How did ancient people make a fire, cook and stir fry?

There were no gas stoves in ancient times. How do they make a fire to cook? What do you use to make a fire? Let me introduce to you how ancient people made a fire to cook.

How did the ancients make a fire to cook?

The history of human use of fire can be traced back to the period of Peking Man in primitive society. The earliest site of human use of fire was found in Peking Man Site, which is recognized by Chinese and foreign historians as the proof of the earliest use of fire by human beings. In addition, there were records of human using fire 6.5438+0.8 million years ago in Ruicheng, Shanxi and 800,000 years ago in Lantian, Shaanxi.

China people first used fire, which also made the nations in this land of East Asia take the lead in out of the dark and move towards the civilized world. China culture has dominated the history of world civilization for thousands of years, affecting not only neighboring countries, but also the process of world civilization. Of course, China people also have their own ways to worship fire. China people use fire to cook delicious food, and they also have their own unique ways to keep the fire.

For fire, a sacred and special object, preservation is actually a very troublesome thing. This is a good thing and a dangerous thing. It is impossible to carry a torch at any time, which is easy to be burned and may be submerged by rain. The key is to affect normal life. And it's too much trouble to drill wood to make a fire, so we invented the earliest kindling equipment in China? Passbook, this should be the earliest one.

The magic weapon of ancient life fire: fire passbook

Fire passbook, also called fire passbook, is a small and convenient fire-making appliance, just like fire sickle, flint and fire passbook. In martial arts dramas, the ancients often took a stick out of the belt and blew it out after a series of actions, and then a small flame was born. This is the fire passbook. In fact, at the same time, there is also a kind of fire-making appliance called fire inch strips, but the usage rate seems to be not as high as that of fire passbook, probably because it is convenient to use. A better paper-making method of the passbook is to soak the white (red) potato vines in water, take them out and beat them flat, then soak them in cotton and reed tassels, then disperse them, dry them in the sun, and add flammable substances such as nitrate, sulfur, rosin, camphor and various spices. Finally, it is folded into a long flat tube or twisted into a rope. It burns like a fire at night and is placed in a bamboo tube. When you use it, take it out and burn it. Very flammable, suitable for wealthy families and emperors in feudal times.

But ordinary passbook paper is just ordinary paper money (burning money paper) or toilet paper. When making, cut the paper into a length longer than the bamboo tube, then roll it up, moderately elastic, roll it into the size of the bamboo tube, and finally insert it into the bamboo tube. Then light the fire and cover the ventilation cover. When necessary, pull out the cover and blow gently on the fire passbook. Of course, you have to play skillfully.

1? Rubbing a piece of waste newspaper, the more crumpled it is, the better.

2? Smoothing the crumpled newspaper.

3? Roll up the newspaper moderately.

4? Light it. ? Finally, the fire passbook is ready!

The fire passbook was first recorded in the Southern and Northern Dynasties. In 577 AD, the year when the Northern Qi Dynasty perished, a maid-in-waiting in the Northern Qi Palace invented this sacred object, but it still failed to change the fate of the Northern Qi Dynasty's subjugation. Later, hundreds of years later, it is said that Kyle Polo spread to Europe, and then an Englishman made paste of antimony sulfide and potassium chloride from gum and water, coated it on a matchstick and pulled it on sandpaper to make a fire, and invented the present match. What's its name? Matches . So strictly speaking, this patent right should belong to the maids of Beiqi Palace. But now there are no symptoms.

Since matches were invented in the Northern and Southern Dynasties, how did the predecessors make a fire? The ancients used two sticks to rub against each other to make a fire, and then used flint and iron pieces, but it took a long time to make a fire, just a minute or two.

How did ancient people eat?

There was no cooking in ancient China. The basic cooking methods before the Six Dynasties were similar to those in Europe now, and it didn't begin until the Song Dynasty. At that time, seasoning was actually very simple, especially when the meat was tasteless. At that time, the main seasoning was soup, which was a little close to our current soup, but it was very sticky and a little like our current thickening.

Wang Xuetai, 1942, born in February, Beijinger, former researcher at the Institute of Literature of China Academy of Social Sciences, and professor at the Graduate School of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. 1964 graduated from Chinese Department of Beijing Normal University, focusing on the cross-study of literary history and cultural history. He has written China Food Culture, China People's Food World, China People's Humor, Tramp Culture and China.

■ Excerpts from speeches

There was no cooking in ancient China.

Since the 1980s, talking about eating and drinking seems liberated.

● At that time, seasoning mainly depended on sauce, so now Japanese and Korean sauce is so important.

Food culture will be encountered by people in every era. But for a long time, talking about eating and drinking became a taboo. The more people who don't eat or drink, the more they want to talk. I remember in the 1960s, when I was in college, everyone was lying in bed without eating or drinking. There was a slogan called? Didn't eat or drink, and kept the calories? But in the struggle of the proletariat, talking about eating and drinking has become a taboo and a manifestation of bourgeois ideology. Since the 1980s, talking about eating and drinking seems liberated.

In fact, we can see many characteristics of food culture. For example, China has staple food and non-staple food. It is mentioned in Huangdi Neijing that grain is the staple food, while other meats and vegetables are non-staple food. Another example is the form of cooking, which is a very common way for us now, but it is still rare in Europe. There was no cooking in ancient China. The basic cooking methods before the Six Dynasties were similar to those in Europe now, and it didn't begin until the Song Dynasty. At that time, seasoning was actually very simple, especially when the meat was tasteless.

At that time, the main seasoning was soup, which was a little close to our current soup, but it was very sticky and a little like our current thickening. At that time, seasoning mainly depended on sauce, so Japanese and Korean sauce is so important now. There are 1200 ways to make pre-Qin sauce. Confucius has a very famous saying:? Never tired of eating, never tired of eating? . We are all familiar with the previous sentence, but the next sentence says that meat should be cut thin to taste good. Why? Because meat has to be dipped in sauce to taste. In ancient times, there were many sauces made of animals, such as ants, insects, fish, frogs and honeycombs. Now we cannot accept them.

The inheritance of food culture has become an industry.

People in China always use food to open joints and dredge relationships.

The inheritance of China culture lies in individuality and uncertainty.

China's traditional culture looks at society and life from the perspective of diet, and the first thing ordinary people do in their daily life is to eat and drink. So? Seven things to open the door, rice, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar and tea? . Look at the dining scene in A Dream of Red Mansions. They think it's fun. Zheng Banqiao of A Qing Dynasty described an extremely simple diet in his letters. Before liberation, baked sweet potato and bean juice were poor people's diets, but they all brought people endless fun.

People in China always use food to open joints and dredge relationships. Westerners can offer a bunch of mourning flowers. China people die as if they were alive. What the living eat should at least be treated equally with the sacrifices of the dead. In addition, the ancients believed that different foods should be eaten in different seasons. Is it written in the Book of Rites? Summer vacation? 、? Autumn season? Wait, spring can't be eaten like autumn and winter, or there will be disaster. For example, we eat watermelon in winter and cabbage in summer, which is opposed by the ancients.