Dunhuang Buddhist scriptures, social documents, silk paintings, utensils and other documents have preserved a large number of food materials in the Tang and Song Dynasties. This gives us a chance to go back more than a thousand years and see what Dunhuang people ate at that time. How to eat?
Staple food, vegetables, fruits and condiments are all the same.
Among the staple foods of Dunhuang people, wheat includes wheat, barley, highland barley, Luo Mai and buckwheat. Shells include millet, millet and japonica rice; Beans include peas, kidney beans, black beans, soybeans, cowpeas, adzuki beans and wild beans. In addition, Dunhuang people also collected some grass seeds as food in famine years.
Dunhuang people are also rich in non-staple food. Dunhuang animal husbandry is relatively developed, and livestock such as cattle and sheep are the sources of meat and dairy products. Dunhuang has been a multi-ethnic mixed area since ancient times, and the dietary customs of all ethnic groups have left traces here more or less. Tubo ruled for a period of time in the Tang Dynasty, and the habit of Tubo people loving milk also influenced Dunhuang people. Dunhuang people like hunting, surrounded by rabbits, wild horses, wild camels, argali, antelopes and so on. Many documents record that they have the words "Orion", "antelope", "game", "net eagle" and "eagle hunting", which shows that hunting is not only a pastime of Dunhuang nobles, but also a means for them to obtain meat.
Oil crops in Dunhuang include flax, hemp, red and blue, and rape may have been planted. During the Tang and Song Dynasties, the garden economy in Dunhuang was quite developed. In addition to private vegetable cultivation and trading, many monasteries have vegetable gardens, which grow radish, lettuce, turnip, onion, garlic, leek, gourd, cowpea and alfalfa. Dunhuang people also collected some wild plants and fungi, such as lobster sauce, shepherd's purse, mushroom seeds, horse celery seeds and so on. To supplement the shortage of vegetables and improve the taste.
Dunhuang is known as the "hometown of melons and fruits". As early as the Han Dynasty, Dunhuang was famous for its high-quality melons, which were used as tributes during the reign of Emperor Wu of the Eastern Han Dynasty. The planting area of melons is also very large. According to Dunhuang documents, there are more than a dozen melon orchards in each canal of Shazhou. The fruits in Dunhuang include grapes, pears, pears, peaches, apricots, dates, Zizyphus jujuba, Hu Linzi, etc., which almost included all the fruits in northern China at that time.
The condiments of Dunhuang people are pepper, ginger, salt, black beans, vinegar, sauce, syrup and so on. Pepper and ginger come from other places, and "Qindi Ginger" is the best; All other seasonings are made locally. People in Dunhuang love sour food. According to the literature, the temple not only brewed vinegar sauce by itself, but also traded raw grain in the street. It shows that there were many workshops brewing vinegar sauce in Dunhuang at that time. Slurry water is a kind of pickle water produced by vegetable fermentation, which has the effects of relieving summer heat, reducing temperature, relieving boredom and helping digestion, and is still a favorite condiment in northwest China.
Dunhuang people who love cakes and porridge.
Like the vast areas in northern China at that time, Dunhuang people's staple food was all kinds of cakes, on the one hand, because wheat and processed flour had replaced millet and millet as staple food, on the other hand, since the Han Dynasty, cake food has gradually become a favorite food of northern people. There are nearly 30 kinds of cakes in Dunhuang, more than any historical materials, including Hu cake, Luo cake, steamed bread, water cake, white cake, pancake, steamed cake, sesame cake, sand cake, milk cake, vegetable cake, pancake, glutinous rice cake, cage cake, sycamore cake, doughnut cake and pancake. Most of these cakes are made of wheat flour, and a few are made of millet flour or ground flour.
Of course, these foods called "cakes" are not cakes today. Because people used to call all foods made of flour "cakes", such as fried foods, steamed foods, stuffed foods, noodles, etc., which are not consistent with today's cakes.
Some methods and tools for making cakes are recorded, from which we can know their inheritance relationship with some foods today. Such as Hu cake, sesame cake, Chinese parasol cake, milk cake, Luo cake and so on. Similar to the baked wheat cake popular in the north today; Steamed cakes and cage cakes are similar to steamed bread now; Dragon Tiger Snake Cake is a kind of steamed food in the shape of dragon tiger snake, which is often used in some ceremonial ceremonies, such as birth ceremony and adult ceremony. Steamed bread, vegetable cakes and vegetable molds are similar to the current steamed bread; Pancakes, pancakes and so on. Are the same as today's pancakes and pancakes; Some are similar to today's oil cakes, and some are the same as today's jiaozi, but with different shapes; Some are the same as today's snacks, and some are similar to today's fried cakes, which are often used as meals or snacks to entertain distinguished guests; Cake paste is a common way to eat cereal flour and paste flour in northwest China, that is, after boiling the flour with boiling water, add yeast and steam it into cakes. This way of eating can still be seen in some mountainous areas of Gansu today. Other cakes, such as bacon cakes, are only recorded by the amount of flour, and it is not yet certain how to make them.
In addition to dozens of cakes, Dunhuang is also popular with dozens of foods, such as porridge, glutinous rice, water, cooked noodles, sausage noodles, oil noodles, fried noodles, wheat rice, rice, rice cakes and so on. Popular foods nowadays, such as cold noodles, wonton, dumpling skin, zongzi, etc. At that time, it was already the dish of Dunhuang people. In addition, Dunhuang documents also recorded "beard noodles", which should be the earliest record of dried noodles in historical materials.
There are several kinds of porridge in Dunhuang. There are syrup porridge, rice porridge, rice paste, porridge and so on. Its material is not just rice or millet, but flour. Soup is also a regular diet of Dunhuang people. Dunhuang people love porridge and soup because they often eat fried food. The meaning of "rice" in Dunhuang is also very wide. It is called "Maifan", which is steamed from wheat. It was recorded on paper in the early Tang Dynasty and disappeared in the Five Dynasties and the early Song Dynasty. Some kind of food made of noodles is also called "rice", which should be the same as what Hexi people say today. The other is "rice" made of japonica rice.
Hu Shi and Hu Qi
An important feature of Dunhuang diet is Hu Shi and Hu Feng's eating habits. Almost half of its food varieties are or evolved from Hu Cai, especially pasta represented by cakes. Placement, sitting posture, wine container, etc. Also more or less contaminated with Hu Qi. Businessmen from the East and the West have brought all kinds of pastry making techniques, and it is also the successful management policy of Dunhuang Cake Shop to make all kinds of cakes to satisfy businessmen's hobbies for different cakes.
At that time, there were some special snacks in Dunhuang, such as enema noodles and Baba. Enema noodles are a kind of food that is filled with a mixture of noodles, oil and blood in the intestines of animals and then steamed. It is still a common way to eat in Tibetan areas. Dunhuang was ruled by Tubo for a period of time, and it was inevitably influenced by it. Dunhuang people often use enema noodles to worship the gods. Looks like high-end food. Ciba is also a Tibetan food variety, which is recorded on Dunhuang Tibetan paper. It shows that during the reign of Tubo people, their food culture also influenced Dunhuang people.
In Dunhuang during the Tang and Five Dynasties, people's dietary etiquette was changing from old to new. Meal system, sitting posture, utensils, etc. , all show this feature.
The ancient Dunhuang people practiced the system of separate meals.
During the Tang and Five Dynasties, the dietary system was still in the transition stage from two meals to three meals. According to the literature, sometimes it is three meals a day, sometimes it is two meals a day, and sometimes it is a snack after two meals. When engaged in heavy physical labor, there are also "night meals", but the number is less than the other two meals.
In the "Ge" era, Dunhuang people sat on the floor and practiced the system of sharing food. The food is put on the box, and the cook or servant puts it in front of the eater. Judging from the murals, in Dunhuang during the Tang and Five Dynasties, the dining table has completely replaced the case, and people sit around and eat together. It can be clearly seen from the dining map that Dunhuang people have been sitting around the dining table (a low rectangular table, like the current coffee table), but it is essentially different from today's dining system. Even if everyone's dishes are still separate, everyone has a plate in front of them, and the chef or someone will give the dishes to each diner.
In the records of some eating activities, bowls, plates, wine glasses and other tableware are often divided according to the head.
In the tombs of Wei and Jin Dynasties in Dunhuang and Jiayuguan, people in Dunhuang can be seen kneeling to eat, inheriting the ancient tradition. By the Tang and Five Dynasties, most of them had sat cross-legged on the ground. From the murals, we can see people sitting cross-legged on the kang, or sitting cross-legged or kneeling on a wide bench as high as a food bed. The advantage of this sitting posture is to avoid the disadvantage of numbness caused by kneeling on the inner thigh for a long time, which may be influenced by ethnic minorities. There were high stools in Dunhuang at that time. Although there is no picture of eating on a high stool, the possibility of sitting on it is not ruled out.
In addition, due to the influence of many ethnic minorities' eating habits, they also have the habit of eating on the carpet. Because in the distribution of food and drink items in the temple, "laying" is essential, and in the description of the items in the temple, grain blankets, grain blankets, grain lists and so on have appeared more than once. This easily reminds us of the eating habits of some ethnic minorities.
There are many reasons for inviting people to dinner.
After basically meeting the physiological needs, people's dietary activities gradually increase the social significance. Followed by some fixed eating activities, which is what we call "banquet" today.
There are many feasts recorded in Dunhuang documents. However, it was not called a banquet at that time, but was called "bureau" (or "bureau seat"), "banquet", "meal", "setting", "watching", "snacks", "Chinese food", "relieving fire", "relieving fatigue" and "fasting" according to the different scale and nature. "Bureau" is also called "bureau seat", or simply "seat" and "banquet". At the earliest time, people's important eating activities were carried out in mats made of some plants, which were also called "banquets", and later they were called banquets. Today, some areas still call banquets "seats". "Banquet" is a popular banquet saying in the Tang and Five Dynasties, which was popular until the late Qing Dynasty. Nowadays, it has become a fashion to call the banquet "bureau", that is, to call the banquet "rice". In Dunhuang at that time, "bureau seats" generally referred to more formal banquet activities.
"Set" originally refers to sacrifices, sacrifices, offerings, etc. Later, it was expanded into a feast.
The original intention of "seeing" is a courtesy visit, but in Dunhuang it refers to eating activities for something, expressing hospitality and sympathy.
"Dun" originally meant knocking on the ground, and later it was extended to a place for party and accommodation. Dunhuang's "Dun" is related to an activity, such as celebrating the water and going to the grottoes. After the funeral, everyone will buy wine and get together.
"Snacks" and "Chinese food" are undoubtedly a banquet. "Small" and "Chinese food" are not the concept of time, nor the number of participants, but mostly refer to the level of diet. Judging from the retrieved examples, the scale is not small, and the number of people is large, which is often used in activities such as seeing off and getting together as usual.
The original meaning of "relieving fire" and "relieving fatigue" refers to the fire caused by fatigue, and it needs to eat some food to put out the fire. This was originally a simple eating activity, but the "relieving fire" and "relieving fatigue" in Dunhuang have evolved into more complicated feasting activities.
"Zhai" originally refers to the eating activities of monks, but because Dunhuang is a prosperous society of Buddhism, the name of monks' eating has also influenced the secular society, and the feast activities of laymen are sometimes called "Zhai".
Monks and nuns also drink.
There are the earliest maps of distilled liquor brewing in the world in Dunhuang Grottoes, and there are nearly 30 wine merchants and hotels in the vast Dunhuang, not including monasteries and a large number of private winemaking. There are many varieties of Dunhuang wine, including millet wine, malt wine, highland barley wine, millet wine, wine and so on. According to the varieties, there are sake, Hu wine, sweet wine, white wine, medicinal wine and mixed wine. The brewing technology of wine has reached a high level.
In Dunhuang, people from almost every social class like to drink. Leaders of the Guiyi Army, envoys sent to Dunhuang by various regimes, pawnbrokers and Buddhist monks are all frequent visitors to the hotel. Even monks and nuns, in addition to chanting scriptures on the ancient Buddha wall, also took a few sips. Most of the millet earned in the temple is used to make wine or change wine. The function of wine is far from being a drink, but it has become a lubricant for the relationship between people in social life. Almost all secular social activities and even some religious activities are indispensable. Such as entertaining envoys, offering sacrifices to entertain gods, seasonal ceremonies, various banquets, welcoming, weddings, funerals and celebrations. There must be wine.
On formal occasions, everyone has a cup. The wine vessels in Dunhuang are urn, horn, note, pottery and spoon. Taozi is used to warm wine, which shows that Dunhuang people like to drink hot wine.
At that time, Dunhuang people had a common way of painting boxing, which was called "Noisy Boxing". In addition, there is an elegant way to make drinking with "clumsy cages", which requires certain cultural knowledge, so it is popular among literati or nobles.
The drinking capacity of Dunhuang people is no small matter. The amount of alcohol provided by Guiyi Army to Dunhuang envoys ranged from more than 2 liters to 3 liters per person per day. According to some documents, some people drink between 5 liters and 7.5 liters a day, which is about 6 kg to 9 kg today, which is worse than Song Wu in Jingyanggang. Of course, most of the wine they drink is millet wine, which is low in alcohol content and can't be compared with the current white wine.