The Tang Dynasty was a famous and prosperous period in history, so what did the people usually eat?

The Records of the Grand Historian - Lu Jia Lianzhuan" has the cloud: "the king to the people, the people to food."

"People eat for heaven" means: two chopsticks, the second is the innate divination. Exchange, for the mouth, for eating. The chopsticks are straight and long, a trigram. Xun, for wood, is the initiation. Eating together with chopsticks. What is the entrance? It's chopsticks. Chopsticks with rounded ends mean divination, for heaven. Isn't eating like this "heaven"? That's where the idea that "food is heaven" comes from.

As a large country with a large population, Chinese people always pay attention to food. After the economic development of the Han Dynasty and the ethnic integration of the Northern and Southern Dynasties of the Wei and Jin dynasties, the food culture of China during the Sui and Tang dynasties became really colorful.

So what was the food culture of the people in the prosperous and open era of Sui and Tang Dynasty?

What did people eat in the prosperous Sui and Tang dynasties? It was no less rich than in modern times

In modern times, the staple food in most areas is rice, wheat, corn and so on. In fact, the ancients were pretty much the same. During the Sui and Tang dynasties, there was an abundance of food. Although there was no corn or sweet potatoes, there were a variety of grains, such as rice, wheat, millet, yellow rice and beans. Eventually, the diet of "southern rice and northern wheat" was formed.

There were three main staple foods: cake, rice and porridge.

Cakes not only include steamed buns, sesame cakes, steamed buns, steamed bread, etc., but also soup cakes, water cakes, and other food. , but also soup cakes, water-induced cakes, cold utensils (similar to sesame flowers), paste circles (similar to dumplings), cut cake (similar to cookies) and so on. Portable bread and steamed buns were so popular in the Tang army that they became the most common food to fill up the stomach, and even officials ate steamed buns on horseback and were punished when they were discovered, thus delaying their career.

The main meals at that time were glutinous rice, millet rice and wheat rice. Due to geographical constraints, the transportation cost of rice was higher and so was the price. Most lower and middle class officials and ordinary people ate millet and wheat. Du Fu asked his friend Wei Bashi to be a "new cook with yellow rice" and to cook rice with yellow rice.

The main types of porridge were rice porridge, millet porridge and wheat porridge. Because it is convenient and easy to do, can quench thirst and hunger. During the Sui and Tang dynasties, both the ministers and the people generally like to eat porridge, and it has become a custom to eat porridge when it is cold. Noble officials also added honey, almonds, cheese, sesame or other ingredients to the porridge to add some flavor to the light porridge.

Grains were hard currency at that time. In the middle of the early Tang Dynasty, the government implemented a true "rent and supervision" tax system, and the official "rice porridge" consisted mainly of rice and wheat. There were different grades and standards of milu. Apart from the miroku, which were taken over directly under the egalitarian system, the income of other officials, such as rent, monthly salary, wages, etc., was usually based on the price of miroku. , are usually calculated on the basis of the price of miru.

Besides these staples, dietary fiber and vitamins must be supplemented from fruits and vegetables to regulate metabolism and promote health. During the Sui and Tang dynasties, there were a variety of fruits and vegetables, such as sunflower, leek, celery, radish, taro, winter melon, cucumber, mushrooms, capers, bamboo shoots, amaranth, lotus root and green water shield.

In the north, leeks and horseradish are often eaten, while in the south, bamboo and bamboo stew are often eaten. Zugi and vegetables were effectively preserved through pickling or processing into soups. There was also a rich variety of fruits in this period, including dates, peaches, plums, apricots, prunes, pears, persimmons, chestnuts and hazelnuts.

And citrus, prunes, loquats, etc. were also abundant in Jiangnan and Lingnan. Similar to vegetables, people also process fruits into dried fruit. After centuries of exchanges on the Silk Road, many foreign fruits and vegetables, such as eggplant, spinach, grapes, pomegranates and sugar cane, still enrich the bowels of the Chinese people.

Foreign spices such as coriander (cilantro), orchid (basil) and pepper made the people's food more delicious. Since the Sui, Tang, Ming and Qing dynasties, chili peppers have become one of the most extravagant tastes of the Chinese, and even a symbol of wealth. The prime minister of the Tang Dynasty was convicted of stealing 800 stones of chili peppers (equivalent to tens of thousands of kilograms).

During the Sui and Tang dynasties, people ate meat in addition to vegetarian food. The most delicious meat at that time was fish and mutton. But the cycle of raising livestock was long and costly. Ordinary people and low-ranking officials seldom ate meat, and high-ranking nobles could eat all kinds of meat.

Meat in the Sui and Tang dynasties mainly consisted of pigs, sheep, dogs, donkeys, chickens, ducks, geese, fish, shrimps and crabs. Similar to staple foods and vegetables, the eating habits of the north and south were different. The north has a long nomadic culture and likes to eat mutton, while the south likes to eat fish and shrimp.

"Prepare chicken and rice for me, old friend, you entertained me on your farm", poultry farming is very cheap, so it is popular with officials and the lower class, and is an important choice for them to improve their lives. Deer, goose, sparrow, quail and other meats are often found on the dinner table. The main cooking techniques for meat and poultry include barbecue (open fire), dried bacon, and steaming and stir-frying.

Fishery products are mainly eaten raw and dipped in thin sauce. Soup fire (stew), stewing, pickling, jinyu, etc.. Appeared in the late North and South Dynasties, Sui and Tang dynasties popular among the famous dishes of Jiangnan. Fish and goat, the different food cultures of the north and south combined to form the word "fresh". A variety of popular meat to make the Sui and Tang Dynasty food world more colorful.

After eating, people had to enjoy some drinks. During the Sui and Tang dynasties, tea, wine, cheese and various beverages led the way. Tea gradually spread from the Jiangnan Water Tribe to all parts of the country. With the development of Buddhism, meditating and drinking tea has become a fashion and a preferred way of gathering for literati and artists. Lu Yu, the saint of tea in the Tang Dynasty, wrote the "Tea Sutra," describing the flavors of tea and water, as well as the method of boiling tea.

Treating guests with tea has become an important social habit in the Tang Dynasty, and tea drinking has gradually spread to places such as Tubo, Silla and Japan. With the increasing status of tea in Tang society, "tea tax", like "salt tax", gradually became an important source of income for the Tang government.

In addition to tea, wine was also developed during the Tang Dynasty, and agricultural progress led to an increase in wine production. The control of the western regions by the Tang Dynasty led to the eastward spread of wine brewing techniques, and the variety of wines continued to grow:Jiannan Shaochun, Gan, and Grapes were all famous wines of the time.

The pulp of the Tang Dynasty is similar to modern fruit juice, according to the different raw materials can be divided into mulberry pulp, grape pulp, peach pulp. Due to the immaturity of crystallization technology, sugarcane pulp was widely used as a sweetener during the Sui and Tang dynasties. At that time there was a similar to today's "sugar" fruit powder, can be preserved for a long time for tourism.

In addition, the Tang Dynasty saw the emergence of a drink called "Sanle Juice," which originated in Persia and was similar to today's cocktails.

Because of the frequent interactions between Hu and Han, people in the north preferred to eat mutton since the Northern Dynasties, and there was an abundance of cheese. During the Tang Dynasty, Chang'an saw the emergence of "frozen cheese," similar to today's shaved ice. Shaved ice was topped with sugarcane syrup and even mixed with cherries, making it a summer delicacy for dignitaries.

The Tang Dynasty was an era of highly developed economy and culture, and the food culture promoted the development of catering industry, and all kinds of banquets came into being. Among them, they can be divided into "official banquets" and "private banquets". Most official banquets were normal working meals, where officials ate while discussing matters related to government affairs. This kind of banquet is more like a social platform, which enhances the communication between officials.

In addition, common private banquets include: scholar's banquets, family banquets, sightseeing banquets and welcome banquets. Among them, the "Qujiang Banquet" is the most famous, which flourished in the Middle and Late Tang dynasties and was named after the Apricot Garden on the banks of the Qujiang River southeast of Chang'an. The banquet was organized by the Golden Lion of Shinko, who invited kabuki performers from the plaza to support the event. On the day of the banquet, officials gathered together, sometimes inviting the emperor. After the banquet, there were often activities such as rowing boats and inscriptions on the tower.

However, while the banquet for the scholars brought them closer to the examiners, it also played an important role in promoting cronyism. As a result, such banquets were banned during Prime Minister Lee Duk-yu's administration.

Mountains and seas, fresh fruits and vegetables, jade agar, and colorful cuisine reflect the colorful food culture of the people of the Sui and Tang dynasties and the innovation and tolerance of Chinese civilization in that era.

As the saying goes, people eat for days, and panic if they don't eat for a day. As gourmets, we have a long history of eating. As we all know, the Tang Dynasty was the most prosperous dynasty, so their customs must have been different in different places, just as they are in different places now. So today, let's talk about what Tang Dynasty people eat. Let's take Chang'an citizens as an example and see what they ate together.

What food and home cooking did the Tang people eat in history

The Tang people generally lived on bread and rice, with bread dominating. The content of the cake mentioned here is much wider than what we have today. In addition to a variety of pasta accidentally, all became cakes, the most representative of Hu cake, steamed cake, soup cake.

Rice also had a place in the three meals a day in the Tang Dynasty, not as good as cake, but not without its mainstay. In some regions, rice was more popular than cakes. People in the Tang Dynasty also liked congee, such as Bai Juyi's Today's Spring Cold, ask yourself what you want. It's all congee. Their ingredients ranged from wheat, barley and barley, with side dishes from vegetables to meat to fruit.

The meat of the Tang dynasty at that time was mainly mutton (beef was eaten on illegal beheadings; pork was available but rarely eaten). They also liked raw fish, but at that time, fishing was very popular, and fishing was common, so there was a famous dish called "chubu", which is actually today's sashimi.

Why didn't the Tang Dynasty people like duck and goose? These were not meat at the time. It turns out there is a story behind it. At the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, he liked chicken very much. Then he was tricked. Tang Taizong said: "I forbid the empire to eat meat, I am afraid of the state and county expensive. What is the reason for eating chicken?" Regarding the means of living, I am afraid of wastefulness. Imperial officials are forbidden to eat meat, but how is eating chicken considered eating meat? When it comes to vegetables, potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, corn, etc. , which are very common nowadays, were not eaten at all in the Tang Dynasty. What was the most common vegetable they had at that time? Okra, also known as "winter amaranth". Du Fu has a poem that says: "When rice is ripe, it is white; when okra is ripe, it is old. Who is smooth and full, who is soft and even forever." It's less common now. We eat very little of it in the north and more in the south. There's also a vegetable called xiè, which is less common now and still available in some southern cities.

So what we could eat at that time in the Tang Dynasty was not as good, and some of it we didn't dare to try. How can we eat well now? Every dish has changed and changed, once favored by the majority of foodies!