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Introduction
In the Song Dynasty, the development of sweet foods led to a revolutionary change in social diet. The development of sweet foods is completely due to the prosperity of the sugar industry in the Song Dynasty. For a long time in China, sugar cane and sugar were luxury consumer goods that could only be enjoyed by a few bureaucrats, and this changed during the Song Dynasty. In the Song Dynasty, in the sugar producing areas, ordinary people could also consume and use sugar cane and sugar in their daily lives, and people in large cities could also buy fresh sugar cane, sugar and a variety of sugar products in the market. This article will give you an insight into the prosperity of the sugar industry during the Song Dynasty and the social impact associated with it.
First, the reason why the sugar industry "became popular" in the Song Dynasty
In the Song Dynasty, sweet eating became an important way for Song Dynasty officials to regulate their bodies and minds. Food from other places became the main object of concern for the Song people who paid attention to life. They usually settle their minds through their daily diet and avoid the turbulence of politics. For example, cane sugar tastes sweet, so the Song people like to use sugar cane to describe a good life or things. Su Shi in "The First Part of the Second Rhyme" must make the situation of old age and leisure into sweet sugar cane:
"The young man works hard and eats it, and the old scenery is as idle as cane."
The sweetness itself has the effect of pleasing the mood and relaxing the spirit, and in the ancient society where the diet category is relatively scarce, the acquisition of sweet diet has become the main source of relaxation and leisure in the diet. The Song people's respect and pursuit of food, especially the sweet diet, promoted the development of the sweet diet from the side, thereby promoting the development of the cane sugar economy.
Second, the progress of sugarcane planting technology and cane sugar technology has promoted the industrial revolution
The development of the sugar industry economy in the Song Dynasty was first attributed to the progress of agricultural production and processing technology during this period. The mass production and acquisition of sucrose became a stable source of sweetness in the Song Dynasty, and the ways for people to obtain sweetness were further expanded, which had a significant impact on the changes in the daily diet structure of people in the Song Dynasty.
On the one hand, the Song Dynasty has mastered the standardized frosting production technology, and even "frosting households" specializing in making frosting have appeared in major sugar-producing areas such as Fujian Province. The mass production and acquisition of sucrose became a stable source of sweetness in the Song Dynasty, and the ways for people to obtain sweetness were further expanded, which had a significant impact on the changes in the daily diet structure of people in the Song Dynasty.
In addition to the progress of production technology, technological progress in other fields of agricultural production also promoted the development of the sugar economy in the Song Dynasty, such as the progress of grain crop production, the increase of yield, and the mature development of fruit and vegetable cultivation technology. Although the population and land reclamation of the Song Dynasty were not as large as those of the Han and Tang Dynasties, the total agricultural output was more than twice that of the Han and Tang Dynasties, which could meet the basic living conditions of the people and fundamentally laid the foundation for the commercialization of cane sugar production.
Third, the prosperity of the commodity economy in the Song Dynasty
In the Song Dynasty, sugarcane cultivation and sugar production have shown a trend of specialization and commercialization. The commercialization of cane sugar production is caused by many factors, one is driven by the increase in food production; Second, it is closely related to the progress of cane sugar and sugarcane storage technology; Third, it is closely linked to the unprecedented prosperity of the commodity economy; The fourth is the development of shipbuilding.
summary
The sugar industry in the Song Dynasty promoted social and economic development and, most importantly, contributed to the prosperity of the urban economy. First of all, it has led to the development of urban sugar consumption services and catering industries. Secondly, it also enriches the increase in the variety of goods in the field of urban consumption and meets the needs of urban residents' daily life. The development of the sugar industry economy in the Song Dynasty also had an important impact on people's spiritual and cultural life. The development of the sugar industry economy in the Song Dynasty also enriched and improved people's material life. The development of the sugar cane economy in the Song Dynasty laid the foundation for the prosperity of the sugar industry economy in the Ming and Qing dynasties.
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