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The History of Chinese Imperial Food II

From www.china.org.cn

During the Han and Wei Dynasties (206 B.C. – A. D. 265), imperial food and drink followed the system initiated in the Zhou Dynasty. By this time China’s strengthened economy and its cultural exchanges with other countries had provided new sources of raw materials, better cooking utensils and cooking skills, wider adoption of ironware, and higher standards for imperial dishes.

The Seven Advices was a book written by Mei Cheng, a politician in the State of Wu, to give advice to the crown prince of the State of Chu in the Western Han Dynasty (206 B.C. – A.D. 8). Although the book exaggerates the deliciousness of the food, it still gives a glimpse of imperial food at that time:

Tender calf meat, fresh bamboo shoots and vegetables, thick soup of flattened dog meat, good cooked rice covered with fresh rock mushrooms, rice cooked with mushrooms and made into balls that melt the moment they enter the mouth. It was just as if Yi Yin were in charge of the cooking and Yi Ya had cooked the dishes of tender bear’s paw mixed with seasonings, roast tenderloin slices, raw fish slices, flavored autumn eggplant, vegetables so fresh they still had dew upon them, and wine with an orchid flavor. Rinse the mouth after eating. Mountain pheasant, domesticated leopard fetus, less rice, more porridge, as if the hot soup were splashed upon snow, making it easy to digest.

The Han Dynasty imperial kitchens grew vegetables in hothouses, so their availability was not limited by the season. In the final years of the Eastern Han Dynasty food sweetened with honey began to appear in the palace.

It is said that during the period of the Three Kingdoms (A.D. 220 - 280), Cao Zhi, Prince of Chenliu and son of Cao Cao, made a thick soup of camel’s hooves that cost 1,000 ounce of gold. Cao Zhi called it “Seven-Treasure Soup.” Cao Cao usurped the power by taking the emperor hostage and acting in his name during the final years of the Eastern Han Dynasty, so their eating habits were representative of the palace customs. They paid great attention to the variety, taste, and flavor of food, and to the quality of the dinnerware. By that time, it had become fashionable to drink tea in the palace instead of wine.

Stir-frying was the chief cooking method during the Southern and Northern Dynasties (A.D. 420 - 589), and stir-fried dishes became popular as everyday meals among the common people. Buddhism was spreading in China by this time, and vegetarian dishes began appearing because the Buddhist monks ate vegetarian food. In response to the demand for vegetarian dishes, the cooks of Emperor Wu of the Liang Dynasty (502 -557) introduced the use of gluten.

After the Han Dynasty, thick soup became a less important non-staple food, and roasted, broiled, and baked meats were eaten only when people drank wine; they were not eaten with cooked rice. Some famous delicacies appeared during this period, and they were given special names that reflected Chinese history and culture. In previous dynasties, the names of dishes reflected how the dishes were cooked. (The naming of dishes is discussed in greater detail in the later chapter, “How Chinese Dishes Were Named.”)

The technique of using fermentation to make staple foods, such as steamed buns, stuffed buns, and steamed cakes, which are still popular foods today, was already being used in the final years of the Han Dynasty. Other staple foods were baked cakes and noodles.

The system of people taking separate meals, which was popular before the Han Dynasty, changed gradually into joint meals with several people or a family sitting together around a table, as is done today. The gradual change began with the use of wooden armchairs. This transition took more than 1,700 years.

The imperial food of the Sui, Tang, and Song Dynasties (581 - 1279) followed the system and rules of preceding dynasties, but the varieties of food and meal procedures changed tremendously. During Yang Di’s reign in the Sui Dynasty (enthroned 605 - 618), seafood appeared much more frequently on imperial menus.

The imperial dishes of the Sui and Tang Dynasties (581 - 907) had far greater variety than did the dishes of previous dynasties, and more attention was paid to their flavor, taste, color, presentation and naming. Famous imperial dishes that have been passed down to today include fried ringing bells, quick – fried prawns, crab rolls, crystal dragon and phoenix cakes, and steamed Mandarin fish without soy sauce.

The characteristics, habits, and customs surrounding food in the Southern and Northern Dynasties and in the Sui and Tang Dynasties belong to the same period. There were also similarities in the imperial food prepared and served in the Song and Yuan Dynasties (960 - 1368). And, there is almost no difference between the food of the Ming and Qing Dynasties (1368 - 1911) and the food served today.

Several hundred writings about using food and dietotherapy for better health have appeared throughout Chinese history. A few examples, listed by dynasty, follow:

The Book of Food, by Cui Hao and the Transactions of Famous Physicians, by Tao Hongjing during the Southern and Northern Dynasties.

The Book of Food, by Xie Feng and the Collection of Writings and Copyings in the North Hall, (the section on wine and foods), by Yu Shinan, an outstanding calligrapher (558 - 638) in the Sui Dynasty.

The Prescriptions Worth a Thousand Gold for Emergencies, (the article on dietetic treatment), by Sun Simiao; the General Descriptions of Diets, by Lou Juzhong; and the Experiences of Chefs, by Yang Ye in the Tang Dynasty.

The Records of Chefs, by Zheng Wangzhi; the Remarks on Delicious Dishes, author unknown; the Records of Mutual Influences of Things, the Simple Remarks on the Hows and Whys, (the part on animals, fowl and fish), by Su Shi; and the Five Looks of Officials at Meal Time, by Huang Tingjian in the Song Dynasty.

The Collection of Dietetic Systems in the Yunlintang, by Ni Zan (a famous painter, 1301 -1374) and the Principles of Correct Diet, by Hu Sihui in the Yuan Dynasty.

The Health Building of the People in the Song Dynasty, by Song Xu; the Gentlemen’s Remark on Diets, by Chen Jiru (an outstanding painter); and the History of the Ming Palace- Preferences for Diets, by Liu Ruoyu in the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644).

The Grand Secrets of Diets, by Zhu Yizun; the Chance Leisure for Enjoyments, (the part on diets), by Li Yu; and the Menus of the Sui Garden, by Yuan Mei in the Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1911).
Scholars, literati, medical specialists, calligraphers, painters, or historians wrote most of these books. This implies those diets, cooking, and dietotherapy to maintain good health constituted an important part of ancient Chinese culture.

To some extent each nation is closed, and this sense of being closed makes the uniqueness of a nation possible. Being closed often means adopting an attitude of hesitation or refusal toward things foreign, nut a willingness to adopt the strong points of others, especially their foods. Many historians hold that after the Ming Dynasty, China gradually closed its door to the outside, yet many foods from the South and West entered China. Chinese brought them to China not by Westerners and their warships, but on their own initiative.

Some people brought foods into China even at a risk to their own lives. The sweet potato entered China in the middle of the Ming Dynasty. Texts say that Lin Huaizhi, a famous physician in Wuchuan, practiced medicine in Vietnam, where he cured many people. The king of Vietnam gave him sweet potatoes to eat. Because he wanted to bring one back to China, he asked for an uncooked sweet potato. The king gave him one, but Lin only ate two bites and kept the rest. At that time Vietnam prohibited anyone from taking sweet potatoes out of the country. When Lin left, a frontier guard discovered the sweet potato, but because Lin had cured his illness, the officer let him keep the sweet potato as a tribute.

Corn, which originated in America, came to China during the Ming Dynasty, but it was not commonly grown and was regarded as a rare and treasured delicacy. Kaoling or sorghum, which originated in Africa, also entered China during this period.

Soybeans originated in China, but other beans came from abroad. Mung beans (green beans) came from India during the Northern Song Dynasty.

Potatoes, which are eaten both as a staple food and as a vegetable, came from the West. They are believed to have been brought to China by pirates during the Ming Dynasty and were grown in the coastal provinces of Fujian and Zhejiang.

After the Han Dynasty, vegetable oils gradually replaced animal fats as the main heat conducting medium and flavoring agent in cooking. Daily-use vegetable oils came to include sesame, rapeseed, peanut, soybean, and sunflower. Sesame came to China during the Western Han Dynasty and soybeans were native to China, but the other oil-bearing crops did not enter China until after the Southern and Northern Dynasties.

Sugar, China’s most important sweetener, first appeared during the Tang Dynasty (617 -907). During the Warring States Period (475 – 221 B.C.), people in the State of Chu had learned to extract the sweet flavoring from sugar cane juice. Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty sent an envoy to the Western Region to learn how to make sugar. After the envoy returned home, he used sugar cane from Yangzhou to make sugar. Its color and flavor were superior to that produced in the Western Region, so granulated sugar came to play a key role in Chinese cooking.

Because sugar is water-soluble, it became an important flavoring used to make food sweet and delicious. It is used in soup and in cooking all kinds of dishes. Malt sugar and honey, which were used as sweeteners and flavorings before the Han Dynasty, now are used mostly to make thick soup.

Hot peppers are eaten widely in China. People in Hunan, Hubei and Sichuan are addicted to eating them and call them “meat for the poor” or salt, meaning they go well with rice like meat or salt. Hot peppers stimulate the appetite and dispel internal cold. They originated in South America, and were brought into China from Southeast Asia about the 15th century during the final years of the Ming Dynasty or the early years of the Qing Dynasty.

One of the first vegetables brought into China was spinach. At first it was called the Persian vegetable because it came to China from Persia (present – day Iran) when Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty was in power. Because it has red roots, it was also called the red – root vegetable. As spinach is tender, it cannot be cooked very long. It grows in all seasons in areas south of the Yangtze River, so it is considered an ordinary vegetable.

A popular, nutritious vegetable grown in North China that originated elsewhere is the carrot, which came from Europe. It is used in cooking or eaten raw. People along the northern bank of the Yangtze River in Jiangsu Province developed the habit of eating it raw at noontime.
Eggplant originated in India and was brought into China along with Buddhism during the Southern and Northern Dynasties. It grows as tall as two meters (almost 80 inches), in southern China, but in northern China it is considered an annual herb.

Some other vegetables are native to China, but they were not well known in ancient times. They became recognized only after the Han Dynasty. Among these is song, known today as Chinese cabbage, which became known as an autumn vegetable in the Southern and Northern Dynasties. Song was an important winter vegetable for all of northern China.

Water shield became important after Zhang Han, a high-ranking official of the Western Jin Dynasty (265-316), became homesick for the vegetables and other native delicacies. Bamboo shoots, mushrooms, wax gourds (winter melons), and vegetable beans also became common after the Song Dynasty. These vegetables, plus chives, radishes, onions, cucumbers, three-colored amaranths, and turnips were the principal vegetables during this period. Cabbage, tomato, and cauliflower were only introduced into China several decades ago.

People in the Qing Dynasty treasured shark’s fin and edible bird’s nest, which are indispensable ingredients at modern, opulent banquets. These two foods were brought into China from Southeast Asia in the early years of the Ming Dynasty when the eunuch, Zheng He, returned from there. During the middle period of the Qing Dynasty, edible bird’s nest and shark’s fin headed the menus at extravagant banquets. Sea cucumbers and prawns are native to China, but only became imperial dishes much later.

As cities and towns began to develop and thrive, cooking became a commercial activity and many restaurants were opened. Some cooks freed themselves from their slave status of serving the royal family and nobility by becoming independent laborers who sold their cooking skills. Many famous cooks and chefs emerged, among them Song Wusao in the Southern Song Dynasty and Wang Eryu in the Qing Dynasty.

Scholars also became interested and involved in cooking during this period by recording the cooks’ knowledge, creativity, processes, and recipes for later generations. Using their education and aesthetic ability, they urged the cooks to make dishes more appealing to the senses of sight, smell, taste and touch. They were gourmets who knew diets and cooking very well, and they helped the cooks create a dietetic culture. They were connoisseurs and critics, propellers of progress, and recorders of the cooking experience.

Because of cultural exchanges between China and other countries, foods not native to China, such as corn sweet potatoes, peanuts, and hot peppers, gradually entered the daily lives of the Chinese people. Many regions developed cuisines with unique flavors as a result of these exchanges.

To some extent peoples’ food and drink are influenced by regional divisions, but the primary influences are peoples’ income, education, culture, and religious beliefs. For these reasons, China developed several dietetic cultures. These include the imperial, aristocratic, literati, market, and temple cuisines. Especially during the Ming and Qing Dynasties, imperial food and drink were closely tied to preserving health, which led to the development of unique imperial food.