It is said on the Internet that only Chinese people have the habit of eating melon seeds. Of course, it is not clear whether this statement is accurate, but most Chinese people are indeed very proficient in eating melon seeds. In fact, people in ancient China have already started to eat melon seeds. The story of eating melon seeds can be traced back to the Song Dynasty. The melon seeds we usually eat are mostly sunflower seeds, watermelon seeds and pumpkin seeds. In ancient times, watermelon seeds were the first to appear. This is also because watermelon is not a local fruit, but came from abroad. If watermelon had been available in China early in the morning, eating melon seeds might have been pushed back hundreds of years.
As we all know, Chinese people are good at eating and like to eat melon seeds. Whether they are watermelon seeds, pumpkin seeds, or sunflower seeds, after being fried, they are even more addictive.
Melon seeds have shells, and it is time-consuming and laborious to peel them manually. Faced with this situation, the Chinese have their own way of picking up a melon seed, placing it between their teeth, and gently knocking it, and the pressed melon shell will come out. Open it, and then use the tip of your tongue to gently explore the inside of the shell. The melon kernel will enter the mouth. Chew it a few times, and the mouth and tongue will be fragrant. After a set of combined operations, it is convenient, fast and smooth.
Eating melon seeds is a favorite of countless people. The Chinese people love melon seeds so much. In addition to their appetite, it can also be explained from a scientific level. Melon seeds are rich in protein, vitamins and some trace elements. Knocking melon seeds can activate the entire digestive system. The fragrance of melon seeds stimulates the taste buds on the tongue. The taste buds transmit this nerve impulse to the brain, and the brain reacts on the salivary glands and other digestive organs, making the The secretion of saliva, gastric juice, etc. containing a variety of digestive enzymes is relatively strong. It can be said that eating melon seeds is always beneficial and harmless, whether before or after meals.
From this point of view, it is reasonable for melon seeds to be regarded as a national snack.
Mr. Feng Zikai wrote an article about the Chinese people’s hobby of eating melon seeds in the late 1930s. The article wrote:
Chinese people have three kinds of doctoral qualifications: holding chopsticks Doctors, Dr. Soot Blowing Paper, Doctors Eating Melon Seeds... But I think the most advanced and developed of these three technologies is eating melon seeds... The person who invented eating melon seeds is really an amazing genius!
And Speaking of eating melon seeds, it did not just arise in modern times. The fate of Chinese people and melon seeds dates back hundreds of years. Historical records show that the custom of eating melon seeds was already popular in the Ming Dynasty, and became more and more popular in the Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China. Before the late Qing Dynasty, , unlike today’s sunflower seeds that are “in the spotlight”, the “melon seeds” mentioned at that time were mainly watermelon seeds. Pumpkin seeds became popular since the late Qing Dynasty, and sunflower seeds suddenly emerged during the Republic of China, finally establishing a three-legged situation.
From this point of view, what we eat is not just melon seeds, but a magnificent "epic"!
Northern Song Dynasty: With a long history, watermelon seeds made their debut
< p> As mentioned before, sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds did not exist before the Ming, Qing and Qing Dynasties. Sunflowers and pumpkins are American crops. After Columbus discovered the Americas in 1492, they were introduced to China. They were first introduced to China during the Jiajing period of the late Ming Dynasty.Relatively speaking, watermelon has a much longer history.
There has been debate about the origin of Chinese watermelons since the Ming Dynasty. Some people advocate the introduction of Chinese watermelons in the fifth generation, while others advocate that watermelons are native to China.
Ouyang Xiu quoted from the "New History of the Five Dynasties" written by Hu Qiao in the Later Jin Dynasty as recorded in "The Entrapment":
From Shangjingdong to the east... the tunnel enters Pingchuan, which is full of vegetation. Eat watermelon. It is said that Khitan conquered Huihe and planted it in a shed covered with cow dung. It is as big as Chinese winter melon and has a sweet taste.
It is speculated that watermelon was introduced to Xinjiang from Central Asia by the Uighurs after 940, and then flourished in China. In 1991, archaeologists unearthed the "Three Tang Dynasty" tombs in Tianjiawan, the eastern suburb of Xi'an City. "Colorful watermelon" strongly proves that watermelon has been introduced to the mainland in the Tang Dynasty.
Another theory mainly relies on the interpretation of ancient literature. For example, it is believed that "cold melon" and "five-color melon" are other names for watermelon.
Of course, no matter which theory is used, it can be seen that watermelon gradually spread southward after the Five Dynasties at the latest. In the early Southern Song Dynasty, watermelon cultivation was gradually promoted in the Central Plains and the Yangtze River Basin. By the middle and late Southern Song Dynasty, watermelon cultivation was gradually spread to the south. It has been widely planted in the Jiangnan area, and after long-term cultivation and dissemination, the varieties of watermelon have gradually increased. There are more than 50 varieties of watermelon recorded in local chronicles.
Chinese people not only cultivated the watermelon that we mainly eat the pulp of today, but also specially cultivated the watermelon that mainly eats melon seeds, called seed melon. This may be the earliest melon seed eaten by the Chinese.
"Taiping Huanyu Ji", written in the early Northern Song Dynasty, recorded "melon seeds" for the first time in history. In Youzhou at that time, there was a local product called "melon seeds".
Later, Wu Yue’s widely circulated "Song of the Year" recorded the custom of "eating melon seeds":
Eating melon seeds in the first month, flying kites in February, and planting underground rice seedlings in March , go to the grave in April to burn spindles...
In the Ming Dynasty, everyone ate it, and watermelon seeds entered the house
Although melon seeds first appeared in the Song Dynasty, they really became popular in the late Yuan Dynasty. In the early Ming Dynasty, the earliest record that watermelon seeds were edible was the "Wang Zhen Nong Shu" of the Yuan Dynasty:
The seeds of (watermelon) can be obtained by blasting and drying them, which can be easily obtained by recommending tea.
"Dietary Instructions" also contains:
After eating melon (watermelon), if you eat its seeds, you will not smell the melon gas.
The consumption of watermelon seeds in the palace can be found in the "Ziuzhongzhi" written by Liu Ruoyu, the eunuch of the late Ming Dynasty. The book records that the late emperor (Ming Shenzong Zhu Yijun) "prefers to use fresh watermelon seeds lightly roasted with salt." . The preparation method of palace meals influenced the upper class's preference for melon seeds.
If something good goes up, it will prosper below. Melon seeds are also very popular among the people. The popular folk ditty "Hanging Branches" that emerged during the Wanli period has the song "Giving Melon Seeds":
Guaren'er is not a rare item, it is wrapped in a sweat towel I gave it to my brother. All of them were on the tip of my tongue. Gifts are less important than people's intentions, and good things don't need to be abundant. Pay homage to my brother more often, and don’t forget me.
In short, whether they are emperors, generals, literati or ordinary people, men, women, old and young, all like to eat melon seeds. Eating melon seeds has become a daily custom for people in the Ming Dynasty.
Qing Dynasty: The variety increased, with watermelon seeds firmly occupying the first place
As mentioned before, during the Jiajing period of the late Ming Dynasty, sunflowers and pumpkins were introduced into the country. From the introduction to the promotion of a new crop, From viewing to eating, it often goes through a long process. Even the successful introduction of a crop may be the result of multiple introductions. Then, when the value of a crop is noticed and recorded by literati, it should be spread in society for a period of time. What happens after that. Therefore, it must be after the Qing Dynasty that pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds become one of the mainstream snacks.
In the middle and early Qing Dynasty, watermelon seeds still ranked first in the "hot-selling snack list". Both inside and outside the court, from the royal family to the common people, were fond of eating watermelon seeds.
In the "Jiexu Tongfeng Lu" written by Kong Shangren in the early Qing Dynasty, there is "fried watermelon seeds, put them on the sleeves and chew them along the way, saying that they are cracking teeth". During the Kangxi period, Wen Zhao wrote a poem "New Year's Eve", and even more It records the situation of selling watermelon seeds along the street:
The spring cold is as light as water on the side, and the courtyard is full of red lights.
The carriages and horses returned home in Leishen, and melon seeds were sold along the street all night.
Huang Junzai of the late Qing Dynasty had statistics in "Seven Ink in the Golden Pot", "Taking into account the cigarettes and lanterns in teahouses, liquor stores, brothels and prostitutes inside and outside Shanghai, the daily consumption of watermelon seeds is about thirty kilograms. How can it be expected outside?" Yeah." "The tax situation in Haikou, Jinzhou, is all about melon seeds every year. They are shipped to Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Fujian provinces for sale. The tax money is about 10,000 taels or 10,000 taels every year, or even as high as 20,000 taels. " By the end of the Qing Dynasty, "the harvest of melon seeds was about 15,000 kilograms per year, and there was no large quantity in Hankou, Lianhekou, except for native people who used it for marketing." This shows that the consumption of melon seeds should not be underestimated.
The French missionary Guberchat lived in most parts of China around the middle of the 19th century. He had extremely rich experience and had direct and detailed inspections of all aspects of Chinese society. He described many watermelon seeds. He was even more surprised by the Chinese people's love for watermelon seeds. In his book, he exaggeratedly compared China to the "rodent kingdom."
Gubercha (1813-1860), a French missionary, came to China in 1839 and began traveling across the Chinese Empire in 1844. The picture above is from his book "Travel in the Chinese Empire".
Relatively speaking, sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds seemed a bit lonely during the Qing Dynasty. The earliest record of edible sunflower seeds was Kangxi's "Taoyuan Township Chronicles":
Sunflower, and Named sunflower, its color is purple, yellow and white, and its seeds are edible when old;
In the Qing Dynasty, sunflower was mainly used as an ornamental plant, and there were only occasional records of eating and selling it. Later, until the Republic of China, Heilongjiang's "Hulan" The County Chronicle records the large-scale cultivation of sunflowers.
Looking at pumpkins, pumpkin seeds became popular earlier than sunflower seeds. Since the late Qing Dynasty, there have been many records of edible pumpkin seeds, far more than sunflower seeds. Earlier records such as Xianfeng's "Xingyi Prefecture Chronicle" :
The county produces the most pumpkins, especially large ones. People in the county use melons as vegetables and fry their seeds instead of watermelon seeds.
(Pumpkin) seeds are sold in the market to be fried and dried for food. They are sold in teahouses and restaurants all year round, and people compete to buy them.
The popularity of pumpkin seeds can be seen, but after all, they are used as a substitute for watermelon seeds. Although there are a wide range of people who eat them, they are still slightly inferior to watermelon seeds.
Republic of China: Three "zis" stand out, and sunflower seeds suddenly emerge
By the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China, pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds had become popular, and the world of melon seeds became a tripartite one. In the current situation, the halo of "time-honored" watermelon seeds has gradually dimmed. Two new varieties, especially sunflower seeds, have suddenly emerged. This snack, known as "melon seeds", has quickly been favored by Chinese people.
The Republic of China was an elegant era. The series of actions of eating melon seeds were obviously not so "elegant", but this did not stop the enthusiasm of the Chinese people at all, so the melon seed pliers came into being.
Made of brass, light and small, shaped like scissors, with two or three half-moon gaps of different sizes on both sides to facilitate opening melon seeds of different sizes. Like the "Crab Eight Pieces", this small tool , giving eating melon seeds more sense of ritual.
Of course, this is only exclusive to rich families. Others are not so particular and still enjoy eating melon seeds.
In Xiao Hong’s eyes, Lu Xun was a senior fan who never left his hand with melon seeds.
Others pair a glass of red wine with a movie, but Lu Xun pairs a cigarette with melon seeds. His temperament is so precise!
Not only was Lu Xun crazy about melon seeds, Lin Yutang also listed eating melon seeds as one of the great pleasures of life. He used his In my own words: When eating melon seeds, the pleasure of biting open the melon seed shells with your teeth is about half the pleasure of eating the melon seed flesh.
What is even more exaggerated is Huang Kan, a master of traditional Chinese culture! When he was in class at Jinan University, he even asked his students to buy Amway melon seeds, saying that there was no sound of eating melon seeds in their ears. Even if you listened to this class, it was interesting. , I don’t have any fun with it.
The magic power of eating melon seeds can be seen from this.
Until modern times, melon seeds still play an important role in the hearts of Chinese people. They are not only the first choice for leisure time, but also the best partner after dinner.
Small melon seeds have always been remembered by people for thousands of years. Perhaps what we are greedy for is not only the fragrance of melon kernels, but the time spent silently being amazed by melon seeds. They are the simplest, most casual and ordinary things.