Diet Thought in Ming Dynasty

The development of commercial economy in the late Ming Dynasty made individual freedom, emancipation and hedonism hit it off. In addition, the development of commercial economy has also had a great impact on traditional feudal neo-Confucianism. Zhu, a great scholar in the Song Dynasty, regarded diet as a natural principle, pursued delicacy and regarded it as human desire. However, the dogma of "exterminating human desires and preserving justice" has not been followed by people.

Literati in the middle and lower classes often eat, drink and be merry in time. For example, Tang Yin's "Song of the Century" is a good portrayal of "life is seventy years old, except for childhood before and old age after". There is not much time in the middle, and there are also frosts and troubles ... flowers and moons are singing and rushing to fill the golden statue. Under the impact of brand-new ideology and life attitude brought by the development of commodity economy, the citizen class has also become "singing and dancing, all kinds of competition" "Sanwu area became the imitation center at that time. Hangzhou "human feelings are fast with debauchery, and the world style is high with luxury." "This decadent folkway and the practice of eating, drinking and being merry in time abound. Even in a small place like Boping, Shandong, it's "surging, accustomed to arrogance and extravagance, desolate from each other." Banqueting and drinking is an open mind, delicious and colorful, and a great gift. "It flows to the market, selling bellies and slaves, and there are also many thin shoes and tulle skirts with tassels. Wine and tea shops, different tones and new voices, parking and sexual abuse, don't be surprised. Even Jiaosheng is a rural song, and the nickname is extended to beggars. " ①

People only care about immediate enjoyment, regardless of the future. For example, in Hangzhou, the two of them have no money to bear, but they don't mean to save, that is, they go to work with their husbands and servants all day, go to the city to drink at night, and the couple will do something else tomorrow when they are drunk ... "(2) What a luxurious rate in Henan ... banquet for guests and pour a shirt. "Gaotang House is full of beautiful clothes and fresh food, but only considering the current plan." The world is like this, even monks can't avoid customs. In Henan, "no matter what monks do, there is no one who doesn't drink and eat meat." (4) rules and regulations are what monks should abide by, but under the impact of hedonism, they are not binding at all. Some people's consumption, regardless of the actual economic level, reflects today's attitude of eating, drinking, and getting drunk. In the Ming dynasty, the traditional frugal and well-behaved life in feudal society was uncharacteristic and became a bit weird. This phenomenon is not only related to the increase of material wealth brought by the development of productive forces, but also to the great changes in people's thinking caused by the stimulation of commercial culture, and also related to politics at that time. For example, the literati class can't make a difference in politics, and it will let nature take its course in life.