Legend has it that in ancient times, there was such a banquet:
At that time, the moon was high, the shadows of the trees were swaying, it was not elegant and pleasant, and in the house of the carved beam painting, the host was feasting on the guests he had not seen for a long time.
The two are confidants who have not been seen for a long time, the cuisine is chen, the atmosphere is naturally harmonious, and after the banquet, the guest suddenly comes to a sentence:
"Where is the saw in the house?"
The host obviously did not think of the intention of the guest, so he casually said it, who knows, the guest did not say a word, picked up the saw and sawed it against the wine glass.
The host was shocked and asked what this was for, who knew that the guest replied, every time he poured wine, the host only poured half a cup, and when he saw that the host was so stingy, he simply sawed the place that was not needed.
The provenance of this joke is not easy to examine, but even if the food is full of tables, the improper use of wine utensils has also caused unhappiness, and from behind this joke, it is not difficult to see the entanglement of food and beautiful utensils.
Why, then, should we cling to the dialectical beauty of the connection between food and vessel?
From a historical point of view, the ancients sought beauty tools, some out of the need to eat, some out of class influence, some out of sustenance for their own character.
Today's people study the beauty of the ancients, it is more beneficial, social existence determines social consciousness, beauty always contains a context of the times, a cultural breath.
Shang Zhou: Authoritarianism and Terror
The diet of the Shang Zhou Dynasty can be described as extremely scarce, and in that era of lack of productivity, the processing of grain was also extremely difficult, and the shelled grain was already the enjoyment of the royal family, not to mention the people.
However, although the diet is scarce, the food utensils of the Shang Zhou are exceptionally exquisite, why is this?
It turned out that as the ruler of the slave state, the nobles of the Shang Zhou Dynasty were always thinking about a question - how to implement their rule in all aspects?
They came up with a method – a food eater.
In the Shang Zhou, there are many animal faces, dragons and phoenixes, water and fire on the eating utensils, these textures are not pleasant, on the contrary, these ornaments give people a sense of horror.
Such a terrible ornament is the embodiment of the monarchy, due to the backwardness of the productive forces, man is of course small in the face of nature, such a smallness makes people naturally fear nature, the ruler uses this fear to preach the divine right of the monarchy, then the reverence for nature, fierce beasts, water and fire is also transferred to the royal power.
Imagine if people use such utensils for a long time, they will naturally be in awe of the royal power.
Due to the needs of class rule, the ornamentation of shang zhou food utensils also has a purpose for indoctrination, which is not difficult to see from the ornamentation of wine vessels.
Zhou Gong summed up the lessons of Shang in this way:
"The crowd is drunk on its own, and the smell is fishy; therefore the heavens descend on Yin, and love Yin, but yi."
It can be seen that Zhou Gong believed that Shang was too indulgent in wine and pleasure, which led to the destruction of the country.
By the Zhou Dynasty, the Zhou people carried out a series of designs for shapes and ornaments on wine vessels such as Yao, Jue, Horn, Axe, And Zun.
In the design of the wine vessel, the spirit of etiquette was implemented, and the restraint on alcoholism and indulgence was strengthened, reflecting its moral indoctrination.
However, no matter how exquisite the utensils were, this was only a pleasure within the rulers, and the oppressed slaves had no chance to enjoy them.
It was in this way that with the collapse of the Ida system and the rise of new landlords, the symbols of kingship and the ornamentation of the old rites and the rule of Zhou dissolved together.
Han: Rustic and thick
After the disappearance of the ornaments symbolizing kingship, they were replaced by bronzes with lively lines in the Spring and Autumn Period, which contained the absence of the old order and the discovery of the value of "people".
After a long period of transition, by the Han Dynasty, food culture and food utensils ushered in a new stage.
The class composition of the Han Dynasty was very different from that of the Zhou Dynasty, where the peasants were more respected, and the system of filial piety and military merit brought more room for class mobility.
On the basis of such a society, the ornamentation of food utensils is no longer only appreciated by a few people, but more popular.
In the early Han Dynasty, successive years of war greatly affected production, and in the face of this situation, the rulers vigorously advocated frugality, and even required that the skirt should not be mopped, and even the emperor "could not rely on the dynasty".
Under this frugal wind, its eating utensils are also more simple, and the ornaments of the early Han Dynasty are not as exquisite as those of the Shang Zhou, but
The ornamentation of the Han Dynasty is majestic and powerful, without the horror of the Zhou Dynasty, no longer a profile of the oppression of the slave era, and its thick style is more like the breath of a nation.
In the era of attacking the Xiongnu in the north and Baiyue in the south, the Han ushered in its prosperous period, and its pattern was outlined in gold and bronze.
The success of the war is frequent, and life is becoming more and more abundant, and the ornamentation at this time is a little more ethereal, with clouds that are scattered through and scattered, and there are characters with vivid postures.
Huang Laozhi's learning made Han's food culture a little more rich and leisurely, and Confucianism made Han's food culture more elegant and correct.
As the empire expanded to the west, the Han diet also had some exotic styles, and all kinds of forms were condensed in either slender and flowing, or wide and thick textures.
The food utensils of the Han Dynasty were not as complicated as the Zhou Dynasty, is this a regression in craftsmanship?
Of course not, artistically, simple lines bring more refined beauty, on a larger level,
The Han food culture and eating utensils were no longer unique to the slave-owning aristocracy, but were more than a few people could enjoy.
Han Dynasty cuisine and beautiful utensils contain the beauty of the common people, and it is this beauty that makes the food and utensils of the Han Dynasty surpass the beauty of the shang and Zhou nobles.
Zhou's mysterious and terrifying style disappeared with the demise of the dynasty, but even if the Han Dynasty died, the value orientation in its ornamentation still shines in later generations.
Wei and Jin Southern and Northern Dynasties: Exquisite backs
Compared with the Han Dynasty, the class composition of the Wei and Jin Dynasties further changed, and a large number of land annexations at the end of the Han Dynasty brought about the landlords who occupied one side, and the changes in the filial piety system brought about the rise of the family clan.
As a result, the distribution of social resources changed the rules, and the balance of resource allocation no longer favored the poor, but completely fell to the family family.
With a huge amount of social resources, the atmosphere of arrogance and luxury naturally spread.
At this time, the texture of the utensils is shiny, the texture is fine and beautiful, and the food utensils of the warriors are surprisingly exquisite.
The collapse of centralized power also gave rise to doubts about Confucian ethics.
A group of intellectuals represented by the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Forest lived in seclusion in the mountains and forests, indulged in drinking, and at the same time led to the new development of food culture in the pursuit of dashing freedom.
In The Zhou Dynasty, indulgence in joy was labeled as a calamity for the country, and in the Han Dynasty, the wandering skeleton was a naked provocation against Confucian claims.
But it is here in the Seven Sages that China's gastronomic culture has more colors of pursuing natural desires, and the liberation of nature is already charming.
Therefore, at this time, the ornamentation of the food utensils no longer emphasizes too much on the sense of order, and its lines are more slender and elegant, and more flexible.
At the same time, under the impact of the culture of the north and the south, the food culture was further enriched, and with the impact of the Confucian proposition, the eating utensils also had more Hu colors, the ornamentation was more exaggerated, and the changes were more diverse.
However, when we look at the ancients today, all we see is a seemingly delicate back.
If we try to get around the front of this era, we will be able to see the common people who have been written in the corners of history.
Due to the serious solidification of the class, behind the pursuit of luxury and refinement of the family family is actually the suffering of the poor.
Although the collision of north-south cultures has brought more dishes, the soldiers of the wandering skeleton have brought more dashing food culture,
But all this did not involve the common people, which became the biggest regret of that era.
Sui and Tang Dynasties: Gorgeous and diverse
The rise of the imperial examination system and the return of a strong central government brought a new round of change, and under the influence of the imperial examination, the status of the family clan quickly declined, and the channel for class jump was reopened.
At the same time, the field system was reformed, and the peasants once again had room for survival.
All this brought about a colorful food culture, in the Tang Dynasty, "no questions about the rich and poor, the godsees do not take the needle and thread as a skill, but only the kitchen and the knife machine." "The people do not teach women to knit, but to teach cooking, which shows that material abundance has brought about a national enthusiasm for food.
This abundance is naturally condensed in the eating utensils, and the delicate flowers, birds and flowers on the ornamentation are quite rich, and its rich colors and graceful shapes all highlight the prosperity of an era.
On the other hand, the Tang Dynasty before the Anshi Rebellion maintained a fairly open atmosphere.
The different characters of India and the unpredictable music of the Western Regions have all made the Tang culture more diverse.
As a result, there are more exotic elements in the catering of the Tang People, and there are more ornaments of Western colors on the tableware.
For example, the texture of the shape of the grape, the lotus flower and other patterns with religious significance, all show the openness and tolerance of this era.
Song: The Age of Poetry
In an era of intensified ethnic conflicts, the Song lost its original tolerance and pluralism, but it excavated Han culture to a new realm.
The rapid development of the commodity economy without inhibiting land annexation laid the material foundation for the development of beautiful instruments, while the national policy of Chongwen brought prosperity to the activities of the literati and gave it a bit of simplicity in its gastronomic culture.
Song's food culture is somewhat elegant, but it is not too upright and a little natural like Han, but it is also not as promiscuous as Wei Jin.
Under the impetus of science, the Song people gradually found a balance between nature and etiquette.
In the Song Dynasty, you can taste the fun of the literati from the fat and not greasy of dongpo meat, and you can taste a smoke and rain from the tender fish, naturally,
You can also enjoy a variety of city snacks to taste enough human touch and pyrotechnics.
As a result, the Song people's food utensils are also embellished with just the right texture, and their food utensils do not have too many lines, but have a rounded texture.
Every line just right will take the plain and elegant to the extreme.
Song's utensils are embellished neatly, the proportions are coordinated, and there is a sense of tranquility and comfort.
At the same time, the prosperity of the commodity economy led to the rise of the citizen class, the Song dynasty's food utensils more reflected secular life than the Tang Dynasty, and the Song people, who had lost their majestic atmosphere, were better at being thin and delicate.
What are we judging
Ancient Chinese culture is so long, but I only chose these few eras, not because of limited pen and ink,
But from the typical scenery of these eras, we can clearly see the vein of entanglement between food and utensils.
Such entanglements are always accompanied by the interweaving of nature and order.
In the Zhou Dynasty, the order of slavery almost completely ran through the ornamentation of the eating utensils, and in the years from the Spring and Autumn to the Han Dynasty, the process of changes in the patterns of the eating utensils also showed the process of the development of nature.
On the one hand, confucian ethics give elegance to gastronomic culture, but on the other hand, such ethics also give it constraints.
Until the Wei and Jin Dynasties, people released their nature, let loose skeletons, tried to break through the shackles, completely returned to nature, embraced nature, but eventually returned to nothingness.
In their ornamentation, the unity of order and nature is achieved, they achieve balance, and in balance they achieve elegance.
Continuing this vein, the entanglement of food and utensils will continue in the Ming and Qing dynasties, the Republic of China, and even modern times.
However, seeing this, we should know that when we pick up the exquisite cups and plates today and taste the delicacies,
What we taste is the wind and rain of the millennium, but also the attitude of Chinese to nature and the understanding of self, which is the dialectical aesthetics that runs through ancient and modern times.
bibliography
Outline of National History
"The Ritual System Reform of the Shang and Zhou Dynasties: From the Perspective of Wine Ceremonial Vessels"
Introduction to the Culture of the Six Dynasties
Treatise on The Culture and Poetry of the Tang and Song Dynasties