Han Dynasty food instrument
Instrumental 3N3N
The way of eating in the Han Dynasty basically inherited the tradition of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty and did not change much. The dietary norms of the upper class have a tendency to become more serious, especially in court banquets, the lively atmosphere is not strong, and there are too many constraints. Informal occasions are different, and etiquette norms often lose their proper role, resulting in a lot of right and wrong.
The person who created the ritual law for the Han Dynasty was the Confucian uncle Sun Tong, who was originally a doctor of the Qin Dynasty, and later returned to Liu Bang and still served as a doctor. After Liu Bang became emperor, "the group of ministers drank and competed for merit, drunk or vainly shouted, and drew swords and struck pillars", and the meritorious ministers drank heavily, danced swords and made the emperor extremely unreliable, but there was nothing he could do. When His uncle sun saw this, Qin asked the emperor to formulate a ceremonial law, and he "mixed ancient rites with Qin yi" and created a set of ceremonial methods for princes and ministers to meet the emperor. This method draws a strict line between kings and subjects, and this relationship between kings and subjects has continued unchanged for more than two thousand years.
Han Dynasty Banquet and DrinkIng Picture Portrait Brick Tuoben (Chengdu, Sichuan)
The basic norm of the Shusun Tong Ritual Law is that the emperor's seat is high in the north, and the civil officials of the imperial court are arranged in the east of the hall, while the military generals of the marquis are arranged in the west of the hall, facing each other. As a result of this, the civil and military officials "must not be afraid and reverent." In particular, the etiquette of the wine feast was stipulated, and those who accompanied the emperor to drink wine had to sit on the palace with their heads bowed, prostrate themselves, and dare not look at the emperor squarely. Toasts to the emperor are made in the order of the rank of the position, and no mess is allowed. There was also a special picket at the wine feast, and when he found that there were people who violated the etiquette, he was about to throw out the feast. In this way, "no one dares to make a fuss about disrespect", no one dares to shout anymore, and Liu Bang even said in a loud voice: "I am known today as the emperor's nobles!" One by one, the civil and military officials obeyed and obeyed, and the emperor really felt that he was incomparably noble. Liu Bang immediately promoted his uncle Sun Tong to Taichang and "gave five hundred jin of gold" as a noble reward.
Portrait of Han Dynasty Banquet Map Shi Tuoben (Yinan, Shandong)
Before this set of rituals of Shusun Tong was officially implemented, some people were specially found to conduct exercises. The director exported a serious play, which the emperor loved to act, even the empress dowager and so on. The "Biography of the Five Kings of Gao" records such an incident: Liu Zhang, the second son of King Hui of Qi, entered the harem to serve drinks, and Empress Lü made him a wine official, giving him the greatest authority in the wine feast. Liu Zhang said to Empress Lü: "The subject is from the general gate, please allow the wine to be drunk according to the military law." Without thinking, Lü Hou agreed. When he was drunk, Liu Zhangjin sang and danced. After a while, one of the Zhulu was drunk and ran out of the temple. Liu Zhang hurried up, drew his sword and cut off his head. The people around the empress dowager were shocked, but because they had already allowed the use of military law to drink, it was not easy to blame Liu Zhang, and the wine feast was not happy. The seriousness of the ritual is also fully reflected in this ordinary occasion.
Pious courtiers even brought the etiquette of the court home and meticulously implemented it. The "Book of Han and Shi Fen's Biography" says that Shi Fen's qualifications for being a doctor returned to his old age, and although he was retired, he still guarded the etiquette, and sometimes the emperor gave him food to send to his home, and he also "prostrated himself and ate" like in the court, just like the emperor was in front of him.
Of course, not every official is so religious, and there are people who are extremely reluctant to follow the rules like this. Chen Zun, a Western Han Dynasty man, was the Taishou of Henan, and often entered the widow's house to drink, sing and dance, and even stay overnight, confusing the difference between men and women. Later, he was a lieutenant to the rank of lieutenant, the Marquis of Fengjiawei, and was respected by the nobles of the marquises in Chang'an, but his nature was difficult to change, and he became an alcoholic, and every time he drank heavily, the guests were full. In case the guests left, the gate was closed tightly, and even the guest's car was pulled out of the well, so that people could not leave his home in a big emergency. This caused many people to be dissatisfied, and the emperor was played, and as a result, Chen Zun was removed from his official position.
There was also the informal Dongfang Shuo, who once got drunk and took the liberty of running to the emperor's main hall and spilling a soak of urine, and was stripped of his post. The son of Zhang Rang, a eunuch of the Eastern Han Dynasty, was originally an imperial physician and an absurd drunkard. He drank with people and was often naked for fun. When the wine is loose, the shoes and boots of the people are placed together in a haphazard manner, so that the size is not matched, and the people are crooked and fallen down, so as to make fun of it.
Taking off your shoes and ascending to the church is a tradition that has existed for a long time in ancient times. Sometimes when a minister meets the monarch, he must not only take off his shoes first, but also take off his socks, and he must go barefoot, called a foot. The "Twenty-five Years of Zuo Chuan And Wai Gong" says that once the Weiguo Monarch and the doctors were drinking in the Lingtai, and the city official Chu Shishengzi "socks and ascended to the table", and entered the feast without taking off his socks. Wei Chugong thought that this was a rude move, very angry, Chu Shi Shengzi explained: "I have an injury on my foot, unlike others, if people see it, it is inevitable that they will be nauseated and vomited, so they did not dare to take off their socks." Hearing this, Wei Chugong became more and more unforgiving, thinking that this man was deliberately opposing him, no matter how the doctors who sat there tried to persuade him, and insisted on cutting off his feet. To sit on the table without taking off one's socks is guilty of such a great sin, which is beyond the comprehension of today's people.
Han Dynasty living chart portrait Shi Tuoben (Xinye, Henan)
In the Han Dynasty, this etiquette dogma was also inherited to the letter, and even the ordinary scholars' families strictly adhered to it. The "Huainanzi Tai Ethnic Training" says: "The old family eats different meals and enjoys special utensils." The woman staggered up to the church, knelt and poured soup. It is not costless, but it is not inexpensive, and it is harmful to it. "Within the family, the old man should eat well, use good utensils, the daughter-in-law must strip naked to go to the church, and kneel respectfully when serving soup." None of these rules can be omitted, even if you feel cumbersome.
As a woman, not only should she be respectful to the elderly, but also treat her husband with courtesy when she got married, which was also unequivocal in the Han Dynasty. Liang Hong, a hermit of the Eastern Han Dynasty, was initially trained in Taixue and later entered the Shanglin Garden to herd pigs. When he returned to his hometown, he married Meng Guang and lived in seclusion in the Baling Mountains, where he made a career in farming and weaving. After that, Liang Hong and his wife wandered to the area of present-day Suzhou, living under the eaves of a rich man, Gao Botong, and working hard to get by. Whenever Liang Hong's maid returned, his wife prepared food for him, raised the food case and brought it to him with an eyebrow, and did not even dare to look up at the husband. Gao Botong saw this scene and was deeply moved, and invited the suffering couple to live in his home. Meng Guang's case raised eyebrows, becoming a good legend of husband and wife respecting each other as guests. Meng Guang may have been influenced by the concept of Gang Chang, but it was a common etiquette for her to raise her eyebrows in this way. The "Book of Han and Biography of Foreign Relatives" says that when the empress dowager saw the empress dowager, she also had to personally eat for the case.
Han Tomb Couple Feast Mural (Luoyang, Henan)
In the Han Dynasty, it was common to use short and small schemes or round cases as food tables. Observed by some portrait stones, eaters sit on a table and set up a case in front of the table, often one case for one person or one case for two people. There are one or two plates on the case, or several pieces of ear cups and a pair of chopsticks. Other heavier bottles, jugs and food boxes are placed on the floor next to the case for easy access. Later, although some couples loved each other no less than Liang Hong and Meng Guang, it was difficult to raise eyebrows again, because from the food case to the tableware, there were changes, and the table was too heavy to be lifted frequently.
Han Dynasty lacquer food case (Yangzhou, Jiangsu)
In the Han Dynasty, because the food case was short, the tableware was also very light, and sometimes even the larger plates and bowls were not used, but it was popular to eat directly with small ear cups, which were originally dedicated to drinking. Even the small ding-shaped hot pot that prevailed in the Zhou Dynasty was cast in the shape of an ear cup at this time, and then accompanied by a charcoal stove, which was called dyeing cup and dyeing furnace. The capacity of this kind of ear cup is generally only 250 ~ 130 ml, and the height of the dyeing furnace is not more than 10 ~ 14 cm, small and exquisite, can be directly placed on the food table.
Han Dynasty dyeing furnace (Xi'an, Shaanxi)
On the Han Dynasty portrait stone, the food case is a most valued subject, of course, the banquet and drinking place is indispensable to it, and the kitchen place can often find its traces. For example, a portrait stone excavated from the West Village of Liangtai in front of Zhucheng, Shandong Province, is a wonderful kitchen drawing, which is the best work of the same genre seen so far.
Han Dynasty Kitchen Picture Portrait Stone Facsimile (Zhucheng, Shandong)
There are more than forty busy cooks inscribed on the picture, some of them collecting water, some cooking, brewing, slaughtering, cutting meat and fish, and some in kebabs and meat making, everything is so well organized. In particular, two servants who sort out the food cases are also shown standing in front of the seven food cases listed, carefully scrubbing. Behind them, there was a tray of male servants, carrying food in their hands. Once the food and utensils are placed and stopped, they are to be carried out for the enjoyment of the guests of honor. Larger of these types of food can also be used directly as cooking tables, which can be found in many Cooking scenes in Han Dynasty portrait bricks and portrait stones.
Original
Self-authored "Food and Chinese Culture"
People's Publishing House, 1994