Spicy in the middle of the spicy
During the Three Kingdoms period, Zhang Yi of the State of Wei wrote a copy of Guangya, which is the first encyclopedia dictionary in China, in which the interpretation of "spicy" is: spicy, xin also.
Spicy, out of spice, and very strong spicy. Chinese history of eating spicy, we must look for it from the spicy taste.
The spices of the Chinese are first and foremost peppercorns.
In ancient times, peppercorns had four major uses: seeking children, worshipping gods, medicinal uses, and eating.
Peppercorns have many seeds, so they are regarded by the ancestors as the mascot of fertility.
The smell of peppercorns is fragrant and strong, and can be used to entertain the gods, and the Chu Ci often uses examples of "cinnamon pepper pulp" sacrifices.
Peppercorns are spicy and can drive away evil spirits, dehumidify and kill insects.
Of course, the most important thing about peppercorns is its edible value. Whenever meat is cooked, the peppercorns are on the field.
Liu Xi's "Interpretation of names" of the Eastern Han Dynasty records the practice of "burning": ginger, pepper, salt, soy sauce and other ingredients are placed on the surface of the meat, wrapped up and grilled over fire.
The Southern and Northern Dynasties Jia Sixun's "Qi Min Zhi Shu" has a more detailed introduction to this method: wash it with a very fat goose, cook it semi-cooked and boneless, and mash it with bitter wine, sauerkraut, ginger, pepper and other ingredients, wrap the meat, and grill it on the fire.
In addition, Jia Sixun also wrote a lot of uses of pepper in the book, all related to cooking meat food.
Since the Song Dynasty, Sichuan has been an important producer of peppercorns, until today, Sichuan cuisine in mapo tofu, husband and wife lung slices, Sichuan bean flowers, etc., peppercorns are the main condiments.
Ancient peppercorns were widely consumed in the north and south of China, and another spice, ginger, was more loved by southerners.
This is related to the medicinal properties of ginger, and Xu Shen's "Commentaries on the Interpretation of Texts" called ginger "the dish of royal wetness".
South of the Yangtze River in China is warm and humid, so people often eat ginger to keep warm and dehumidify.
In the "Spring and Autumn of the Lü Dynasty", it is written that when the dietary official Yi Yin introduced the world's delicacies to the Shang King Chengtang, he mentioned "the beauty of harmony, the ginger of Yangpu".
Yangpu is now Sichuan Province.
In fact, the area along the Yangtze River is the main production area of ginger, but in comparison, the ancients took Shu ginger as the top, which can be seen from two stories.
During the Three Kingdoms, there was an alchemist named Zuo Ci, who showed illusion for Cao Cao, Cao Cao first let him take Songjiang perch, after Zuo Ci conjured up, Cao Cao wanted to eat and sighed that there was no "Shu ginger" to match, so he let Zuo Ci conjure up.
As soon as the words fell, Zuo Ci really conjured up "Shu Jiang". Cao Cao was very happy, and the reward was naturally out of the question.
This story can be seen in Wu Perch and Shu Jiang, which at that time was not two beauty.
Another story is also from the Three Kingdoms period, when Sun Quan ordered Fang Shijie to conjure up "mullet and Shu ginger", and although the type of fish changed, ginger was still Shu ginger.
As for eating, ginger has three main uses: One is used as a fishy condiment, such as blanched fish, fish fragrant meat shreds, etc., more use of ginger, take its old and spicy nature;
Second, as a fresh vegetable stir-fried food, special tender ginger, Su Dongpo once praised "Xianshe ginger bud fat than meat", which shows its deliciousness;
Third, as a pickle to accompany the food, Lu You described the sub ginger marinated in brine and wine.
Among the spicy ingredients in ancient times, there is also a good product that was written into the famous poem by the great poet Wang Wei: Zhu Yu.
Yes, it was when Wang Weiman tearfully wrote "one less person planted everywhere", which made him remember the "Zhu Yu".
Zhu Yu is an ancient medicinal ingredient produced in the provinces of the south and north of the Great River in China.
Ancient zhuyi trees, bark has a sterilization function.
Ordinary people brush their teeth and rinse their mouths, often chewing a piece of cocoon bark, not only can clean the mouth, but also sterilize and relieve pain, equivalent to ancient toothpaste.
When the Tang Dynasty people ascended the Chongyang Festival, they must wear a "Cocoon Sac" with a Cocoon inserted on their arms.
A sentence of "one less person is planted all over the place", how much nostalgia for relatives is in between.
In ancient times, there was also an imported spice that was so popular that it was so expensive in the long run, that is, pepper.
Pepper is valuable because the demand is too large and the yield is too small.
During the Western Han Dynasty, pepper was introduced to China, setting off a pepper fever.
At that time, there was a saying of "pepper room", the emperor used pepper mixed with white paste to paint the walls of the concubine, the nobles used pepper mixed with agarwood to smoke clothes, and the bureaucrats also had to contain a pepper before going to the court, one was to freshen the breath, the other was for aphrodisiac.
By the time of the Tang Dynasty, pepper was still a luxury. It is mainly used as a precious medicine and is only used as a seasoning in "hupan meat".
Many wealthy people exchange their possessions for pepper to preserve their value.
When yuan Zai, a corrupt official of the Tang Dynasty, fell, eight hundred stones of pepper alone were found in the family, and storing pepper was equivalent to saving money. Even some dynastic salaries are directly peppered.
In the more than one hundred years from Hongwu to Chenghua in the Ming Dynasty, officials' salaries plus the salaries of Shubian soldiers were often paid with pepper.
Even during the ming dynasty, the Beijing officials were peppered for half a year, and every time they asked everyone to carry the pepper home happily. Pepper's "market credibility" is far greater than that of Mingbao banknotes.
Peppers come from the west
Peppers are generally thought to be native to the Americas, and Columbus brought them back to Europe after discovering the New World.
At the end of the 16th century, chili peppers entered China with the trend of world trade.
However, in the beginning, chili peppers were introduced in China as ornamental plants.
Gao Lian, a native of Hangzhou during the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty, wrote a book called "Zunsheng Eight Notes", in which he clearly recorded that chili peppers were treated as ornamental plants at this time and did not enter the field of consumption.
During the Kangxi Dynasty of the Qing Dynasty, he was also a Hangzhou native named Chen Shuzi, who wrote in the book "Flower Mirror": "Its taste is the spicyest, and it is mostly used by people." It is studied very finely, and taken in the winter month to replace pepper. ”
It can be seen that by this time, chili pepper has been used as a substitute for pepper, but it is not commonly used.
In the Jiaqing period, Zhang Mu of Jiangxi Province, in his "Discernment of Adjusting Diseases and Diets", contains that "in recent decades, the group is addicted to a thing, the name spicy piece, also known as chili pepper".
This record shows that in the Less developed Jiangxi region of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, chili peppers have become a common food for the lower classes.
In the Guizhou region, there is a record of "soil seedlings used as substitutes for salt".
Because salt is expensive and peppers are cheap, poor people eat peppers to stimulate their sense of taste. So there is a saying that the poorer you are, the more spicy you can eat.
The "Qing Barnyard Banknotes" records a story of Zeng Guofan eating chili peppers.
Zeng Guofan served as the governor of Liangjiang, and a subordinate official wanted to understand his eating habits in order to win Zeng's favor, so he secretly bribed Zeng's brother-in-law.
The guy said that he should have everything, don't have to dig out the whole trick, before each dish is served, just show me.
After a while, the official brought a bowl of guan yan for the brother-in-law to see.
Without saying a word, the man took out a bamboo-controlled container and sprinkled it into the bowl.
The official asked him what he was doing, and the man said that it was paprika, and the old man could not eat less than every meal.
Red pepper, one of the red industries in Xinjiang. Every autumn, farmers are drying peppers on the Gobi in the town of Anjihai on the northern slope of the Tianshan Mountains.
The official was astonished, he thought that Zeng Guofan was in a high position of authority, and the taste should be very exquisite, at least not spicy.
To put it bluntly, at that time, eating spicy was not elegant.
By the end of the Qing Dynasty, China had formed four major spicy food centers in Hunan, Sichuan, Yunnan and Guizhou.
Xu Ke's "Qing Barnyard Banknotes" clearly pointed out that "Dian, Qian, Xiang, and Shu people are fond of spicy products", which coincides with today's saying that "Yunnan people are not spicy, Guizhou people are not afraid of spicy, Hunan people are not afraid of spicy, sichuan people are afraid of not spicy".
Spicy culture
Once spicy food has formed habits and traditions, it has bred its social and cultural significance.
Today, in addition to the four major spicy centers mentioned above, the spicy circle has become more and more extensive.
This has a background that cannot be ignored – China's cities are rapidly transforming from regional cities to immigrant cities.
Spicy circles give rise to identity.
Zhang Qijun's "Principles of Cooking" said that an interesting phenomenon said that he did not dare to eat spicy in his hometown, even if there was a little spicy in the dish, he did not dare to eat the whole plate.
But after coming to Hunan, in less than half a year, I was like the locals who ate peppers.
People in the middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze River who have heavy spicy circles, if they see people who emphasize not putting peppers at dinner, they will definitely think that this person is from other places, and even have xenophobic psychology.
Conversely, in other regions, if we see a guest in a barbecue stall or hot pot restaurant who orders more peppers, we often can't help but think that this person is from Hunan, Sichuan and other places.
Some people even know from the phrase "put more peppers" that they find their hometowns in different places and produce friendships that help each other.
In the same way, "no chili" or "less chili" has become a sign in other regions.
The "spicy" thing and the north-south difference of "salty or sweet" have become important indicators of regional identity.
On top of identity, there is also the cultural significance derived from spicy food.
Zhou Zuoren has an article "Eating Green Pepper" about spicy: "Only spicy is not necessary in the five flavors, but my favorite is spicy." ......
As for the hot fire, how amazing the name is, it can really show his virtue, and the fire burns you a little, and the unaccustomed people feel that this taste has entered the painful area.
And the spicy pattern is also very varied, easy to identify, not as simple as others.
For example, ginger is spicy and peaceful, green peppers are fierce, pepper mustard goes to the nose, and green peppers rush to the throat, and the spicy is stubborn, not a moment later, but it is spicy there, and the hot name of the hot jia should have been exclusive to it. ”
The pungent taste of chili peppers and the fiery red image have been given personality meaning by people, saying that people have courage and boldness, and are bold and enthusiastic called "spicy".
Wang Xifeng in "Dream of the Red Chamber", with an open personality, sharp speech, and boldness in doing things, is known as "Phoenix Spicy".
Hunan people have a bold personality, and they do not let their eyebrows be shaved, so people call Hunan girls "hot girls".
Mao Zedong and Edgar Snow said that "no chili is not revolutionary", and associated chili peppers with a fiery revolutionary spirit, which is a personality theory derived from spicy food.
In addition to personality theory, spicy food also breeds a cultural aesthetic style.
We call the tough and sharp wind of the artwork "old spicy", such as the Song Dynasty Liu Kezhuang commented on Zhao Jiao's song line "Sadness and Generosity, Bitter Hard Old Spicy".
The rhetoric is sophisticated, the weight is light, and it is more to the point, that is, "old spicy", Zhong Jingwen recalled Lu Xun's "calm attitude, although he does not show a smile, but naturally amiable, not as old and spicy as the articles written by his old man".
Eating chili peppers, splashing spicy once, old spicy, so that the peaceful body and mind get some stimulation, is not also the fun in life?
Producer | First of all, Hongming
Edit | Yu Xin
Some of the image material is organized from the Internet
If there is any infringement, please contact us in time to delete
-END-