What is the composition of snuff?

Snuff originated from American Indians, the birthplace of tobacco, and has a history of more than 2000 years. 1492 After Columbus discovered the New World, tobacco and snuff gradually spread from America to Europe. Snuff was very popular in Europe in 16 and 17 centuries, and people often gave it as a gift to relatives and friends. The famous Russian poet Pushkin once wrote a poem entitled "To a beautiful woman who smokes snuff", in which he wrote, "But as for you, beautiful woman! Ah, but if you really like snuff-I have a burning dream! I wish I could turn into a cigarette and put it in a small cigarette case ... "It can be seen that Russian women also like to smoke snuff.

Regarding the origin of snuff in China, Zhao recorded in Lu Yong Gossip in Qing Dynasty: "Snuff comes from the Italian Atlantic. In the ninth year of Wanli, Matteo Ricci entered Guangdong during the flood season and went to the capital. Providing Party things will only lead to China. People in China take a lot of snuff, and the number of short clothes is heavy, and they hide snuff in small bags. " The ingredients of snuff are recorded in the New Book: "Radix Angelicae Dahuricae is divided into two parts, Asari into eight parts, dried in the sun, Fructus Gleditsiae Abnormalis into two parts, Herba Menthae into two parts, and Borneolum Syntheticum into three parts. Dry cigarettes and dried silk are one yuan, which should be matched with Yan Fu's six or seven points. Grinding the above medicines into fine powder. Proper cooperation is not necessary, it is better to be brown. " The production method of snuff is to add precious spices such as musk to finely ground high-quality tobacco and age it in sealed wax pills for years or decades. The prepared snuff is powdery, and when inhaled, it is rubbed in the nostrils with your fingers, which produces physiological effects by stimulating the mucosa. Snuff has different colors, such as black purple, old yellow, light yellow and so on. It tastes sour, spicy, mushy, bean and sweet, and acid is the best. It is said that it has the effects of improving eyesight, refreshing, eliminating epidemic and promoting blood circulation. The special vessel for holding snuff is called snuff bottle, which is made of crystal, sheep fat, agate, jade, eggplant, ladle, porcelain, stone and so on.

Snuff started in late Ming Dynasty and flourished in Qing Dynasty in China. There are specialized snuff factories, snuff bureaus and snuff shops that manufacture and sell snuff. Snuff was a symbol of the powerful at first, and later spread to the people. "No matter rich or poor, there is nothing wrong. Just like eating and sleeping, one day is indispensable. As a second life, you can eat rice and noodles for a day, but you can't eat snuff for a day. You can go without eating or drinking for a day, but you can't go without smelling snuff "(Antique Guide edited by Jo Yeo-jeong in 193 1). It is said that Yong Zhengdi likes snuff very much. According to the records of the Qing Palace, "On May 14th, the eighth year of Yongzheng, the eunuch Zhang Yuzhi handed a pack of snuff, and it was said that this smoke was imported by Prince Yi, and I used it frequently. Liu Sanjiu deserved it if he could. If you don't deserve it, wait for Prince Yi to finish his work before asking the government for the formula. I respect this. " The classic novel A Dream of Red Mansions also describes: catching a cold on a sunny day, dizziness and stuffy nose. Baoyu ordered someone to bring a small wok, let him smell it, sneeze a few times, and immediately recovered.

Mongolian herders are still popular to respect snuff. When the younger generation meets the elder, the younger generation should bow down and offer snuff bottles to the elder with both hands. The elder takes them with his left hand, smells them and returns them. When the companions meet, they just exchange snuff bottles with their right hands, pour some snuff from the pot in their palms, dip their fingers in it, put it on their nostrils and smell it, and then return it to each other. When pedestrians in Lu Yu visit herders' homes, pedestrians or owners often take out snuff bottles and give them a smell, or exchange snuff bottles to show mutual respect and treat each other with courtesy.

After the Republic of China, with the popularity of cigarettes, the habit of sniffing snuff was gradually replaced by smoking, and snuff gradually disappeared. Only snuff bottles with snuff become collectors' collections.