4 1 Hui: eggplant \ crab jiaozi.

62: Chicken skin and shrimp ball soup \ Steamed duck with wine.

40 times: pigeon eggs

83 times: bird's nest soup

16 times; Stewed elbow

35 times; Lotus seed soup

49: Steamed mutton

80 times: fried burnt bone

87 times: ham and cabbage soup

19 Hui: Laba porridge

62 times: Shoutao

A Dream of Red Mansions is an encyclopedia about society and life. The contents about food life in the book are scattered in various chapters, and there are many kinds. It is no exaggeration to say that it is the treasure of China's food culture. The drinks, sweets, refreshments, dishes and soups described in A Dream of Red Mansions are mostly fine products, representing the highest level of food and drink life in the early Qing Dynasty, giving people a feeling of being beyond gold and jade. More importantly, when writing these diets, it always combines the origin of raw materials, cooking techniques, living habits, customs, etiquette systems, ideas, literature and art, historical anecdotes ... thus giving the form and connotation of diet culture and showing an elegant and poetic lifestyle.

"[Original]" A Dream of Red Mansions and Food Culture "

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A Dream of Red Mansions and Food Culture

A Dream of Red Mansions is a masterpiece handed down from generation to generation, representing the highest achievement of China's classical novels. Its beauty lies not only in the meticulous and vivid portrayal of many characters, but also in its profound cultural heritage. Among them, the most wonderful is the food culture. Through Cao Xueqin's delicate and gentle brushwork, he described the luxurious dishes of aristocratic families in Ming and Qing Dynasties and many exquisite Jiangnan snacks. More importantly, the author skillfully weaves these cultures into the story, adding more profound sustenance to the story, portraying the characters from the side, and at the same time bringing more literary interest and deeper cultural connotation to the work.

In A Dream of Red Mansions, Cao Xueqin used a lot of space to describe the rich and colorful food culture of Jiafu people, such as birthday banquets, mothering banquets, lantern riddles banquets, crab banquets and lovesickness banquets. The food described in it is even more dazzling, including staple food, snacks, dishes, fruits, supplements and so on. There are many kinds of articles, which are absolutely exquisite. There are many kinds of porridge and rice just mentioned, such as Bijing porridge, Bird's Nest porridge, Jiangmi porridge, duck porridge, jujube porridge, Laba porridge, green-edged fragrant rice and white rice. People at different levels eat different porridge and rice, which shows that food culture is also graded. There are also various dim sum sugar cakes, cream stuffing rolls, steamed chestnut powder cakes with osmanthus sugar, crisp lotus root powder osmanthus, cake chicken oil rolls, tofu skin buns and so on. Chicken bone marrow bamboo shoots, stewed elbow with ham, fresh ham bamboo shoots soup, fried quail, rotten quail crab, bird's nest, pigeon eggs and other rare dishes are also overwhelming. It can be seen that the diet of this work is all-encompassing, and it is memorable when read in combination with the story.

What impressed me the most was Granny Liu's visit to Guo Rongfu. Among the delicious dishes served to her, there is a dish called "eggplant". Grandma Liu tasted the eggplant and said, "Although it smells like eggplant, it doesn't look like eggplant." Then she asked Feng how to cook this dish and tried to cook it when she got back. At that time, Xifeng said, "This is not difficult. You peel fresh eggplant, wash it, slice it in Queena Ding, and then fry it in chicken. Then, the marinated chicken is mixed with fragrant bacteria, new bamboo shoots, mushrooms, spiced bean curd and dried fruits of various colors, diced, simmered in chicken soup, collected with sesame oil, and sealed in a porcelain jar. When you want to eat, take it out and mix it with fried chicken seeds. " Granny Liu asked, "How many chickens do you want to cook?" Indeed, this kind of food can only be eaten by aristocratic families, and civilians like Grandma Liu Can can't enjoy it for a lifetime. However, these dishes are not imaginary and well-founded, and they also reflect the rich diet of the nobles in the Qing Dynasty and the luxurious life of the Jia family.

There is also a diet related to granny Liu. On the fortieth occasion, Shi Taijun gave a banquet in the Grand View Garden twice. In order to please the grandmother Jia, Wang Xifeng deliberately made granny Liu, who had never seen the world in the countryside, come up with several jokes for fun. Picked a bowl of quail eggs and put them in front of her. Granny Liu was also well-advised and planned to sell them silly. Bojia smiled. So he shouted: "Lao Liu, Lao Liu, you eat as much as cattle, and you won't look up if you eat an old sow!" " "Then staring at the quail eggs, provoked everyone to laugh. She picked up pigeon eggs with chopsticks, but she couldn't pick it up several times, so she said, "The chickens here are also handsome and lay small eggs. It's so handsome. Wang Xifeng said with a smile, "A silver or two!" ! Try it quickly, it won't taste good when it gets cold. "She finally picked up one, then stretched out her neck to eat, then slipped down and rolled on the ground. Granny Liu sighed, and one or two pieces of silver fell to the ground and disappeared silently. Behind this seemingly joke, it is actually a bitter irony. This story not only satirizes Jia's extravagant life, but also describes the real situation of food shortage in aristocratic families at that time. At the same time, it also enriches the characters in some small details. In order to please the grandmother Jia, Wang Xifeng made fun of Granny Liu, a country woman who also knew how to cater. It can be seen that diet is inseparable from the character and life of the characters.

The diet in A Dream of Red Mansions also has a very strict hierarchy. Hundreds of people in Jiafu are kitchen managers, all of whom are classified according to their personal grades. Jia Mu is the supreme ruler of the Jia family. She was born in a wealthy family, and her life was accompanied by prosperity. Her dish is "Write down all the vegetables in the world with water labels and eat them every day". She likes to eat bad quail legs, pheasants and sweet and rotten things. The rice that Jia Mu eats is red rice porridge. The book says that it was Jia Zhen's wife, You Shi, who had dinner at Jia Mu's house that day. After the grandmother finished eating, You Shi came to the table to eat. On this day, Tanchun Baoqin also had dinner at Grandma's house. Grandma's Redmi was gone, and then the maid gave You Shi a bowl of white japonica rice. At this moment, Grandmother Jia said, "Why did you faint and take this meal to your grandmother?" It can be seen that grandma and the maid eat differently in Jiafu. Of course, it is inevitable that this is an aristocratic family. In Jiafu, Wang Xifeng ate "dishes on the table" and "full of fish". And her girl Pinger has only "four dishes" for every meal. Pinger is Wang Xifeng's right-hand man and Jia Lian's room mate, but she is not qualified to have dinner with Wang Xifeng. Even if the search allows her to have dinner together, Pinger dare not be equal to her master. Jia Fu's food division system has always been divided into master and servant.

But in Yikang Hospital, there are no such strict regulations. Jia Baoyu ate with the maids many times, regardless of morning and evening, and regardless of master and servant. Because Fang Guan was hungry, he ordered a meal first, and Liu Jia in the kitchen sent a box with "a bowl of shrimp ball and chicken skin soup, another bowl of steamed duck with wine, a dish of rouge goose breast, a dish of four cream puffs, and a bowl of green fragrant rice steamed with hot water". Fang Guan saw these dishes, but he felt greasy. "I only ate a bowl of soup and rice in soup, not two pieces of pickled goose." And "Baoyu smelled it and felt better than usual, so he ate a crispy roll and ordered Xiaoyan to dial half a bowl of rice, which was very sweet and delicious." This description is so relaxed and natural that there is no strict hierarchy. This shows that Jia Baoyu is approachable, regardless of rank, and the maids dare to tease him. Another time, "taste lotus leaf soup, and Huang Qiao knot plum blossoms." Baoyu was ashamed of Jin Chuaner's death, and once coaxed his sister Yuchuan to eat lotus leaf soup. However, this lotus leaf soup is unusual. This is for Yuan Fei's mother's visit, and the production is quite complicated. Because Baoyu wanted to eat, he only made ten bowls. But for Baoyu, no matter how expensive the soup is, it can't compare with making Yuchuan happy. These food descriptions also depict Jia Baoyu's character, and his food atmosphere in Yi Hong Yuan is extremely relaxed and natural.

Through a large number of food descriptions in A Dream of Red Mansions, it also reveals the warmth and coldness of the Jia family. In episode 75, "Banquet at Night and Appreciation of Mid-Autumn Festival New Words", it is written that after the meal, Grandmother Jia gave her favorite and capable granddaughter-in-law, Wang Xifeng, the chicken bone marrow bamboo shoots made by Jia Zheng and her own dish "wind-pickled civets" to her beloved "two jade girls". Here, we can see who is close and who is far away in Jia's heart. She shares her favorite dishes with people she likes. In fact, Lin Daiyu has a high position in grandma's heart. When delivering vegetables, she said this sentence: "This bowl of bamboo shoots and this plate of essential balm were eaten by two children, Baoyu." February has always been her favorite, and Lin Daiyu's position in Jiafu is higher than that of Sanyi and Baochai. But when Baoyu proposed, why did Grandmother Jia think of Xue Baochai, who was happily married, but forget her niece Lin Daiyu, who she had always loved deeply? This happened after the 1980s, and I can't study it any more. However, as can be seen from the description of the previous eighty chapters, my grandmother's love for Daiyu will not be less than Baoyu's.

There is also a paragraph about the contradiction between human feelings and servants. Once, Qiqi, the maid of Yingchun, wanted to eat a bowl of stewed eggs, so she asked Lianhua, the maid, to go to the kitchen to direct the Liu family. However, the Liu family bullied Yingchun as an honest man who had no temper and refused to do it. At this time, Lotus accused the Liu family. "Xiaoyan came the day before yesterday and said,' Sister Qingwen wants to eat Artemisia'. Why are you so busy asking about fried chicken? Xiaoyan said,' the meat is not delicious, so I want you to fry it with gluten and put less oil.' You are too busy to even say' I am dizzy', and you are eager to wash your hands and get fired, holding it like a dog ... "As you can see here, even the diet in the Grand View Garden has many contradictions. Because the master is not favored and the master is weak, their girls will be ignored. There is another reason why the Liu family is kind to Miss Yuan, not only because of Jia Baoyu's high status, but also because Liu Wuer, the daughter of the Liu family, is beautiful and wants to go to Yuan. It's no wonder that the Liu family is more interested in Yuan girls, but they all have a purpose.

The diet in A Dream of Red Mansions is also related to the characters' tastes and poems. Back to the forty-ninth, "the glazed world is full of white snow and red plums, and the pink baby is cut and fishy." Eating venison is also very interesting. Shi Xiangyun heard from Grandmother Jia that there was still fresh venison, so she thought of taking it to the garden with Jia Baoyu. Then, when they arrived at the Xue Lu Temple, they were alone. Dai-yu said, "They can't go to another place. If they get to a place, how many stories will come out. I must have calculated the venison. " Lin Daiyu is so clever that everyone can guess what they think. Sure enough, Aunt Li came over and said, "A brother with jade and a sister with golden unicorn are so clean and delicate ... discussing eating raw meat ..." Xiangyun and Baoyu began to cut and roast the meat, which was fragrant and attracted many girls. Shi Xiangyun is the most chic here. While eating, she said, "I like wine here." Only when you drink wine can you have poetry. If it weren't for this venison, I couldn't write a poem today. " Lin Daiyu said with a smile, "Where can I find this group of flowers?" That's all, that's all. Today, Ann was robbed and humiliated by Miss Yun. I cried for it! "Lin Daiyu, who has a poetic temperament, has always cherished beautiful things and actually loves to eat. Xue Baochai told Baoqin that Sister Lin was weak, otherwise she would eat. Xiangyun replied enthusiastically, "What do you know? It's true celebrities who love themselves, and you're all hypocritical and disgusting. At the moment we are eating and chewing, but when we come back, our hearts and mouths are full. "This sentence has always been my great appreciation, which makes Xiangyun's image more vivid and vivid. Cao Xueqin used Shi Xiangyun's words to scold those sour literati incisively and vividly. This description of eating venison is really wonderful. Later, Shi Xiangyun really sang a lot of poems, which should be reconciled with heartfelt words.

Another time was the thirty-eighth time, "Lin Xiaoxiang's poem of winning chrysanthemums, Xue Heng's satire and crab songs". It is interesting to write here that Jia Fu enjoyed osmanthus flowers and ate crabs in the golden autumn, and everyone went fishing in the pond, enjoying chrysanthemums with wine and eating crabs with poems. At that time, Jia Mu, Mrs. Wang, Wang Xifeng and Aunt Xue were all there. The maids fanned the stove, steamed crabs, made tea and wine, and Li Wan and Wang Xifeng waited on Mrs. Jia and Mrs. Wang on both sides. After everyone finished singing chrysanthemum poems, Jia Baoyu sang crabs again. Later, Xue Baochai wrote a crab poem, "Gui Yin sits with her head up and Chang 'an looks forward to Chongyang. The road ahead has no latitude and longitude. Piri is black and yellow in spring and autumn. Chrysanthemum should also be used when the wine is not fishy, and ginger must be used to prevent cold accumulation. What are the benefits of falling into the kettle today? Yuepu has a leisurely meal. " Cao believes that the "crab swan song" comes from her mouth. Jia's crab feast cost more than twenty taels of silver. Later, Grandma Liu lamented: "Amitabha! The money for this meal is enough for us farmers to spend a year. "This meal is frugal for Jia Fu, but it can last for a year for the cultivators. It's really "a glass of wine for the rich and a meal for the poor for half a year".

There are many exquisite descriptions of food in A Dream of Red Mansions. For example, Xue Baochai invited Lin Daiyu to eat bird's nest, and Aunt Xue kept Baoyu for dinner. In addition to eating rotten goose web, duck letter and other southern dishes, there are sour bamboo shoots and chicken skin soup. Let's not talk about the tofu skin steamed stuffed bun that Baoyu left for Qingwen, and let Mammy Li eat it. The description of drinking in A Dream of Red Mansions is very delicate and rich. These exquisite foods reflect the diet and living conditions of people from all walks of life, and we can also see some luxurious atmosphere of the upper class at that time through many banquets of the Jia family. This adds more interest and profound connotation to the story, and the characters are more vividly displayed here. A Dream of Red Mansions records many food customs and cultures in the Qing Dynasty, as well as many exquisite snacks in the south of the Yangtze River, which plays an important reference role in the study of Chinese food culture.