Category: Life >> Beauty/Body Shaping
Problem description:
I want to sort out information about fruits. Can anyone help me make a list of fruits? See How many kinds of fruits are there, THANKS!
Analysis:
Fruits in China
In the past, most research on foreign crops in China focused on food crops and cash crops (such as tea and cotton). There is little discussion on non-staple foods such as fruits and vegetables. In fact, China has a very rich variety of fruits, and the application of fruits is quite early, and it was the first place to develop a complex "grafting method". China's extensive use of fruits can be seen from the use of fruits in various sacrifices, ceremonies, meetings, and gifts. "The Rites of the Zhou Dynasty, Local Officials and Situ No. 2": "The people of the field are in charge of the fields of the country, and the fruits of the trees are rare and rare. They are collected and hidden in time. All the sacrifices and guests eat the fruits and enjoy them. Likewise." He is the official in charge of the orchard and the ceremonial use of fruits. "The Book of Songs·Wei Feng·Papaya": "You give me a papaya, and you repay me with Qiong Yao. If you are a bandit, you will always think it is good. If you give me a peach, you will repay me with Qiong Yao. If you are a bandit, you will always think it is good." Give me a wooden plum and give me a qiongjiu. The bandit will repay you, and you will always think of it as a good thing." This shows that fruits were widely used in gifts in early China. The following is a brief introduction to the spread and use of Chinese fruits based on the places where various fruits were introduced:
1. Fruits in northern China
In the classics of the pre-Qin period, they most often appear The most common fruits are peaches, plums, dates, and chestnuts, followed by pears, plums, apricots, hazelnuts, persimmons, melons, hawthorns, and mulberries. Other fruits such as wolfberries, red roses, and cherries also occasionally appear. These are probably temperate fruit trees native to northern China in the early days, or species that were introduced to China very early.
Among them, the most common peaches, plums, dates, and chestnuts are often used as sacrifices or gifts. In addition to the aforementioned allusion of "throwing a peach in return for a plum" in "The Book of Songs", there is an allusion in "Zuo Zhuan" that "two peaches kill three men", and jujube is often used in sacrifices, and is a woman's "loyalty" (i.e., a meeting gift), which can be seen from its common use. Among these four fruits, peach is the most common. Poems with peach as the theme can often be seen in "The Book of Songs", more than other plants. The objects of comparison in the "Book of Songs" are often things seen in life. It can be seen that peach trees are so common that they are often included in poems. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, there were many place names with the word "peach" in them, such as Taoqiu, Taolin, etc.
Chinese peaches may have been introduced to Persia from northwest China through Central Asia in the first and second centuries BC, and then from Persia to Greece and other European countries. So much so that in the early days of the West, peaches were thought to be native to Persia. Call it Persica, which means Persia
2. Fruits introduced from the south in the early days
As the south gradually became included in the Chinese cultural circle, many fruits native to the south were gradually introduced. edible. These include tangerine, pomelo, tangerine, orange, lychee, longan, ringo (also known as red flower), loquat, bayberry, and olive. In addition to native species in southern China, the species of these fruits also come from India and Southeast Asia.
Among them, citrus fruits native to the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River were used earlier and were very common around the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. There is a story in "Huainanzi" that "oranges that exceed the Huaihe River become tangerines" (it is pomelo in "Liezi"). The content is that someone went to Wu State in the south (lower reaches of the Yangtze River) to eat delicious oranges, so he transplanted them to The north side of the Huaihe River turned out to be sour orange trees. This story not only shows that orange pomelo was mainly produced south of the Huaihe River at this time, but also shows that there was already a high level of interest in transplantation experiments of species during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. Tangerine is often called collectively at this time and is considered a specialty of the South. "Shang Shu·Yu Gong": "Huaihaiwei Yangzhou, Jue packaged orange pomelo as Xigong." "Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals": "The one with the most beautiful fruit is the pomelo of Yunmeng." The former regarded the pomelo as Yangzhou (lower reaches of the Yangtze River) The latter shows that Yunmeng (middle reaches of the Yangtze River) is an important pomelo production area.
Lychees and other fruits are mostly produced in Xishu or Lingnan. They were slightly later known to China than oranges and pomeloes, but at least in the Han Dynasty, these fruits were quite common. According to legend, lychees were introduced to the country by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty when he conquered Nanyue (via Guangdong). There is also a legend that it was presented to Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty by Zhao Tuo, the king of Nanyue. Because it is far away in Lingnan, the journey is long and hard to come by, so it is generally regarded as a rare fruit. The Han Dynasty once gave the Xiongnu tangerines, oranges, lychees, longans and other rare fruits in the north. What is more famous is the legend that Yang Guifei likes to eat lychees. Tang Dynasty poets therefore wrote many poems about lychees, such as Han Xie's "Lychee": "It is skillfully cut into crimson slices and wrapped in divine syrup. The cliff honey naturally has a strange fragrance. It should be the dew of the immortal's golden palm, which freezes into ice and goes into the sac."
Loquat is also a southern fruit, produced in Xishu, Lingnan, Jingzhou and Yangzhou. Because the output is not large, it is often referred to as lychee. Both were first seen in "Shanglin Fu" written by Sima Xiangru in the Western Han Dynasty. Ringo is a fruit similar to apples, both of which are members of the rose family. It is native to Western Shu and the South and may have been introduced from India. Until the Jin Dynasty, it was still a very precious fruit. After the Tang Dynasty, there were relatively few records of eating Ringo, probably due to climate changes, but there were many poems praising the flower. During the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, olives were transplanted to the north together with lychees, longans, and citrus in experiments, but it seemed to have failed.
Olives are mainly grown in Lingnan in China and are not common. At the same time, there is no habit of using them to press oil
3. Fruits introduced from the West
It is generally believed that Zhang Qian passed through the Western Regions and introduced Many Western fruits. Although it is still not confirmed that these fruits were brought by Zhang Qian, it is certain that they are related to Western transportation. These fruits mainly include grapes (early called Syzygium), walnuts, pomegranates (or pomegranates) and pomegranates.
Although China has native wild grapes, the habit of eating grapes and making wine did not begin until after they were introduced from the West. Grapes were almost certainly introduced from the Western Regions. It was first seen in the history books in "Historical Records": "Dawan used sycamores as wine, and the rich hid the wine to more than ten thousand stones, and some remained undefeated for decades." Grapes are still regarded as one of the precious fruits in China, and by the Tang Dynasty Grape winemaking is somewhat common, and there are many poems about wine. However, wine at this time was still mainly associated with the image of the Hu people. The Tang Dynasty was addicted to eating a variety of foods, which is why wine became so common. At this time, the cultivation of grapes was also relatively common. The following poem explains the situation of grape cultivation at that time: "The grapes grow in the wild fields, and they are twined with a branch high (one is made of wormwood). Moved under the green ridge, the king is getting taller and taller day by day. The branches are numerous, and the strips are The vines are rising up to the tingke, which means it is long (one is used as a frame), and the green rice (one is used as vermilion) is irrigated to its roots, and the flowers are seeping through. The knot is full of pearls. The horse's breasts are covered with light frost, and the dragon's scales are shining in the morning. A guest comes to the hall and stares. There is not enough to drink. I will take a bucket for you and go to Liangzhou to get some food." (Liu Yuxi's "Grape Song")
In addition to grapes, pomegranates are also a fruit introduced from the West and can be used for wine making. The cultivation of pomegranates seems to be more common than grapes in China, and was already common in the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties. Pomegranate wine is also often called wine. However, the more common use of pomegranate seems to be for appreciation, and pomegranate flowers are often the subject of poems by poets. Walnuts (or walnuts), like grapes, also have native species in China, but they are not widely eaten. They were not considered fruits until they were introduced from the West during the Han Dynasty.
Like Ringo, Nai is also a fruit similar to apples. He grew up in the Dunhuang and Jiuquan areas of Gansu Province, and was introduced to China after Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty acquired Hexi. Nai is also one of the more precious fruits and is rarely seen in ordinary times. After the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, due to the turmoil in the north, it was even less common in records.
In addition, many melons were introduced from the Western Regions, such as cantaloupe, watermelon, etc.
4. Fruits introduced from Nanyang
The fruits introduced from Nanyang mainly include plantain (banana), coconut, betel nut and sugar cane. These fruits were usually introduced after the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, when the economic center of gravity shifted to the south.
Bana comes from Jiaozhi (northern Vietnam) and became more common after the Wei and Jin Dynasties. In addition to being eaten, it is mainly used for ornamental purposes, as a horticultural crop, or for its fiber. Although its "satisfying" properties are also known, it seems that it is not commonly eaten except in the south. Coconuts are also recorded in China from Jiaozhi and Rinan (southern Vietnam), and can be used to make wine. However, it is less common than Bajiao in Central China. It is usually mentioned when officials are relegated to the south, such as Qiongzhou (Hainan Island) and Guizhou (Guangxi).
Betel nut was first seen in "Shanglin Fu". It was earlier regarded as a miasma. However, it became a popular snack food in the Southern Dynasties, and there were even records of many people who were addicted to betel nut. For example, in "Song Book", Liu Muzhi was poor when he was young, but he also liked to drink and eat betel nuts, and begged for betel nuts with his wife and brother. His brother-in-law laughed at him and said that betel nut can help digestion, but if you are always hungry, you shouldn't need this. After Liu Muzhi became prosperous, one time his wife and brother came to visit him, and he served him with a gold plate filled with betel nuts.
Although there are many records about the need to quit betel nut (such as "Song Book·Ren Fang Biography"), the image of betel nut at that time was not too bad. Su Shi once wrote a poem praising betel nut; Liu Ji (Bowen) of the Ming Dynasty also wrote a poem describing his novel experience of eating betel nut for the first time: "Betel nut has red and white writing, wrapped with green to support it. The post official advised me to eat it, but I am already worried about miasma." At first, the pain stings the cheeks, and gradually there are flowers all over the eyes, and Cen Cen feels dizzy and covered with poison. When he thinks about it again, he gets a slight heat, and his body is filled with coolness and filthiness. No fiber left. Believe in the words of the King of Yin, it will cure dizziness and illness. The book will be a blessing to friends. "
Generally speaking, betel nut is a popular food for people with a little money. Until the Qing Dynasty, there were still many plots in "A Dream of Red Mansions" where young men were eating betel nuts, carrying a small bag of betel nuts with them and flirting with them.
Sugarcane was called "昘" in ancient times. It was first seen in "Chu Ci" and was introduced from the south very early. It is believed that its origin is in the Pacific Islands. It was originally regarded as a fruit and was common in the Wei and Jin Dynasties. At this time, there was an allusion to "eat sugar cane and gradually get better". It was not until the Ming and Qing Dynasties that sugar production technology was developed and it was widely cultivated in the south.
5. Fruits introduced in modern times
Most of the early fruits in China originated from West Asia (such as grapes), Central Asia (such as early apples), and the Mediterranean (such as olives) , India (such as some citrus), Southeast Asia (such as coconut, banana). In modern times, due to the developed transportation between China and the West, many fruits from different sources have been introduced, such as pineapple, tomato, guava, strawberry, apple, pumpkin, lotus root, passion fruit, kiwi fruit, grapefruit, etc.
Some of these fruits come from Southeast Asia (such as lotus), some come from the New World (American pumpkins, pineapples, and Australian kiwis), some were domesticated very late (such as various berries), and some themselves have been improved through many varieties and are the result of breeding. products (such as many types of apples and grapefruits). This kind of fruit enriches our daily dietary life.