Salt has a long history on the continent. In ancient China, salt was said to be the "blood of Xuan you", and it is said that the legendary Xuan You once fought with the Yellow Emperor in the wilderness of Zhuolu, and was chased by the Yellow Emperor and beheaded, and the blood flowed everywhere and became salt. Because the worm is particularly sinful, the people eat its blood, which is the origin of this name. There is also a saying that the chefs worship King Zhan as their ancestor. It's because of salt.
Zhan Wangben is a famous chef. Once the king asked him, what is the most delicious thing to eat? He replied, "Salt is the most fragrant." The king was furious and said, "Who doesn't know how to eat salt?" And how fragrant is the salt! So he was killed. After killing, the king asked other cooks to cook dishes without salt, wanting to try whether salt was saltless or not. It turns out that the unsalted dish is indeed not fragrant. The king regretted that he had killed Chef Zhan by mistake, and after mourning, he made him the King of Chefs, built a temple for him, sculpted his statue, and offered him as a "Chef Bodhisattva", and the incense continued to burn.
Every year on the 17th day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar, there is also the Zhan Wang Temple Fair, and after that, this day is also set as the anniversary of the chef's acceptance of apprentices and the departure of the master. From the historical data, as early as the Yangshao culture period 5,000 years ago, our ancestors were able to use seawater to boil salt, and there is a legend that "The first boiling of seawater for salt by the Susha clan". During the Western Zhou Dynasty, Xiechi in Yuncheng, Shanxi Province, had already produced lake salt on a large scale. During this period, a large number of salt merchants appeared, the most famous of which was the salt merchant Yi Dun in the Warring States period, who became rich by running the salt industry in ten years, and his wealth was comparable to that of a prince.
On the basis of the establishment of an official in charge of the salt government (historically known as the "salt man") during the Western Zhou Dynasty, in the Spring and Autumn Period, the State of Qi set up a salt official to cook salt and practice monopoly. During the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, he set up a salt official office and established a salt law, which implemented the monopoly of salt and prohibited private ownership. During the reign of Emperor Zhao of the Western Han Dynasty, there were also more than sixty literary people from all over the world who elected xianliang and held meetings in the capital to oppose the salt and iron official camp. The famous "Salt and Iron Theory" records the debate at that time. In the Tang Dynasty, salt and iron envoys were set up to manage the salt monopoly and concurrently engaged in the mining and smelting of silver, copper, iron and tin. In the Yuan Dynasty, salt transport envoys were set up, and the Ming and Qing dynasties followed this system.
There were many types of salt in ancient times on the continent. In the Zhou Li Tianguan, bitter salt, loose salt, shaped salt, and rao salt are mentioned. Bitter salt is unmelted pool salt. Loose salt, also known as end salt, comes from the sea and wells. The shape salt is the sealed salt formed by the accumulation of halogen. Salt is a sweetened rock salt that is served exclusively by kings. In addition to the above varieties, there are still varieties of ancient mainland salts such as soil salt, cliff salt, and sand and gravel salt.
The Sushen people (later known as the Jurchens), who lived in the northeast of the mainland, also produced leaf salt, and the Wei Shu Beji Biography has a saying that "the country of Beji, the water vapor is formed, and the salt is condensed on the tree", which is what it says. In ancient times, Xi Rong (ethnic minorities in the northwest) produced "bright salt", which is mostly produced on mountain stones, colorless and transparent, like crystals, and can be eaten without decoction. In addition, the varieties of table salt in the ancient texts of the mainland include green salt, green salt, red salt and so on. Eye drops made of green salt were also exported to Iran and other countries in that year, and were quite popular.
The use of salt for medicinal purposes is also recorded in ancient mainland books. The Qing Dynasty physician Wang Shixiong (1806-1869) discussed the medicinal use of salt in detail in his book "Dietary Recipes for Living with Rest". Long ago, the ancients on the mainland already knew how to use salt to marinate meat, pickles, etc., but they could not be preserved for a long time. In ancient texts, the "fish" and "菹" often refer to pickled fish and pickled vegetables. Such records can be read in historical books such as the Zhou Li, the Qi Min Zhi Shu, and the Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
In the consumption of salt, there are also some interesting things worth mentioning. Salt is necessary for everyone. However, in ancient times on the mainland, there was a saying that there was no salt in the mourning. For example, "Nanqi Shu Qi Wei Ancestral Biography", "Father's Funeral Does Not Eat Salt", "Liang Shu Zhang Hongce Biography", "Worried by His Mother, He Did Not Eat Salt Dishes for Three Years"; "Chen Shu Xiaoxing Biography" "Zhang Zhao's brother Qian, father and brother do not eat salt and vinegar"; The "Song Shi Zhang Gen Biography" and other records such as "the father's disease is salt, and the root is light" and so on, all mention this point. This unique custom should be derived from the "Book of Rites and Miscellaneous Notes" in the "Gong Decay Vegetables and Fruits, Drinking Water Pulp, No Salt Cheese, No Food, Salt Cheese Can Also." "Meaning, but this law of filial piety has long ceased to be enforced."