Dining system still existed in Song Dynasty. How did it become a dining system in the Ming Dynasty?

First of all, the system of sharing food and the "ritual" culture.

I don't know if you have this strange feeling now. That is, we now mention western food, which will give people a civilized and polite performance. When you ask people why they think so, many people answer that western food is eaten by one person, and it is cleaner and more hygienic to eat. This is the relationship between the system of sharing food and "ceremony" in ancient China. In fact, the sharing system is more in line with the ceremony.

The food sharing system first appeared in the Zhou Dynasty, which emphasized ceremony. At that time, the dining system was not for the so-called health, but to emphasize a kind of etiquette. In "Zhou Li", everyone from the king of Zhou to the princes and then to the doctors and scholars ate different things.

Zhou Wang eats Jiuding, which contains cows, sheep, tapirs, fish, wax, intestines and stomach, skins, fresh fish and fresh wax; Subordinate governors eat seven cauldrons, cattle, sheep, tapirs, fish, wax, intestines and stomach, and skins; Thirdly, the first-class doctor eats five pots, including sheep, tapirs, skins, fish and wax; Once again, the first-class taxi eats three dices, including dolphins, fish and wax. ...

Therefore, we can see that people eat different things. Under this strict etiquette system, the practice of sharing meals was adopted. Therefore, we can see that the system of separate meals is closely related to the hierarchy.

In many TV dramas of the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, you will find that the monarch and the minister actually eat the same thing, so the plot is unreasonable and the monarch eats better.

Therefore, the emergence of the dining system has nothing to do with the so-called health, but more because of the influence of culture.

Since then, in order to show the dignity of his identity, the emperor often used the method of sharing food. The emperor is the only one, and the courtiers are the next. Everyone eats and drinks by sharing food. In the Han Dynasty and the Sui and Tang Dynasties, in a sense, there were still what we call aristocrats, who followed these complicated etiquette, among which the food-sharing system was a very important part, which is why they frequently used the food-sharing system.

The meal sharing system really began to loosen, and I think it started in the Song Dynasty.

Second, the rise of folk culture and the system of sharing food in Song Dynasty.

Now let's imagine a scene. In the case of low productivity in ancient times, the price of a bowl may be 10, and there are five people in your family. If you eat together, that means buying five bowls. But if it's a meal, maybe 1-2 bowls will be enough. Therefore, we can imagine that the meal system should still be popular in ordinary families with careful calculation and less prominent economic ability. This is an economic consideration.

A notable feature of the Song Dynasty is the rise of civic culture and civilian culture. Everyone heard such a poem when they were young, right?

"The dynasty for Tian Shelang, dusk for the right hall. There are no seeds, and men should be self-reliant. "

This is an exhortation poem in the Song Dynasty, which shows that in the Song Dynasty, people can change their fate by studying hard to take the imperial examination, which is different from the aristocratic politics in Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties and even the Tang Dynasty. Ordinary people can already improve themselves through their own efforts.

As more and more people at the bottom passed the imperial examination and became important ministers in the imperial court, many folk customs were brought into the imperial court, which was a dining system. We can imagine that sometimes the emperor will still hold a banquet alone, but when they eat at home, they usually choose the way of sharing.

Therefore, I think the rise of this civic culture is closely related to the development of the joint food system. The rise of civic culture has also brought many new artifacts. For example, in the Tang Dynasty, chairs and stools became more popular and were loved by the people, which also provided some help for the cooperative grain system. To put it bluntly, this custom gradually spread from the folk to the upper class.

Third, the influence of Hu Feng and Hu Customs.

We can't ignore two important Hu dynasties, one is the Yuan Dynasty and the other is the Qing Dynasty. The diet in Alakazam is different from that in the Central Plains. For example, roast whole sheep, which Mongols like to eat, and hot pot, which Manchu people like to eat, we can all find that it is actually a joint food system rather than a separate food system.

Under the influence of this kind of Hu style and customs, people and even the upper class have adopted the method of sharing food.

But what I want to say here is that in fact, in a long historical period, the food-sharing system and the food-sharing system are parallel. On the basis of paying attention to etiquette, people still choose the way of sharing food. It is hard to say that it is an "open" way to see the emperor and his servants eating happily together. If it is in the imperial court, perhaps the minister will share food when he returns home, which is a "private" way.

For example, the novel A Dream of Red Mansions. In the novel, the Jia family has two situations: the divided food system and the combined food system.

Therefore, in fact, in the long historical process, with the gradual destruction and neglect of "rites", people's eating habits have gradually changed from the food-sharing system to the food-sharing system, but at the same time, the two coexist in parallel.