What comes to mind when you think of Taiwan? Is it a Taiwanese host who solemnly says that mainlanders can't afford to squeeze vegetables, or the description of attractions such as Taiwan's Sun Moon Lake in the textbook, or the Taiwan night market known for its cuisine.
Unlike the arrogant or glamorous image of Taiwanese on TV, there are many helpless groups among more than 20 million Taiwanese, and Betel Nut Xishi is a typical representative of them.
<h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" >, Taiwan's betel nut culture: eating betel nut to solve miasma</h1>
People who have eaten betel nut have probably heard the saying: "Betel nut plus smoke, mana is boundless", which means that betel nut and smoke can produce extreme pleasure when eaten together.
So when did the betel nut sold on the streets today originate?
According to historical records, the history of eating betel nut can be traced back to the ancient Indians in 900 BC, and the ancient Indian poet Marco recorded the betel nut chewing scene of Indian soldiers mixed with betel nut core, tobacco leaves, leaf powder and flavors and spices.
The history of betel nut in China can be traced back to the "Chronicle of the Eight Counties of Nanzhong" around 265 AD, which records: "Betel nut, as big as a jujube; blue like a lotus seed." The other man thought it was different. The marriage family is hospitable, and this thing is done first. If the encounter is not set, use hatred. ”
As for the history of betel nut in Taiwan, it is much later, which has a lot to do with the fact that Taiwan was in an undeveloped state for a long time in ancient times.
Mentioning the purpose for which Taiwanese first ate betel nut may come as a surprise!
In the long history of Taiwan is in a miasma-filled environment, a great threat to human life, slowly the local aborigines found that eating betel nut to eat betel nut can solve the miasma, which made the consumption of betel nut gradually popular.
Of course, the consumption of betel nut also has certain customs and habits in it, the Taiwanese aborigines at that time believed that there should be some essential differences between humans and animals, animal teeth are snow white, then human teeth should be different from it, and eating betel nut can make people's teeth gradually blacken, just to meet the requirements of the time.
There is a relevant record in the "Guangdong Tongzhi": "The food is black, and the woman takes this as beautiful, which is the custom." ”
This habit of black teeth lasted for a long time, and it was not until after World War II that it changed greatly.
Eating betel nut is a pleasure for the indigenous people, but picking betel nut is a worrying thing.
The arrival of Zheng Chenggong, the national hero who fought against the Netherlands, solved this thorny problem for the indigenous people.
It turned out that when Zheng Chenggong's troops entered Taiwan, many generals were poisoned by the local miasma, and Zheng Chenggong learned that betel nut could alleviate the miasma after some inquiry, so he sent troops to pick it.
So the same problem appeared in Zheng Chenggong's troops, the betel nut branches were smooth and towering, and it was not easy to climb and pick, but there were many people with great strength, and there were several smart people in Zheng Chenggong's troops.
Some soldiers improved the retractable fishing rod with a long-handled telescopic scythe to replace climbing and picking, which suddenly improved the efficiency of betel nut picking, and the indigenous people followed suit after watching it.
Later, under the guidance of immigrant groups, betel nut gradually developed into an industry in Taiwan, whether it is a promise, a wedding banquet, or a gift, betel nut can be perfectly integrated into it, thus forming Taiwan's unique betel nut culture.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > second, a derivative group of Taiwan's neo-betel nut culture - betel nut Xishi</h1>
Why is the betel nut culture in Taiwan now called the new betel nut culture?
This has a lot to do with Taiwan's recent history, after the incompetent Qing government ceded Taiwan to Japan in 1895, the people of Taiwan rose up to resist, but in the end, due to the excessive gap in strength, Taiwan still fell into the hands of Japan.
During the Period of Japanese Rule in Taiwan, the consumption of betel nut was forbidden, and the betel nut culture of the taiwanese aborigines disappeared.
When Japan surrendered in 1945, the Taiwanese regained their freedom, and betel nut cultivation resumed, but the betel nut culture of the past never returned.
Gradually, the betel nut culture became a for-profit culture, and everyone thought about how to sell more betel nut.
After the prosperity of betel nut cultivation, it is naturally inseparable from the people who sell betel nut, and a good salesman is of great help to the sales volume, so a new profession was gradually born - betel nut Xishi.
The betel nut Xishi circulating on the Internet is all from the 90s of the last century, but the earliest betel nut Xishi is probably traced back to the 70s of the last century.
At that time, there was a place rich in betel nut in Taiwan called Double Winter, this place had three sisters Xiu Zhu, Xiu Hua and Xiu Lan, the three sisters saw that the betel nut business at home was not too good, so they resigned from the factory and returned home to concentrate on betel nut sales.
Compared with the uncle and aunt who sold betel nuts at that time, the young and beautiful three sisters can undoubtedly make people feel fresh, and the betel nut business of the three sisters has become very good.
Other betel nut stall owners therefore followed suit, letting their young and beautiful daughters come out to help sell betel nuts, and over time the name of betel nut Xishi became popular in a small area.
In terms of dress, at this time, the betel nut Xishi is still similar to ordinary girls, so what makes the betel nut Xishi wear less and less?
This has a lot to do with Taiwan's rapid economic development in the 1990s, with more and more highways, and the betel nut transforming from a snack to a thrill for taxis or passenger and freight drivers on the long road.
This led to the discovery of new business opportunities by betel nut sellers, so one after another betel nut selling points were established along the highway, and betel nut Xishi began to enter people's field of vision openly.
Under the rules of the market, competition is inevitable, and how to sell more betel nuts has become a problem that every betel nut seller needs to consider.
There are also performance appraisal indicators in the sale of betel nuts, of course, the more betel nuts sold in the west of betel nuts, the more lucrative the income.
Such a reward system is undoubtedly very tempting for the betel nut Xishi whose family is forced to work.
How to sell more became a problem that betel nut Xishi needed to ponder every day, and after a period of practice, they found that the more exposed the clothes they wore, the better the sales of betel nuts would become.
In order to make their business explode, their dress is becoming more and more bold, how to attract people's attention to wear, and even at the expense of their own body as capital, they have done more out of the ordinary.
Under this deformed view of sales, the development of Taiwan's betel nut industry has indeed developed greatly.
<h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" > third, the tragedy of the times: betel nut Xishi or will disappear in the long river of history</h1>
What followed was the discussion in Taiwanese society about the dress of betel nut Xi Shi, and some laws restricting the dress of betel nut Xi Shi were gradually promulgated, so whether such a practice is debatable?
It is true that betel nut Xishi sold his hue in order to sell betel nut, and even some of them were controlled by the group to carry out illegal activities, and in the eyes of many people, they even became synonymous with special industries.
However, we should note that the vast majority of the group in betel nut Xishi are women who are forced to work in poverty, and they need to help subsidize their families when they have not yet completed their studies, so betel nut Xishi, who has a small income risk, has become their only option.
There is a very famous betel nut Xishi named Tong Kerou on the Internet, her father died very early, in order to make a living, 14-year-old she can only choose to sell betel nut, similar cases in Taiwanese society there are many more.
The impression is that the betel nut Xishi only needs to draw a thick makeup, and then stand and wait for the customer to come to the door to buy the betel nut, is it really that simple?
For people who wear less clothes in winter, we may use a sentence of "temperature and no grace" to ridicule, but it is not suitable for betel nut Xishi.
Because at a minimum temperature of only 8 or 9 degrees, they choose to wear very little clothing just for the sake of livelihood, rather than a voluntary thought in their hearts.
There is no shortage of good people in this world, but there is never a shortage of bad people, and betel nut Xishi is sometimes harassed by guests because of their clothing, but in order to survive, they can only continue to endure.
After the quiet of the night, they take off their thick makeup, and like ordinary girls, they are full of yearning for life and love.
Ironically, some people in Taiwan have been resisting the betel nut Xishi industry, but for a period of time, the news related to the naming of betel nut Xishi has received the greatest attention.
Isn't it ridiculous that arrogant Taiwanese are boycotting the betel nut Industry on the one hand, but behind their backs, they are secretly consuming their topics?
Perhaps a little sad, whether people sympathize with the betel nut Xishi industry or despise it, with the development of science and technology, the betel nut Xishi industry will be annihilated in the long river of history in the near future.
< h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > concluding remarks</h1>
Betel nut Xishi is a group derived from Taiwan's rapid economic development in the 1990s, and has been strongly criticized by Taiwanese apologists for dress. But in its essence, betel nut Xishi is also a group that is working hard for life, and also has its own visions and fantasies, of course, they also need people to evaluate them more fairly.
Author: Our team is empty