What are the famous "foodies" in Qing Dynasty?

In the late Qing dynasty, men sat around the table to eat (pose)

China is a big agricultural country with a long history. For thousands of years, people's diet has not changed much. As far as diet is concerned, there are three main differences in diet in Qing Dynasty: ethnic differences, regional differences and rich-poor differences. As far as its main situation is concerned, it mainly includes three categories: staple food, non-staple food and beverage. Here, let's talk about the anecdote of Qing people's diet.

Let's start with Ji Xiaolan's diet.

Ji Yun, whose real name is Xiaolan, whose real name is Chunfan and whose real name is Shi Yun, is a Taoist priest. Through the jokes in film and television dramas and the spread of various media in recent years, he has become a household name today. He was born in June of the second year of Yongzheng in Qing Dynasty (1724) and died in February of the tenth year of Jiaqing (1805). Born in Yongzheng, Qianlong and Jiaqing Dynasties at the age of eighty-two, during the Wenda period, posthumous title. In the Qing dynasty, it was rare to see a scholar who was born in the three dynasties and was famous for a while. Generally speaking, Ji Xiaolan's academic achievements should be mentioned in his articles. For example, he presided over the compilation of Sikuquanshu, the largest kind of book in the cultural history of China, and wrote 200 volumes of Summary of Sikuquanshu with far-reaching influence, as well as his Notes on Yuewei Caotang, which had far-reaching influence. Of course, for Ji, the most popular thing to say now is his humor. What we want to say here is not that Ji Xiaolan has been an official and a scholar all his life. Let's look at the other side of his life and talk about Ji Xiaolan's diet.

Generally speaking, Ji Xiaolan is regarded as a famous scholar, and of course, a weak scholar. Actually, it is not. In the record, Ji is a tall, short and fat man. In terms of diet, he is also very different from ordinary literati. Qing Ren Zhao? Ji Xiaolan recorded in Volume 10 of Miscellanies of Xiao Ting: "People in the north are rarely known for their erudition, while Xiaolan, a scholar, has a good knowledge for a while. The General Catalogue of Sikuquanshu is a collection of ancient books in the past 3,000 years. It is concise and clear, and the dictionary is elegant and convincing. I'm 80 years old this year, and I'm still horny. I eat dozens of pounds a day, but I don't eat one a day. It's amazing. " At the age of 80, he can still eat dozens of pounds of meat every day like a woman and not eat a millet all year round. No wonder he is really a strange man. He Ying, the co-organizer of Ji Xiaolan, who is also an official with him, once saw him eat: at dinner, the servant brought a big bowl of barbecue, about three pounds, and Ji Xiaolan was eating a big piece of meat while talking with others. In a short time, the meat was finished and the meal was over. (For details, please refer to Yao's Miscellaneous Notes on Bamboo Leaf Pavilion in Qing Dynasty, Volume V, Zhonghua Book Company, 1982, May Edition, page109-10). In the usual diet, rice, pasta or occasional food are basically not eaten, and the staple food is meat. When entertaining guests, Ji "the dishes are clean", but as the host, he just raises chopsticks for everyone to eat, while he "cooks only a plate of meat and a pot of tea" (Zhang Ju's Notes on Returning to the Field, Volume 6, Zhonghua Book Company, 198 1 August edition, the first1. Another feature of Ji's diet is that snacks never leave his mouth in times of peace. As long as he is at home, there must be all kinds of dried and fresh fruits, hazelnuts and chestnuts of Chen Fang on the counter. Because people can't explain the special eating habits, some people say that Ji was born of a fire spirit, while others think that he was reincarnated as a monkey spirit because he ate hazelnuts and chestnuts all the year round.

In fact, it is not surprising that northerners eat meat and southerners eat fish. Ji Xiaolan is active by nature, engaged in the mental work of editing and writing books. It is normal for him to eat meat. But it's amazing that you can eat a few kilograms in a meal and a dozen kilograms or even dozens of kilograms a day. However, in terms of meat, this Ji Xiaolan also has something he doesn't eat, that is, he doesn't want to eat ducks all his life. He himself said that even a duck is a good cook, it is inevitable that it will smell fishy and difficult to swallow. Although the duck didn't eat it, he wrote a poem to explain: "it is better to raise grass than plum trees." Haitang has a national posture, and Ling Du has different endowments. " In other words, although the grass is very moist, it is still not as good as the plum tree. Haitang is beautiful, but Du Fu has never written a poem about it, implying that ducks are good, but I just don't like it. Later generations commented that although Ji didn't eat ducks, he compared them to beautiful things like plum blossoms. "And ducks are lucky enough" is also an interesting thing in the history of food.

Ji Jia can eat, but it is not uncommon for celebrities in Qing Dynasty to eat so much. The following is the story of eating more and eating less, eating meat and being vegetarian.

In the Qing Dynasty, Qian Yong recorded a story in Old Things in the Garden (1): In the old society, officials had to get up early to go to the palace, so what about eating? There are two kinds of people who eat completely differently: Xu, a college student, is a famous guy who can eat. Every morning, he has to eat fifty solid steamed buns, fifty yellowbirds, fifty eggs and ten pots of wine first to ensure that he is not hungry for a day. Come to think of it, not to mention how big the steamed bread is, even fifty eggs plus yellowbird and wine are beyond the ability of ordinary people. It happened that someone was completely different from him. Zhang Yushu, a college student who is an official with him, also goes to court every day. This kind of life is "ancient and clear?" Thin people can only eat two potatoes and drink a glass of water before going to court every day, which can also ensure that they are not hungry for a day. According to relevant historical biographies, Zhang Yushu died at the age of 70, when he had lived a long life. It was normal at that time that Xu lived to be sixty-four. Regarding the quantity of this kind of diet, vegetarianism and vegetarianism are related to personal needs and do not affect health excessively.

Ji Xiaolan ate meat all his life and lived to the age of eighty-two. Chen Shiguan, a college student who was also an official when he was in Qianlong, lived to the age of 81 and ate only a small bowl of rice or a few lotus seeds every day. Chen Shiguan is a famous Haining Chen family who came out as an official in the history of Qing Dynasty. In Jin Yong's martial arts novels, the connection between his family and the life experience of Emperor Qianlong is only a side story of the novelist. This man has been an official all his life, comparable to Ji. In the forty-second year of Kangxi, Chen Shiguan was a scholar in the examination and awarded to Jishi Shu, who was later an official to a university student. After three dynasties of Kang, Yong and Gan, he was an official for nearly sixty years. Similar to Ji Xiaolan, he also presided over the imperial examinations for many times, and "his proteges are all over the world". The difference is that he "worships frugality all his life and stresses Neo-Confucianism". During the Qianlong period, he served as a scholar for seventeen years. He has one characteristic. Every time he talked about the people's sufferings in front of the emperor, he "would repeat what he said or cry afterwards", nagging repeatedly and even crying. Every time I see him like this, Emperor Qianlong often smiles and says, "You are crying for the people again". What does this great prime minister who often pleads for the people eat every day? According to historical records, "You can skip a meal and sip a little lotus fruit every day" (Notes on Yongxianzhai in Chen Qing No.7 Hospital 1, Zhonghua Book Company, April edition, 1989, p.5). By the time he retired as an official in the twenty-second year of Qianlong, he was already eighty years old. Therefore, when later generations wrote about this matter, they said with emotion: "Life is not the amount of food." Age has little to do with diet.

There were many literati who could eat in the Qing Dynasty, and there were many self-excuses for this kind of thing: "How can a person study without eating two or three liters of rice or four or five pounds of fat a day?" Zhuang zai si Yan! The spirit can be imagined. "(Qing Liu Xianting Yang Guang Miscellaneous Notes, Volume II, Zhonghua Book Company, July Edition, 1957, p. 68) This statement is of course heroic, but some people get sick from eating too much. Let's take a look at two delicious guys:

In the Qing Dynasty, Yao's Miscellaneous Notes on Bamboo Leaves Pavilion, Volume 5, recorded two people who could eat. One is Cao Xiuxian, who worked as a minister of rites during the Qianlong period, and died at the age of 77 in the forty-ninth year of Qianlong. He is called the first person who can eat. It is said that Cao Xiuxian has a big belly with many wrinkles. He usually folds up these wrinkles, ties them up with a belt, and then lets them go in turn when he is full. At that time, on holidays, the palace often gave meat. Some people know that Lao Cao loves meat, so they give him the meat they get. Cao is also welcome. They put it in his sedan chair and filled the whole sedan chair. On the way home, Cao put the leg of lamb on the armrest and cut it piece by piece with a knife. Walking all the way, when I got home, I had almost finished eating the meat in the sedan chair. Cao once said "I like meat" in his memorial to the emperor, which is also a great truth.

Another person who can eat is Da Chun, and his name is Xiangpu. He was born under the Manchu Zhengbai Banner. In the late Qianlong period, he served as the minister of rites, and died in Jiaqing seven years. He has been an official since the twenty-fifth year of Qianlong, and has been active in officialdom for more than forty years. Because he didn't attach himself to the minister of power at that time? His official career was not smooth and he was repeatedly demoted. This man's family is very poor, and he can't afford to eat delicious food at home. If he is really greedy, he will buy four or five catties of beef, cook it a little and chew it. Probably after becoming a senior official, I still can't change my old habits and still like to eat meat. This person is very elegant at ordinary times. When he sees meat to eat, just like a cat that sees a mouse, he whistles in his throat, making people at the same table afraid to eat chopsticks. At that time, there was a custom in Beijing that relatives often sent roast duck and meat to each other on their birthdays. After Da Chun became a senior official, people sent a lot of meat on his birthday. On this day, he only took the roast duck, cut it into squares, put it in a dustpan and grabbed it with his hands. "This is a quick one." In his later years, when typhoid fever happened, the emperor asked him if he could still eat meat. He naturally answered yes, so the emperor gave him meat to eat and didn't want to die of a serious illness.

The two good eaters recorded by Yao were two famous people who could eat during the Qianlong period, and they were also recorded in other notes. In fact, there are many famous foodies. Let me give you one or two examples:

Sun Erzhun was a famous minister at the time of Jia Dao, a native of Jingui, Jiangsu, and an academician. He used to be the governor of Fujian and Zhejiang, and he promoted the advantages and eliminated the disadvantages in Fujian. His official voice was excellent. This man was obese when he was young, and he was afraid of heat in summer, so he filled a big jar with well water and immersed it in the water to entertain himself. His appetite is also amazing. He usually eats more than 100 egg buns (even if they are small, they are amazing). Once he went to Quanzhou for a military parade, local officials prepared 100 steamed bread and 100 flower rolls for him, plus a pot of two chickens and two ducks. He ate all the meal, and then sighed with emotion: "I went to two provinces for military parade this time, and I only had a full meal in Quanzhou today." (Chen Qing Qiyuan's Notes on Yongxianzhai, Volume 7, Zhonghua Book Company, April edition, 1989, p. 168).

During the Daoxian period, there was an old pedant named Shou Yumin. He is a small official in charge of education in Tangxi County. He can eat and walk. He is over 90 years old and "has never lost his sight and ears". He is very popular in the local area. Old people, children and women all know this "Mr. Shou". He is also humorous and likes to play jokes on people. Because of his age, he is generally not invited to invigilate the county exams. In the early years of Xianfeng, when he was 92 years old, the government exam suddenly ordered him to invigilate. Longevity teacher was overjoyed and said, "Adults know that I am still a useful material, not a waste." Sure enough, I was there carefully invigilating. I sat in class all day, and I didn't even lean. On one occasion, two officials strongly invited him to drink and eat meat together. One is Chen and the other is Cai. Every time he drinks a large glass of wine, he eats a big piece of meat. Shou Yumin, who is over 90 years old, actually drinks more than 30 cups at a time. He stood up and said with a smile, "Confucius is trapped in Chen and Cai, and he is starving." I am trapped in Chen and Cai today, so full. Ancient and modern times are really irrelevant! They laughed. " (Chen Qing Qiyuan's Notes on Yongxianzhai, Volume 7, Zhonghua Book Company, April edition, 1989, p. 17 1 page)

Speaking of people who eat the most, as far as I know, they still belong to Xu Xueqian of Kangxi mentioned earlier. This man has been an official in Beijing for decades, and no one can match him. This year, he was going to retire to his hometown, and his protege gave him a farewell dinner to see how much Xu Senior could eat. They prepared a bronze man, and every time Xu drank a cup, he poured the same amount into the bronze man's stomach, as did other dishes. After eating, Tongren's stomach was full, so he took it out and changed it several times, but he was still as cool as a cucumber. (Liang Zhangju's Notes on Returning to the Fields in the Qing Dynasty, Volume II, Zhonghua Book Company, August Edition 198 1, pp. 33-34).

Most of these nutritious people can live to a higher age. On the contrary, some people eat very little every day and live to be in their eighties. When Daoguang was governor of the two rivers, there was a teacher named Dai, who was still very healthy in his eighties. Liang Zhangju once talked with him about eating too much and eating too little. Dai said loudly, "Do people need to eat enough?" This means that people don't have to eat too much. The old birthday girl gets up early to eat a big bowl of refined porridge every day, then drinks a cup of human milk at dusk and eats nothing else for a day. It is said that his family has been a wet nurse for many years, and when there is no milk, he will change to another person. (Liang Qing Zhang Ju's Notes on Returning to the Field, Volume 7, Zhonghua Book Company, 198 1 August, p. 144- 145).

Dai lived to 95 years old, which may be related to his diet. This man's diet and drinking less are in sharp contrast to Ji Xiaolan's eating more, and they all live a long life. It seems that there is no absolute relationship between people's health and longevity and how much they eat. It varies from person to person, and each takes what he needs.

Like other historical events in ancient society, stories of high society left more records.

China is a vast country. At the peak of the Qing dynasty, the land area reached12.5 million square kilometers. In such a vast land, people's diets inevitably vary greatly. In the Qing dynasty, there were many strange eating customs in various places, such as eating crabs, which had long been popular in the south, but were rare in some inland provinces. In Guangdong and Guangxi, the custom of eating rats and snakes has a long history, but other areas are regarded as different. Eating puffer fish has existed in Jiangnan since ancient times, and there was a saying that "eating puffer fish to death" in Qing Dynasty. Tongxiang, Zhejiang eats autumn birds, Hanyang, Hubei eats goose feet, and Yellow River carp along the Yellow River, each with its own characteristics. The rulers of the Qing court came from outside Shanhaiguan, and used deer's tail and bear's paw as delicacies, which had national and local characteristics. However, the rulers forced the implementation of local specialty foods, such as inheriting the old system of the Ming Dynasty in the early Qing Dynasty and letting Jiangnan and other places pay tribute to "shad" to increase the burden on the people by eating, which became one of the tyrannies of the Qing Dynasty. As far as ordinary people are concerned, the dietary differences in different parts of the Qing Dynasty are mainly manifested in regional differences between the north and the south and ethnic differences. Tsui Hark wrote in "Clear Notes": "Rice is the main product of southerners' diet. If the rice is cooked, the porridge is second. " That is, the land south of Jianghuai, with rice and porridge as the staple food; "The staple food of northerners is wheat and bread crumbs are noodles", that is, the staple food of northerners is mainly pasta, while that of southerners is mainly rice. It can be seen that the basic pattern of dietary differences among China people today was a foregone conclusion in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. On the other hand, there are ethnic differences, such as dairy products and beef and mutton. In the cultural blending among ethnic groups, the mutual influence of food culture is also very obvious.

The blending and change of dietary customs reflects one of the changes in social life.