"Zhi Shi" Zhi Shi Zhi Shi
Published by Beijing United Publishing Company
The grand history in the textbooks is serious, but it is often boring. History is not just about the rise and fall of princes and princes and chaos. This book is divided into six parts: Emperor Gossip, Millennium Allusions, Beauty Cultivation, Explanation of Words, War Reality, and Guide through, telling a vivid story. Only by understanding history will we find that we are living on a chain of cultures.
The Manchu Han feast was not for the emperor to eat
The full table of Man Han is a household name. In the 1970s, the Hong Kong State Guest Restaurant was commissioned by Japanese television to produce a table of 108 dishes of Manchu Full Table at a sky-high price of HK$100,000 at that time, which is one of the few contemporary attempts to reproduce the Full Manchurian Table. The dishes are extremely sumptuous and have been eaten for two days and two nights. However, even this can only make a part of the full seat of the Manchu Han that year, and the real Manchu full seat is extremely luxurious.
It is now generally believed that the Manchu and Han full table originated from a grand banquet during the Kangxi Dynasty, the Banquet of the Thousand Sorrows. Prior to this, court food was divided into Manchu and Han dishes, referring to Manchu cuisine and Han Cuisine respectively, but it was rare to merge the two. However, in order to promote the integration of Manchu and Han, the Kangxi Emperor held a banquet at the age of 60, feasting on the elderly over 65 years old of the Han and Manchu ethnic groups, and setting up six banquets for three days. This banquet will present the dishes of the Manchu and Han factions at the same table. Not only did the Manchu cooked and boiled dishes, but also Shandong cuisine and Jiangsu and Zhejiang cuisines were added, so the "Feast of a Thousand Sorrows" has always been considered the ancestor of the Manchu and Han dynasties.
But what did you eat at such a grand feast? In fact, it is not as luxurious as we think, according to the records in the "Records of the Kangxi Dynasty", the dishes in the Thousand Sorrows Feast are mainly divided into snacks, pasta, appetizers, imperial dishes, soup dishes, barbecues, and hot pots. The most important of these is the imperial dish, try to list some of the royal dishes: sand boat tacui, pipa prawns, dragon and phoenix tenderness, ringing oil eel paste, meat cubes cucumber sauce, dragon boat mandarin fish, slippery shellfish balls, sauce stewed quail, oyster sauce beef fillet, Sichuan sauce duck paw...
In fact, the dishes are not some mountain treasures and seafood, but some common ingredients such as chicken, duck, fish, and so on. Although the Feast of the Thousand Sorrows presents the dishes of the Manchu and Han ethnic groups at the same time, this is far from what we imagine of the Manchu and Han chinese banquets.
So who promoted the development of the Manchu Han seat? It is ridiculous to say that everyone thinks that the very luxurious Manchu and Han banquets are really not promoted by the emperor, but by the banquets that the officials have studied in order to curry favor with each other. Qianlong made many southern tours in his lifetime, and each time he would bring a lot of officials with him. The emperor's meals were naturally taken care of by the imperial cook every day, so what about the meals of the high-ranking officials accompanying him? At that time, in order to curry favor with high-level officials, many local officials hollowed out their hearts to cook luxurious feasts. The "Records of Yangzhou Paintings" written by Li Dou of the Qing Dynasty recorded the reception and feast prepared by local officials for the emperor's entourage when the Qianlong Emperor was visiting Yangzhou to stay at Tianning Temple:
The first minute of the number one five bowl ten pieces: bird's nest chicken shredded soup, sea cucumber hui pork tendon, fresh clams radish silk soup, kelp pork belly silk soup, abalone hui pearl vegetables, mussel shrimp soup, shark fin crab soup, mushroom simmered chicken, reel hammer, fish belly simmered ham, shark skin chicken juice soup, blood meal soup, first-grade soup rice bowl;
The second minute no. 2 five gui bowl ten pieces: crucian carp tongue bear paw, rice porridge orangutan lip pig brain, false leopard fetus, steamed hump, pear slices with steamed civets, steamed deer tail, pheasant slice soup, wind pig slices, wind sheep slices, rabbit breast, milk room sticks, a grade soup rice bowl;
The third fine white soup bowl ten pieces: pork belly fake JiangYao duck tongue soup, chicken shoot porridge, pig brain soup, hibiscus egg, goose gizzard palm soup, steamed anchovy, fake class fish liver, Xi Shi milk, Wensi tofu soup, turtle meat slice soup, cocoon soup, first-grade soup rice bowl;
Twenty pieces of the fourth hairy blood plate: piglets and piglets, fried pork and mutton, hanging stove walking oil chickens and geese ducks, pigeons, pig miscellaneous shi, sheep miscellaneous shi, roasted pig and mutton, white boiled pig and mutton, white steamed piglets and lambs chicken duck and goose, white noodle dumplings rolls, ten brocade fire, plum blossom buns;
The fifth point of twenty pieces of foreign plates, twenty flavors of hot food and wine, twenty pieces of small dishes, ten pieces of dry fruits, ten tables of fresh fruits, the so-called "Full Han Table" also.
Everyone has always thought that the Manchu han feast is the royal banquet, but in fact, this is not the case
This kind of banquet can be described as the most luxurious banquet in the official arena at that time, using many precious ingredients, such as shark fin, sea cucumber, bear paw, hump, etc., and the cooking technique brings together the characteristics of Manchu and Chinese cuisine. This table of "Manchu Table" has both the characteristics of court cuisine and the essence of local flavors. Qianlong made many southern tours, and these banquets to entertain Beijing officials gradually spread in the Jiangnan officialdom. Later, in the official arena, many banquets were modeled on this menu, which would be slightly reduced, but they were called "Manhan Seats". The Qing Dynasty gourmand Yuan Ming had this description in his book "Suiyuan Food List" published in the fifty-seventh year of Qianlong (1792): "The dish of the present official field is called 'sixteen plates, eight gui, and four dim sum'; it is called 'Manchu and Han Xi'... All kinds of common names are bad cooking habits, and can only be used for new relatives and bosses entering the house, so as to perfunctory. This shows that in Qianlong's later years, this kind of eating custom has spread throughout the official field, which is a side reflection of the corruption in the official field.
And the real fame of the Manchu Han dynasty will not be until after the Xinhai Revolution. The collapse of the Qing Dynasty caused the people who served the Forbidden City to lose their livelihoods, and many of the imperial chefs who originally served in the inner dining room needed to go out to earn a living, and the big hotels in Beijing, Tianjin, Nanjing, and Shanghai saw the opportunity to recruit a large number of former imperial cooks. In order to attract business, these restaurants let them do their best to cook court meals. In order to show off the gimmick, many restaurants used the dishes in the court as their signature dishes and named them "Manchu Han Full Table".
Perhaps everyone has always thought that the full table of Manchuria is the royal banquet, but in fact, this is not the case. It can be said that the full seat of the Manchu Han Dynasty is a "famous banquet" born under the condition of the corrupt atmosphere of the officialdom and the pursuit of profits by the merchants. Even after the continuous publicity of the merchants, we really think that the most luxurious Manchu banquet is the royal banquet.
Watch how mighty the emperor is when he goes out
Being an emperor is really a very happy thing, and there are people who do it for many aspects of life. Taking going out as an example, the emperor does not have to walk too much. Everyone often watches TV dramas and will notice that as long as the emperor shouts "prepare the car" before going out, there will be eight big men waiting in front of the palace gate carrying the palanquin. But as an emperor, how can there be only a means of transportation for the palanquin? If you do the math, there are really many transportation tools designed for emperors in ancient times.
Modern people's means of transportation are usually vehicles, and there were also cars in ancient times. Legend has it that Xi Zhong of the Xia Dynasty invented the car, such as "Mozi" contains "Xi Zhong as a car", and "Pipe" records in more detail: "Xi Zhongzhi is a car tool, square, round, curved, straight, all in the rules of the hook rope, so the machine is rotated, used firmly, and the instrument is strong." "But this statement is not appropriate, such a complex machine as a car, it is difficult to invent by one person. But I believe that this Xi Zhong should have made some very important reforms to the car, so that it will remain in the annals of history. The earliest known car was found in the Yin Ruins site through archaeology. In 1935, six carriage and horse pits were found in the ruins of the Yin Ruins, and many carriage and horse ware were excavated. From this, we can get a glimpse of the shape of the original vehicle.
Tang Dynasty painter Yan Liben's "Step Map"
The earliest cars were called ruts, which were moved by horses. Its structure is very simple, that is, a standing box, with wheels on the left and right sides, and two horses pull the vehicle through a T-shaped wood fixed in front of the carriage, similar in shape for thousands of years. Later, in order to shade the sun, the carriage was covered with a round cover and decorated, which was the main shape of the ancient carriage. The ancient carriage was very different from the current carriage, with only two wheels. Because ancient China has not invented a device to control the front wheel steering, if the car has four wheels, the steering will be extremely difficult. But since there are only two wheels, the carriage cannot be too big, otherwise it is easy to lose its balance. In this way, most users have to stand in the car, if the distance is a little farther, it is quite hard. A small number of large carriages with seats are difficult to drive. "Song Shi Youfu Zhi": "Two horizontal poles are bundled on the tsuki, in the former name is fengyuan, and the horse bears the burden to do it; the second day is to push the wheel, and the class pushes it straight to help the horsepower." Horizontal in the latter name is called pressure, with people pressing behind, want to take its level. "It's a bit of a hassle to pull in front and someone to press on the crossbar in the back to keep the balance. But having said that, the carriage is indeed much faster than walking. Therefore, in ancient times, the carriage has always been the main means of transportation for the emperor, and on important occasions, such as sacrifices, greeting triumphant armies, going out on patrols, and mourning, horse-drawn carriages are used to transport.
It was really inconvenient for the carriage to sit on, so another type of carriage called a "deer cart" appeared. This deer cart is not pulled by deer, but by human power. It also has a more common name called "辇車", and the word "辇" is preceded by two "fu", which symbolizes being pulled by a person. The original form of the carriage was no different from that of a horse-drawn carriage, both two-wheeled, except that the front was pulled by human power. This made it easier to control the direction than the carriage, and it was more flexible to use than the carriage in the court, so the carriage gradually became a means of transportation for the emperors in the court. The so-called "out of the spring and autumn of the Lü family" is "out of the car, into the car", it is said that the emperor, the high-ranking officials and nobles in the court are all using the car to represent.
The emperors had an inexplicable fondness for cars, probably thinking that this would make them more imposing in their identity. In the Han Dynasty, the emperor removed the wheels on the carriage and directly found four people to carry forward and backward, called "bu you". This design was already very close to the palanquin, and the emperor's concubines at that time liked this design very much, and the use of foot-and-walking in the palace gradually became the norm. The development of the public opinion is becoming more and more diversified, and in the winter, it will be like a palanquin with a fence and a roof. In the summer, there is no bib cover, but there will be a maid to cool off. During the Tang Dynasty, emperors were very fond of this means of transportation and designed different functions and speeds. Two people carried the dragon in order to get up at any time; the four people carried the dragon to shuttle through the palace; and the six people carried the emperor's favorite, both steady and fast. The Tang Dynasty painter Yan Liben has a "Step Map", which depicts Tang Taizong receiving the emissary Lu Dongzan on a six-man carrying. In addition, there are eight people carrying, 12 people carrying, and 20 people carrying. By the time of Song Taizu, he even built a dragon that required 64 people to carry, which can be described as the largest in history.
Finally, in the Qing Dynasty, the emperors summarized the forms of the previous generation of transportation tools and formulated the "five dragons, two dragons, and three public opinions". The five ruts refer to the carriage, which are divided into jade rudder, gold rudder, elephant rudder, wooden rudder, leather rudder, the first two are pulled by elephants, and the last three are moved by different numbers of horses. Its main role is to participate in ceremonies of different levels. The two dragons were the jade and the golden dragon, which were carried by 36 people; the golden dragon was carried by 28 people. When the emperor set out for the sacrifice, he would often only drive the carriage to the palace gate, and then change into a jade or gold robe according to different objects of sacrifice, and the last part of the road was taken by himself, decreasing step by step to show respect for the gods. Finally, there are three opinions. Ritual public opinion, carried by 16 people, is specially used to carry the emperor to the dynasty and spring when ploughing; the step public opinion and light step public opinion are carried by 16 people, and their role is to shuttle through the palace. Only the emperor would use the foot public opinion when he was in the harem, and the rest of the time he used the light step public opinion.
In fact, when you open the "Qing History Draft , Youfu Zhiyi", you will find that the ancients attached great importance to different means of transportation, especially the emperor, and there must be exclusive means of transportation when going out. The ancients could only look at the emperor's motorcade from a distance, and over time, some people used the word "driving" to refer to the emperor, such as the "escort" that everyone often hears, and the "driving" is used to refer to the king.
Even since the Ming Dynasty, the death of the emperor has begun to be borrowed from the "death". It has already been written in the Book of Rites and Qu Lixia: "The death of the Son of Heaven is known as 'Collapse', the princes are known as 'Xue', the Doctor is known as '卒', the Scholar is known as 'Bulu', and the Shuren is known as 'Death'." Originally, the death of the Son of Heaven was a "collapse", so why add "driving" to refer to so many moves of the emperor? It seems that it is because the emperor does not have to walk when he goes out every day, which is really deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.