the countries gave back exotic products. The ancient Silk Road, from which the aroma of food wafted, enriched the source of ingredients in the food culture of Chinese vegetarian cuisine.
Overland Silk Road of the Han Dynasty
The large-scale introduction of garden vegetables in China began in the Western Han Dynasty. During the reign of Emperor Wu of han, Zhang Qian was ordered to send an envoy to the Western Regions, opening a window for the exchange of material culture between China and the West. The central government of the Han Dynasty set up the Western Regions Capital Protectorate, whose main responsibility was to guard the territory, maintain social order, and ensure the smooth flow of the Silk Road. As a result, envoys and merchants from various countries have frequent trade exchanges with china, and novel agricultural products from the Middle East, West Asia, South Asia and many other countries have been introduced to the Central Plains through the "Silk Road".
▲ Dunhuang mural _Zhang Qian's envoy to the Western Regions
During the Han Dynasty, among the plant ingredients imported from outside the region, there were mainly fruits and vegetables. According to ancient documents such as the "Records of History", "Book of Han", "Compendium of Materia Medica", and "Natural History", the fruits introduced at this time were grapes, pomegranates, and walnuts (walnuts). Vegetables include cucumber (coriander), broad beans (coriander), eggplant (carrot), garlic onion (shallot), coriander (coriander), sesame seeds (flax). These ingredients, which are still widely used, affect the raw materials and flavors of Chinese vegetarian dishes.
Tang and Song dynasties sea and land Silk Road
With the southward shift of the economic center of gravity, the Maritime Silk Road flourished during the Tang and Song dynasties. During the Tang Dynasty, the economy was prosperous, Sino-foreign trade was very active, China and Central Asia, West Asia and other countries through the traditional Silk Road exchanges frequently, with Japan, Korea and other countries through the sea and land exchanges, accordingly introduced foreign varieties of vegetables and fruits. According to the Records of the Western Regions of the Tang Dynasty, the Records of the Qing Dynasty, the Tang Huijiao and other documents, the vegetables imported from the Sui and Tang Dynasties included lettuce (thousand golden vegetables), spinach (bolly), eggplant (white varieties), and almonds (partial peaches).
In the Song Dynasty, foreign trade was unprecedented. The central government has set up a special municipal shipping department to manage overseas trade, and Ningbo, Quanzhou and Guangzhou are important ports. According to local records, the fruit and vegetable varieties introduced during this period were carrots (yellow radish), loofah (heavenly loofah), and Champa rice.
▲Qing Dynasty_Guangzhou Port
Through the sea and land Silk Road, the above vegetables have successively developed into cultivated plants in Chinese agriculture, supplementing the diversified needs of ingredients for vegetarian cooking. It has had a wide impact on China's food life.
Ming and Qing Maritime Silk Roads
During the Ming and Qing dynasties, affected by the war in the northwest, the economic and trade of the traditional Silk Road declined or even stagnated, and trade exchanges were mainly based on the Maritime Silk Road. In the Ming Dynasty, Zheng He went to the West seven times to promote trade with overseas countries. According to local chronicles such as "Pingliang Fu Zhi" and "Songxi County Chronicle", a large number of extraterritorial vegetables such as corn, sweet potatoes, peanuts, sunflowers, pumpkins, potatoes, tomatoes, bitter melons, and peppers were introduced to China.
▲ Zheng He went to the West
During the Qing Dynasty, according to the "Botanical Names Tu kao", "Lingnan Miscellaneous" and other books, fruits and vegetables such as cherimoya (Shakya fruit), pineapple, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, zucchini, chayote, dutch beans and other fruits and vegetables were introduced to China.
From the Tang Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty, the extraterritorial fruits and vegetables imported through the Maritime Silk Road came not only from India, Southeast Asia, the Mediterranean coast and Africa, but also from the New World "Americas" discovered by Columbus. Among them, sweet potatoes, corn, potatoes and other ingredients attract attention and have a wide impact on China's dietary life.
The impact of the introduction of extraterritorial ingredients
The opening of China's sea and land Silk Road has consolidated the foundation of China's ingredients, strengthened the flavor of food, and enriched the connotation of the dish system.
Judging from the main course, broad beans, corn, eggplant, etc., have become folk farmhouse cultivation products, providing ingredients for vegetarian cooking. From the perspective of spice plants, the introduction of green onions, garlic, peppers, and peppers has been widely used in folk vegetarian cuisine, modulating the taste of dishes, and even driving the leapfrog development of local cuisine "Sichuan cuisine".
▲Southern Song Dynasty_Chen Juzhong_Eggplant diagram
On the basis of foreign ingredients, the ancients created a large number of new dishes. Taking "sweet potato" as an example, the "Awakening Garden Record" details the preparation method of sweet potato fries and sweet potato cakes; the "Chengdu General Tour" records the two dishes of puree and baked amaranth. Dishes such as spinach noodles, pumpkin pie, grape soup, corn steamed buns and other dishes are still popular today.
In short, the influx of foreign ingredients has had an important impact on the flavor and cooking of Chinese cuisine.
The Silk Road, by sea and land, is also a road of food and cultural exchanges. From a macroscopic cross-cultural perspective, the ancient Silk Road witnessed China's tolerant attitude towards foreign cultures. The ancients used wisdom to innovate in the absorption of foreign ingredients and developed a food culture with Chinese national characteristics. Based on the new era, the Silk Road has been given a new connotation. Proceeding from the overall global situation, China advocates the development strategy of the "Belt and Road" and looks forward to a more brilliant future on the ancient Silk Road.