The change of tableware enriches the food culture of China people. How did the tableware change?

In ancient times, almost every tableware had to be carved, especially in the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, which was rich and complicated, including gluttonous patterns, rich patterns, cicada patterns, Yun Leiwen patterns and panlong patterns. After the Tang and Song Dynasties, in addition to utensils made of precious materials such as gold, silver, copper, jade and ivory, porcelain gradually became a common utensil. Ordinary people mostly use pottery and bamboo utensils. The artistic aesthetic value of tableware is still pursued by people at different levels. Fan Li was the prime minister of the dynasty, and Kong was his best friend. If you can "eat", three people can eat at the same table, and Condon won't be embarrassed. That is, from the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, the sharing of food began to change to "catering". Reasons for the change: First of all, due to the out-of-control of Confucianism in this period, many literati advocated "letting nature take its course", denied the conventions in the past manners and customs with awakened self-consciousness and pursued a bohemian lifestyle. Sitting opposite each other and eating together became a concrete manifestation of their indulgence.

Calligraphy, painting, flowers, birds, insects and fish in nature are all decorated on porcelain tableware. Even today, even the most common bowls and plates have patterns or words. Colorful tableware also reflects a neglected eating custom: in ancient China, the system of separate meals was implemented. In modern times, many people criticized and accused China people's "rice" from the perspective of hygiene and health, and strongly advocated the western "partnership system" and meal sharing system.

In fact, the meal-sharing system is a traditional dietary custom in ancient China, and its existence time is much longer than the history of the meal-sharing system. Because ancient tableware was the external etiquette symbol of autocratic hierarchy, the tableware and dishes used by emperors, governors, doctors, scholars and Shu Ren were all different.

The ancients sat on the floor. At first, they put enough tableware directly on the table. Later, they put a food box in front of everyone and ate their own meals. During the Warring States Period, Meng Changjun met with diners and once hosted them for a supper. One person covered the fire, and some diners mistakenly thought that the food was different and left the group. Meng Changjun followed him and asked him to verify it with his own food. Diners committed suicide in shame. If everyone ate at the same table and served the same food, there would be no such misunderstanding.

This story shows that even the hospitable Meng Changjun dined with his guests. This diet custom continued until the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties. Kong Xiuyuan, Liang of the Southern Dynasties, lived in Kong Dengjia, and Fan Yun, assistant minister, visited Kong Xiuyuan. Condon thought he had come to visit himself and provide a sumptuous meal.

Thirdly, with the evolution of indoor furniture from short to high (see Chapter 3, Section 3), the lifestyle of sitting on the floor is gradually replaced by sitting on the dining table, and the appearance of long tables, square tables, round tables and heated kang makes it possible for the family to eat together, and the eating custom of "eating" is gradually stereotyped. The ancient tableware changed from long feet to short feet and then to no feet, reflecting this gradual process. In the Tang and Song Dynasties, the custom of eating a bowl of vegetables and drinking a bowl of soup was basically formed. In the Tang Dynasty, ministers discussed in the yamen and ate a "working meal". Because of illness, Prime Minister Yang Yan "eats and drinks excessively, or doesn't eat porridge in the pavilion." . I eat it every time I go to church, and I can't even say it. "

However, the eating custom of "group meals" and the patriarchal concept of filial piety, harmony and stability have produced a strong * * * sound, which was quickly recognized by people and became the mainstream of China's food culture. Ringing the bell, setting the tripod and setting the beans certainly reflect the ancient ritual system of "grading and grading", and the objectively healthy "meal-sharing system" is also based on this ritual system, and its merits and demerits are the ancient food culture of China. Therefore, the practice of separate meals is not so much a learning from the West as a selective revival of China's ancient food culture.