This spring, my wife and I reclaimed wasteland near the railway sub-bureau not far from home. We made great efforts to reclaim a vegetable garden of more than 40 square meters, divided it into several small pieces, planted spinach, rape, coriander, pepper and eggplant respectively, fertilized, watered, weeded and caught insects, and the green waves rippled in the small vegetable garden.
I also planted two beds of cucumbers, and I put a wooden frame on each cucumber seedling. At present, they are growing well. The seedlings have sprouted and vomited, and climbed onto the fence frame. Huang Yanyan's flowers are backward, revealing furry melons, swaying in the cool Xia Feng, which makes people fondle it.
Cucumber is an ordinary vegetable, belonging to Cucurbitaceae. It grows by creeping or climbing and can be planted two or three times a year. It is a seasonal vegetable widely planted in summer and autumn. Nowadays, with the wide application of greenhouse or plastic shed cultivation techniques, you can also eat green and fresh cucumbers in winter and spring.
However, cucumber is not a native species in China. Originally known as "cucumber", it was brought back to the Central Plains by Zhang Qian when he was in the Western Han Dynasty, and it was widely planted in the north and south of the Yangtze River. Cucumber changed its name to cucumber, which began in the post-Zhao Sixteen Kingdoms period. There is also an interesting story. The founder of the post-Zhao Dynasty was Schleswig-Holstein, a Jie nationality. Because he is a conference semifinal, he is afraid that others will say "Hu". On one occasion, Schleswig summoned local officials, and one of them, a county magistrate named Fan Tan, was very clever. When giving a luncheon, Schleswig pointed to a plate of green gourd at the banquet and asked Fan Tan, "Do you know the name of this thing?" Fan Tan turned his head and the plan came. He respectfully replied: "purple case delicacies, silver cups of green tea, golden bottles of nectar, jade plate cucumbers." Schleswig-Holstein was very happy after hearing this. Since then, the name of cucumber has become popular.
When cucumber was first introduced into the Central Plains, it was still a rare variety. It could only be offered in the palace, and ordinary people did not taste it. Wang Jian, a poet in the early Tang Dynasty, wrote a poem "Early Spring in the Palace":
There are 100 tall buildings with wine curtains and flowers in front of the Liushu Temple in front of the palace.
Warm soup was distributed in the inner garden, and melons were brought in in mid-February.
This inner garden refers to the royal garden, and the "melon" in the poem is a cucumber planted in a greenhouse, which is heated with hot spring water as a palace tribute for the emperors and concubines in the harem to taste. In the late Tang Dynasty, the cultivation of cucumbers began to spread, and ordinary people could also eat fresh and crisp cucumbers. Zhang Hu, a poet in the late Tang Dynasty, wrote in Reading Five Songs:
Lang went to pick cucumbers and Lang came to collect dates.
Lang planted Ma Tian, and now he is from West Snake Island.
This is a poem in memory of my husband. I clearly remember Lang Jun picking cucumbers and red dates. Now, because there is no labor to take care of it, the land cultivated by his wife in Sang Ma has become a path to the west of the house.
When the jujube flowers first fell and the green dates were exposed, the cucumbers hanging in the garden hung down, and the villagers began to pick their own jasper cucumbers and sell them door to door with wheelbarrows. When farmers working in the fields heard the cry of selling cucumbers, they went to the fields one after another, bought some, washed them with clear water, chewed them, and they were sweet and crisp, which was very refreshing to quench their thirst. Su Shi, a writer in the Northern Song Dynasty, described the vivid scene of selling cucumbers and melons in his poems:
The rustling clothes and towels fall on jujube flowers, and the cars ring north and south of the village.
Cow clothes and ancient willows sell cucumbers.
-"Huanxisha"
Purple plum and cucumber are fragrant in the village, and black gauze and white kudzu are cool.
-"Zuta Hospital in the Middle Reaches of Disease"
Wang Mian, a painter and poet in the Yuan Dynasty, also wrote a poem about vegetable farmers selling cucumbers in "Wandering":
Dense trees and wet clouds, deserted and inclined.
Shan Tong divided purple bamboo shoots, and the wild old man sold cucumbers.
Cucumber is a little fresh in the countryside in summer, and its crisp and sweet taste not only quenches thirst and produces saliva, but also makes people feel homesick.
Lu You, a poet in the Southern Song Dynasty, spent most of his life in the countryside. His life is simple, and he likes gardening and growing vegetables. In addition to growing some ordinary vegetables, he especially likes to grow cucumbers. He said in a poem "autumn bosom":
The gardener picked cucumbers by shelves, and the village girl picked blue flowers along the fence.
It was still very hot in the city, so Qiu Guang went to the wild house first.
He planted tender cucumbers in autumn. The poet, like a real old gardener, picked cucumbers swaying on the wooden frame, and the girl next door picked all kinds of autumn flowers on the fence. How I envy those hot and depressed city residents! Lu You not only grows his own food, but also sometimes picks newly produced cucumbers and lettuce and transports them to the market to sell vegetables:
Cucumber and lettuce are the most suitable, when they go on sale in April.
-"New vegetables"
Of course, picking your own taste is the most enjoyable:
White lettuce cucumber is rare in the market, and it feels very bright on the plate.
-"Growing vegetables"
This kind of green cucumber and lettuce with green in white are filled in a white porcelain plate, which makes you feel full of light, bright at the moment and intoxicating.
In the Qing Dynasty, cucumber planting techniques were improved, and anti-season cucumbers planted in small arch sheds appeared. Rare things are precious. In the dead of winter or early spring and February, you have to spend a lot of money to eat this kind of fresh food. This can be seen from a poem "Kyoto Zhi Zhu Ci" by Li Jingshan, a poet in the late Qing Dynasty:
At first glance, cucumber is smaller than ginseng and is worth several gold.
Little things can't prolong life, so what's the point of spending 10 thousand yuan on dinner?
However, Emperor Qianlong, a prolific poet in Qing Dynasty, praised the rural customs created by this hedged cucumber. He wrote in the poem "Cucumber":
The food is the best in Yanjing, and you may not be able to judge if you taste new food in February.
The framed and hedged parts, the landscape of Tianjia draws the true feelings.
Cucumber is sweet and cool, enters the spleen, stomach and intestines, and has the functions of clearing heat, diuresis and detoxification. It can be used for treating polydipsia, sore throat, burning eyes and burn, and has the effects of slimming and beauty beauty. It can be described as a seasonal dish and a civilian dish in summer. Can be fried, boiled, burned, pickled, soaked in vinegar, are crisp and refreshing, beautiful. I especially like a plate of fresh and moist cold cucumber, which is crisp in summer, appetizing and quenching thirst, and removing fire and dryness. It's so lucky to be full!
author
Liu, male, born in Tancheng, Shandong Province, is a senior literature lover. He has published a collection of essays, Songs of that Year, Nostalgia is the Blue Moon and a collection of short stories, Hedong Hexi.