Was there a separate meal system in ancient China? What is the history of the catering system?

China people have always loved the dinner system, so it is more intimate for everyone to eat together. It seems difficult to get used to eating separately, but in fact, there was a dining system with a long history in ancient China. Was there a catering system in ancient China? Let's talk about it in the following small series.

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Was there a separate meal system in ancient China?

Correct answer: Yes.

The history of the dining system can be traced back to prehistoric times, with at least 3000 years of development. During the Zhou, Qin, Han and Jin Dynasties, the banquet in China was divided into meals. In the late Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties, although everyone sat together, food was still given to everyone. After the Song Dynasty, modern eating (drinking at the same table) appeared.

The history of the catering system

Dining system appeared very early in ancient China. Previously, Wang, a researcher at the Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, introduced from the perspective of archaeology that the history of the dining system in China can be traced back to prehistoric times.

The ancients ate separately and generally sat on the floor. There is a low snack cabinet in front of them. There are tableware on the box, one for each person. The nobles of the Western Zhou Dynasty sat separately and ate separately according to etiquette.

"Banquet" is a portrayal of ancient catering system. As for the method of setting seats, Zhou Li recorded it clearly: "Those who set seats first say seats, and those who add seats later." Banquets and seats are seats placed on the ground when feasting. The banquet was long and the seats were short.

During the Han dynasty, the dining system continued to be passed down. Archaeological discoveries of murals of Han tombs, Shi Zhuan and other physical objects and painting materials show the scene of ancient people sitting on the floor and having a meal with one person and one case.

There is a story in Chen Shu: When imperial academy Xu Xiaoke accompanied Chen to dinner, he quietly hid the dishes in front of him in his arms and took them home to honor his mother.

The emperor was very moved when he learned the truth and ordered that he could take all the food home in front of Xu Xiaoke in the future. Some people think that this shows that at least before the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the formal banquet still maintained the system of one person sharing food.

Why did the old ancients like the catering system so much?

There are three reasons for this.

First, the demand for food is evenly distributed.

This is because of the shortage of food in ancient times. In the face of survival difficulties, all tribes must abide by the principle of * * * having food and sharing it equally. And if you want to distribute food evenly, eating separately is the best choice.

Second, sitting posture and appliances.

After entering the feudal society, with the progress of productive forces, there was a surplus of grain. Why did you choose the separate meal system? This can be considered from the sitting posture and tableware at that time. There is a saying in The Hongmen Banquet that after Fan Kuai entered the room, "Wang Xiang pressed his sword and ran". This is the sitting posture used at that time, requiring people to kneel at 90 degrees. Kneeling on the seat in this way, on the one hand, the space for activities is naturally limited, on the other hand, this sitting position on the big dinner table is also prone to unstable center of gravity when taking food, thus falling down.

Moreover, there were no high chairs and big tables at that time, only low seats. So it is natural to choose a separate meal system.

Third, it is cultural etiquette.

Although the dinner system has its own theme, it is generally closer to equality. At that time, the feudal etiquette system was emphasized. In order to highlight the dignity of emperors and nobles, the dining system was naturally chosen to better reflect the status gap.