The history of "porridge" is earlier than rice? Come and learn about ancient foodies
Not only Laba porridge, but "porridge" alone has a long history in China.
It is estimated that most people may not necessarily know why we celebrate the Laba Festival, but they should all know that we have to eat "Laba Rice Porridge" on this day. It’s interesting to say that Chinese people especially like to eat something during certain solar terms, such as dumplings at the winter solstice, spring cakes at the beginning of spring... Speaking of Laba porridge, do you know how many years of history the Chinese have been eating porridge?
Porridge has a long history
The history of porridge is earlier than rice, because before the emergence of steamer, pottery and pottery pottery can only be used to cook liquid food. The main raw material of liquid is rice, which is "porridge". Because the main and non-staple food at that time, what later generations called rice and vegetables, were not cooked separately, and all kinds of food were cooked in one pot, so the early porridge was probably not cooked with simple grain raw materials. In other words, the porridge at that time was most likely a variety of vegetable porridge, fruit porridge, meat porridge, fish porridge, etc.
As early as the Neolithic period, people discovered tools for cooking porridge - "pedi" in the Longshan cultural relics and Banpo Village ruins. The word porridge was originally written as "鬻", which is very similar to the pottery cooker "鬲" created during the Longshan Culture period. It looks like rice is placed in it for cooking. This just shows that our ancestors already knew how to cook porridge thousands of years ago.
There is a record in "Zuo Zhuan? The Seventh Year of Zhao Gong": "The food is then sold, and the vend is used to make a living." Kong Yingda's "Shu": "Thick ones are called mi, and Nao ones are called vends." Obviously. , the thin porridge is called "黻", and the thick porridge is called "mi", which is synonymous with paste. "Dialect" explains: "Paste,? also;?, thick porridge." In ancient times, porridge was also called "mi", "飦", "酅", etc.
Xu Shen's "Shuowen Jiezi" of the Han Dynasty records: "The Yellow Emperor first taught how to make rice." There are similar records in "Ji Xue Ji", "Yiwen Leiju", and "Beitang Shuchao": "The Yellow Emperor began to cook grain into porridge." It can be seen that during the reign of Emperor Xuanyuan, he had already taught his people to "cook grain into porridge."
Eating porridge helps maintain health
The ancient people’s eating porridge was related to maintaining health and prolonging life, and pursuing health and longevity. It is most recorded in many medical and health books.
The earliest soup book recording the use of medicine and rice to cook porridge to treat diseases should be regarded as the "Historical Records" written by Sima Qian of the Han Dynasty. In "Historical Records", it is recorded that the famous doctor Chun Yuyi of the Western Han Dynasty treated the King of Qi's disease by "using fire to prepare porridge and drink it".
In many medical books unearthed from the Mawangdui Han Tomb in Changsha, records of porridge treatment were also found. For example, taking sorghum rice porridge to treat snakebites; cooking rice porridge with heated stones and taking it internally can actually cure the disease. Treat *** itching, etc. "Treatise on Febrile and Miscellaneous Diseases" written by Zhang Zhongjing, a famous doctor in the Eastern Han Dynasty, also describes many famous prescriptions for combining rice and medicine, such as "Baihu Decoction", "Peach Blossom Decoction", "Bamboo Leaf Gypsum Decoction", etc., all of which contain japonica rice.
Meng Shen of the Tang Dynasty once wrote a book "Dietotherapeutic Materia Medica". According to the fragments of the Dunhuang Grottoes in Gansu Province, this book contains "Ming porridge, persimmon porridge, Qin pepper porridge, and Sichuan pepper porridge"; Zan Yin's "Food and Medicine Guide" contains fifty-seven medicinal porridge recipes, divided into nine categories according to stroke, cold and tenderness in the heart and stomach, five types of choking pain, and seven types of stranguria. The "Food Treatment" in Sun Simiao's "Essential Prescriptions for Emergencies" includes rice bran porridge to treat beriberi, sheep bone porridge to warm and nourish yang, and windproof porridge to "remove wind in the limbs".
It is said that Emperor Mu Zong of the Tang Dynasty, Li Heng, admired Zi Juyi so much that he gave him windproof porridge. According to Feng Zhi's "Yunxian Miscellaneous Notes: Fangfeng Porridge": "Bai Juyi was in Hanlin and gave a pot of Fangfeng porridge. He picked out the Fangfeng and got five pieces of it. After eating it for seven days, it tasted delicious." That is to say, parsnips and rice were boiled together. of porridge. "Seven days of oral fragrance" is of course an exaggeration, but it also shows that at this time, people had already treated porridge as a health-preserving and nourishing food.
Porridge is cheap and convenient
In the eyes of ancient Chinese, people generally believe that porridge is better than rice. There are two main reasons for the emergence of this concept: First, drinking porridge saves food more than eating. In the society at that time, farming technology was not yet mature, grain output was small, and it was a very scarce resource necessary for survival, so appropriate frugality was very necessary; second, porridge was simpler and more convenient than rice. In ancient times, the cooking process for making rice was much more technical than cooking porridge. At that time, if you wanted to eat rice, you first needed a pot and a steaming utensil similar to a modern steamer. Therefore, cooking was more complicated and far more complicated. Without a pot, it was easy to boil water, add grain, and keep cooking. This was also an important reason why porridge was much higher than rice in the daily diet at that time.
The cheapness and convenience of porridge made it not favored by the nobles for a long time. In years of great disaster, "giving porridge" has become a means of charity. Therefore, in the eyes of most upper-class people, eating porridge is only food for poor families and disaster victims. This situation did not ease until the Song Dynasty. There is a section on "Milk porridge" in the "Catering Department" of "Taiping Yulan", which for the first time "canonized" porridge as a national food. Let us take a look at how much literati in the Song Dynasty loved eating porridge.
Ancient celebrities who loved porridge
Speaking of eating, we have to mention Su Shi. After eating porridge cooked with soy milk mixed with Wuxi tribute rice, he wrote "Bean Porridge" " in a poem, there is such a line in it: "The mind and body are upside down without knowing it, and even more aware that the world has real taste." He also wrote a poem related to porridge, called "Going through Tangyin City and getting peas and barley porridge to show the third son." , what is written here is another kind of porridge-"pea and barley porridge". Mr. Dongpo also mentioned in his writing that white porridge "can promote the old and introduce the new, relieve the diaphragm and benefit the stomach. The porridge is quick and delicious, and the sleep after the porridge is indescribable."
The person who is deeply obsessed with eating porridge is undoubtedly the poet Lu You. He wrote "Eating Porridge" and said: "Everyone in the world has been studying for years, but they don't believe that years are in the present. I have learned the Wanqiu Pingyi method, Only eating porridge will bring immortality.” In his eyes, “eating porridge” can be associated with longevity and immortality.
The porridge products recorded in the Song Dynasty were more abundant than those in the previous dynasties. The porridge at this time was not just for filling the stomach. "Shengji Zonglu" contains 113 therapeutic porridge recipes, "Taiping Shenghui Prescriptions" contains 129 therapeutic porridge recipes, and "Book of Elderly Care" contains nutritional supplements suitable for middle-aged and elderly people. Forty-three poems about porridge.
Laba porridge became popular in the Song Dynasty
Laba Festival is related to Buddhist stories. Almost everyone will eat Laba porridge on this day.
The Laba porridge eaten on Laba day has also become popular since the Song Dynasty.
The Laba Festival originated from stories in Buddhism. There is no detailed study of when it was introduced to China. The "Hothouse Sutra" translated by An Shigao of the Later Han Dynasty stated that the Buddha encouraged people to make offerings and set up baths to wash the Buddha, but it did not specifically specify the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month. Meng Haoran's "Sacrifice to the Buddha at Shicheng Temple in Shan County on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month" mentions: "Golden statues are opened on the stone walls, and fragrant mountains are surrounded by iron fences. When I see Maitreya in the next life, I will return with one heart. The bamboo and cypress Zen garden is ancient, and the towers are rare in the world. The sunset adds to the beauty. , the remaining light shines brightly. The lecture hall invites people to talk, and the bathrobe is given in the spring hall. I wish to inherit the merit water and wash the dust from now on. "This poem reflects the scene of Buddha bathing in Buddhist temples on December 8th. However, this kind of activity did not become popular until the Song Dynasty, and there were still very few records of this matter in books before.
Wu Zimu's "Mengliang Lu" once described it this way: "On the eighth day of this month, the temple is called 'Laba', and the Dasha Temple and other places all have five-flavor porridge, called 'Laba porridge'." "Tokyo Menghua Lu" also said: "On the eighth day of the lunar month, there were three or five monks and nuns in the streets and alleys. They formed a team to recite the Buddha's name, bathed with silver and copper salas or good basins of poplar branches, and lined up to teach. All major temples held Buddha bathing meetings."
During the Tang and Song Dynasties, the custom of giving porridge to Buddhist temples for bathing the Buddha had a great influence on the people. "Tokyo Menghualu" once recorded that the temple "sent Qibao and five-flavored porridge to the disciples, which was called 'Laba porridge'. On this day, every family also cooked porridge with fruit and other ingredients and ate it."
This December 8th is the day when the Buddha Sakyamuni attained enlightenment and became a Buddha. According to Indian Buddhist scriptures, before Sakyamuni became a Buddha, he once became a monk and practiced Taoism. However, after living an ascetic life with ideals, Still not mentally freed from all kinds of troubles in life. At this time, he was extremely hungry and exhausted. At this time, a shepherdess brought chyle, and he drank it and regained his strength. Therefore, Sakyamuni made a vow: "If you eat this food today, you will gain the power of Qi, so that you can preserve your wisdom and longevity and save all sentient beings." From then on, he would receive chyle offered by the shepherds every day. One month later, when he was strong enough, he took a bath in the river to wash away the dirt on his body, meditated under the Bodhi tree for seven days and seven nights, and finally became enlightened and became a Buddha. Therefore, Buddhists regard December 8th, the day when the Buddha became enlightened, as the Enlightenment Day to commemorate the Buddha.
During the Southern and Northern Dynasties, Buddhism had a great influence on the people, and even briefly affected some people's customs and habits. Among them, the behavior of Buddhist disciples giving porridge during the Laba Festival, the Enlightenment Festival of the Buddha, gradually evolved into the custom of eating Laba porridge during the Laba Festival among Chinese people.
The custom of eating Laba porridge in the Ming and Qing Dynasties
The custom of eating Laba porridge was further developed in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. The "Longqing Zhi" compiled during the Jiajing period recorded: "Mix millet, rice and rice to make it." Beans, dates, chestnuts, walnut kernels and other things are cooked into porridge and eaten." There is also a record in "Li Cheng" written by Liu Min of the Ming Dynasty that "on December 8, Laba porridge is made to help those who are good at giving to the poor." The Qing Dynasty's "Rixia Jiuwen Kao" also mentioned: "On December 8th, Baiguan porridge was given. The people also made Laba porridge, which was made of mixed rice and fruits. The one with more taste was the winner. This is based on the story of the Song Dynasty. ”
On the day of Laba, no matter the palace, government, monastery or ordinary people’s homes, they must make Laba porridge. During the Qing Dynasty, the custom of drinking Laba porridge became even more popular. In the palace, the emperor, empress, prince, etc. would give Laba porridge to the ministers of civil and military affairs and the attendant maids, and distribute rice, fruits, etc. to various temples for the monks to eat. Ordinary people also make Laba porridge in every household to offer sacrifices to their ancestors. At the same time, families gather to eat together and give gifts to relatives and friends.
How particular is Laba porridge?
There are many varieties of Laba porridge across the country, and Peking is very particular about it. There are many things mixed with the white rice, such as red dates, lotus seeds, walnuts, chestnuts, almonds, pine nuts, longan, hazelnuts, grapes, and ginkgo. , water chestnut, rose, red bean, peanut... there are almost no less than twenty kinds. Usually, people start to get busy on the night of the seventh day of the twelfth lunar month, washing rice, soaking fruits, peeling, removing cores, and sorting. Then they start cooking at midnight, and then simmer over low heat until the early morning of the next day. Laba porridge is then cooked. It's a good time.
Some more particular people carve the fruits into human shapes, animals, and patterns first, and then boil them in a pot. Some Laba porridge will also put "fruit lion" in it. The fruit lion is a lion-shaped object made of several kinds of fruits. The crispy dates with the date cores removed and dried are used as the lion's body, half a walnut kernel as the lion's head, and the peach kernel as the lion's head. Lion's feet, sweet almonds are used to make the lion's tail. Then stick them together with sugar and put them in the porridge bowl, just like a little lion. In a larger bowl, you can place two lions or four small lions. What's even more exquisite is to use date paste, bean paste, yam, hawthorn cake and other foods of various colors to make statues of the Eight Immortals, the Longevity Star and the Arhat.
After the Laba porridge is made, you should first worship the gods and ancestors, then give it to relatives and friends, and it must be given out before noon, and finally it should be eaten by the whole family. Leftover Laba porridge should be preserved. If there is still some leftover after eating it for a few days, it is a good sign, which means "more than enough every year". There is also a proverb in the Northeast that "Laba is the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, your chin will fall off if you freeze", which means that it is very cold on the day of Laba ba, and eating Laba porridge can keep people warm and resist the cold. "You can't finish eating Laba porridge. If you eat Laba porridge, you will have a good harvest." On this day in Guanzhong, every household will cook a pot of Laba porridge and have a delicious meal. Not only adults and children eat it, but also feed it to livestock, chickens and dogs, and put it on doors, walls, and trees for good luck.
The history of porridge in the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties
Okay, let’s talk about the history of porridge.
The Yuan Dynasty also attached great importance to porridge meals. In the "Essentials of Diet" compiled by Hu Sihui, the royal physician of the imperial court, there are also many porridge meal recipes that nourish and strengthen the body, prolong life, and prevent and treat diseases. For example, there is Qima porridge, which is "tonifying the spleen and stomach, and replenishing qi and strength", which is actually a gruel cooked with mutton and sorghum rice; in addition, there is wolfberry and sheep kidney porridge, which is "curing Yang Qi decline, five labors and seven injuries"; There are also yam porridge for those who suffer from consumptive fatigue and bones that have been steamed for a long time, as well as "pockmarked porridge", "purslane porridge", etc. In addition, Li Dongyuan's "Food Materia Medica" also introduces the most commonly used porridge recipes in the 28 prescriptions, such as mung bean porridge, poria porridge, hemp seed porridge, perilla seed porridge, bamboo leaf porridge, etc. Porridge meal has been greatly developed at that time.
In the Ming Dynasty, there was greater development in porridge meal. The "Compendium of Materia Medica" compiled by the famous medical scientist Li Shizhen included a large number of porridge meal recipes. "Puji Prescriptions", the largest prescription book since the Han and Tang Dynasties, has collected 180 porridge recipes, and each porridge recipe has been discussed comprehensively and in detail. In addition, porridge meal recipes have also been found in Liu Bowen's "Duo Neng Shi Shi", Gao Lian's "Eight Notes of Zunsheng", Zhu Quan, Wang Xiangjin and others. It can be seen that in the Ming Dynasty, it was very common to use porridge to treat diseases and maintain health.
There are even more porridge recipes in the Qing Dynasty. Cao Tingdong’s "Essays on Health Preservation" contains 102 therapeutic porridge recipes. He divided medicinal porridge into three categories: "top grade", "middle grade" and "low grade" . "Porridge Pu" compiled by Huang Yunhu during the Guangxu period is the earliest monograph on medicinal porridge in China. It contains 247 porridge recipes, including cereals, vegetables, fruits, botanicals, herbal medicines, and animals. Classes, etc., the full range of varieties can be seen.
There is a big difference between the porridge in the north and the south.
Due to the different ingredients grown in each region, the characteristics of the porridge are different. (The above are all online pictures) Although they are all porridge, there are big differences in the choice of ingredients between the south and the north. The hinterland of the northern Central Plains was the main food-producing area in ancient times. The crops grown included not only millet, millet, sorghum, wheat and other food crops, but also miscellaneous grain and legume crops such as red beans, mung beans, adzuki beans and black beans. In addition, the Central Plains is also rich in various dried fruits, such as our common red dates, peanuts, walnuts, pine nuts, almonds, etc., which are mainly produced in the northern region. These ingredients can be used as the main raw materials of porridge. Therefore, porridge in the north is mostly based on grains, beans, dried fruits and other ingredients. A few are mixed with vegetables, fruits and even candied fruits, etc. The taste is generally light, with less oil and meat.
Unlike the porridge in the north, which is less meaty, the porridge in the south is very vigorous in terms of ingredients, especially in the coastal areas. Almost any living animal, offal, and leftovers can be put into the porridge and cooked together. Whether it is a variety of seafood, pigs, cattle, sheep, swallows, abalone fins, or beef whip, sheep, tuna, etc., all of them can be used to make porridge. The porridge in the north pays more attention to self-cultivation and is mainly vegetarian, while the porridge in the south has strong nourishing function and is characterized by meat.
As for cooking porridge, the ancients were also very particular about it. Yuan Mei's "Suiyuan Food List" says, "Seeing water but not rice is not porridge; seeing rice but no water is not porridge. The rice and water must be fused together to make them soft and greasy, and then it is called porridge." Li Yu, who lived in the late Ming Dynasty and early Qing Dynasty, made an even more perfect discussion of porridge in "Xianqing Ouji·Drinking and Food". He believed that "the serious disease of porridge is that the upper part is clear and the lower part is deposited, like paste or ointment, and the heat is not good enough." "The reason is that the porridge is not well cooked. If you want to make good porridge, you must be precise about the ratio of rice to water, the cooking time and the heat." He described how to make porridge like this: "When pouring water, you must limit the amount of water so that the spoonfuls cannot be increased and the drops cannot be reduced. Then add the heat to mix thoroughly, and then the porridge becomes rice. It is different from others without seeking differences." < /p>
In the peaceful and prosperous times, porridge was a treat to enjoy and maintain health. However, during times of war and famine, the common people felt porridge even more passionately. No matter how chaotic the world became, "one pot of porridge", as long as you hold the porridge in your hand, you will be able to enjoy porridge. My heart feels at ease. There is an allusion about porridge in history, called "sipping porridge and hearing it". It tells that during the reign of King Xuan of Zhou Dynasty, there was a famine one year. A minister was cooking porridge in the yard with a big cauldron. Hundreds of people in the family, including young and old, masters and servants, sipped the porridge together.
The sound of hundreds of people drinking porridge can be heard miles away. During the famine period, the emperor ordered porridge to be cooked to help the victims. Using a bowl of porridge to calm the people's hearts and protect the country was the most practical and effective way.