Folk Customs and Famous Shops, Finest Products (Part 5)
Section 5: Famous Embroidery, Famous Brushes, Famous Fans, Famous Porcelain — The Essence of Oriental Art: Jiepai Porcelain. Jiepai is located at the southwestern foot of Mount Heng, at the border of Hengyang and Hengshan counties, rich in porcelain clay and one of China's three major porcelain clay bases. Jiepai porcelain has over 300 years of production history, and the Jiepai Ceramics General Factory is now one of China's top ten porcelain factories.
This article has been compiled from historical materials in the "Zhangjiajie Tour Guide Network" (33519.com · City Overview section). Some administrative divisions, population, socioeconomic data, and policy information may be outdated and are for reference only; for the latest situation, please refer to official releases by the local government and scenic areas.
Section Five
Famous Embroidery, Famous Brushes, Famous Fans, Famous Porcelain
The Essence of Oriental Art — Jiepai Porcelain
Jiepai is located at the southwestern foot of Mount Hengshan in Nanyue, at the border of Hengyang and Hengshan counties. It is rich in porcelain clay and is one of the three major porcelain clay bases in the country. Jiepai porcelain has a production history of more than 300 years, and the Jiepai General Porcelain Factory has now become one of the top ten porcelain factories in the country. Jiepai porcelain comes in a great variety, about 900 types, mainly tableware and tea sets, divided into four major categories: jade-pattern, crescent, moon-star, and double-ridge. The products are thin and even as paper, powdery and lustrous as jade, with soft and gentle shades of color, and shaped with openwork. Medium-grade daily-use porcelain, craft, tourism, and industrial porcelain feature novel patterns, soft colors, and fine quality. The products are sold in 68 countries and regions. Among them, the uniquely styled patterned porcelain — white as jade, resonant as a chime stone, thin as paper — has been called by foreign merchants "the essence of Oriental art."
Hunan Local Folk Traditional Embroidery Masterpiece — Shaoyang Drawn-Work Embroidery
Shaoyang drawn-work embroidery products are traditional folk embroidery handicrafts, with Shaoyang as the place of origin. They are divided into 5 major categories: padded embroidery, flat embroidery, button-edge, flat-button, and drawn-work. The embroidered products have novel designs, rigorous composition, elegant colors, harmonious contrasts, full patterns, delicate needlework, smooth ironing, crisp and neat finishing, and exquisite mounting — beautiful and elegant, a wonderful flower of Chinese embroidery. Now gold-embedded wood carving, ceramics, painting, and embroidery art have been integrated into one, making them decorative masterpieces of great ornamental value that have entered domestic and overseas markets.
Hunan's Most Uniquely Crafted Painting — Tujia Paste Painting
A type of painting pasted onto plywood, its craftsmanship is so unique and its artistry so high that it can be called a masterpiece. To make this painting, one uses no paper, no oil paints, no brushes, and no ink. The materials are instead sand and stone, tree bark, thatch stalks, bamboo shoot shells, or scraps of cloth. Paintings made with these materials depict the landscape of Wuling and the ancient village customs of Xiangxi with lifelike vividness, possessing both the effect of landscape scenery and the spirit of traditional Chinese painting. Therefore, as soon as it was introduced, it caused a sensation and attracted attention from people at home and abroad. Today this painting has obtained a national patent. In the Hunan Pavilion of the 1999 Kunming World Horticultural Expo, there were works by Zhangjiajie folk paste painting master Li Junshen, which won high praise from Chinese and foreign visitors.
Hunan's Highest-Quality Brush Product — Miluo Chuanshan Writing Brush
The writing brush — one of the Four Treasures of the Study — has been produced in Chuanshanping Town, Miluo City, for more than two thousand years. According to an article by Wu Mingsheng in the first issue of 2000 of Hunan Provincial Research Institute of Culture and History's "Wenshi Shiyi," the "bamboo-tube rabbit-hair" brush unearthed in June 1954 from a Chu tomb of the Warring States period at Zuojiagongshan in Changsha predates by several years the legendary Qin brush attributed to Meng Tian — the "wood-tube gray-hair" brush — and can be called the finest brush under heaven. The craftsmanship of the Chuanshan writing brush has a long history and is renowned throughout China. The products sell well across the country and are exported to the United States, Japan, France, and 18 other countries and regions in Southeast Asia. In 1983, the Chuanshan writing brush was rated as a high-quality product in the province-wide brush quality evaluation. In 1984, it won the title of high-quality product from the national Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry, and Fisheries. In 1986, then-Governor Xiong Qingquan made a special trip to inspect the Chuanshan Writing Brush Factory and gladly took up a brush to write: "Chuanshan writing brushes, renowned throughout the four seas," adding new luster to the Chuanshan writing brush.
Hunan's Number One Famous Fan — Yuezhou Fan
Yuezhou fans have a history of several hundred years and are the number one famous fans of Hunan Province. Through a long process of production and sales, with their unique artistic style, they share a reputation with Suzhou fans and Hangzhou fans, becoming the three sisters among craft fans. Yuezhou fans come in a great variety, with exquisite craftsmanship, and are beautiful and durable. There are currently as many as 200 varieties, mainly divided into more than a dozen major categories such as paper fans, feather fans, silk fans, bone fans, palace fans, hat fans, portable fans, and fragrant wood fans. The products are sold on the domestic market and are deeply welcomed by consumers.
One of China's Four Famous Embroideries — Xiang Embroidery
Xiang embroidery, that is, Hunan hand embroidery, is an outstanding handicraft created by the people of Hunan, with exquisite craftsmanship and a unique artistic style, and is one of China's four famous embroideries. Chinese embroidery is usually a fine handicraft embroidered with raw silk, stiff satin, interwoven soft satin, transparent glass yarn, and polyester plus raw silk and cotton thread as materials, while Xiang embroidery products mainly use raw silk threads to embroider patterns on raw silk fabric. They include both precious art pieces for appreciation and beautiful, practical daily necessities. The "double-sided embroidery" developed after the founding of the People's Republic of China is especially distinctive. Xiang embroidery won first prize at the 1909 Nanyang Industrial Exposition, the best award at the 1911 Turin Exposition in Italy, and a gold medal at the 1915 Panama Exposition. In 2005, the Changsha Shaping Xiang Embroidery Factory had four fine Xiang embroidery works carried aboard Shenzhou 6, and three of them were collected by the National Museum. A couplet once praised it: "Xiang embroidery like golden needles, frequently winning championships at world expositions; treasures from the embroidery loft, even more renowned beyond the heavens in spaceflight."
China's Earliest Patented Bamboo Slip Product — Hunan's "Chinese Bamboo Book"
The "Chinese Bamboo Book" originates from an understanding of ancient bamboo slips and wooden tablets. It was developed by several concerned individuals in Changsha, using high-quality moso bamboo from Hunan as material, made into bamboo slips through multiple processes such as degumming, dehydration, and polishing; then works by famous Chinese figures ancient and modern are printed or carved onto the bamboo slips. It has high artistic value and once obtained a national Class B patent.
Hunan's Only Gold-Stacking Artwork — Hunan Gold-Stacked Silk Book
The "Gold-Stacked Silk Book" adopts the form of ancient palace hanging calligraphy works and, with innovative thinking, applies the gold-stacking method to make works by famous figures ancient and modern on silk fabric. It is the only gold-stacking artwork in the country, developed in Changsha, and is the newest style of commemorative cultural gift. This artwork was carried aboard Shenzhou 6 on its journey into space in 2005.
Related Records
Hunan Belief Customs
Thunder God: A Han folk nature-worship custom, popular throughout the province. In olden times, the common people, especially rural folk, believed the Thunder God was a righteous deity who rewarded good and punished evil. Anyone who was unfilial to their parents, stole chickens or dogs, engaged in prostitution, wasted grain, robbed a foundling of all its belongings without raising it, or committed serious acts of harming others for personal gain or outraging heaven and reason, the Thunder God would surely strike dead or burn to death with thunder-fire and lightning, or burn down their house and belongings. As the proverb says: "Thunder strikes ten generations of evil; a snake bites for three generations of grievance." "The unfilial and disobedient are struck by thunder and burned by fire." These reflect such beliefs. If someone in a family was struck dead, burned to death, or burned by thunder-fire or lightning, others would surely say he had done something against his conscience and received the Thunder God's punishment and retribution. The family members would also have to prepare three sacrificial animals, burn incense, light candles, and burn paper money to sacrifice to the Thunder God, begging him to calm his anger and forgive, and not to bring disaster upon the children or other relatives. Hence the proverb: "Struck by thunder, thank the Thunder God."
Water Mother Goddess: A water deity worship custom, popular throughout the province, especially among boatmen in the Dongting Lake area. In olden times, to ensure smooth sailing and the safety of life and property, boatmen would set up shrines on their boats to worship water deities. One of these was worshipped and respectfully called "Water Mother Goddess." Legend says this deity was the sister of Lu Ban. It is said that after Lu Ban built a boat and launched it on the river, it always spun in circles and could not move forward. Lu Ban's sister, sitting at the stern, stretched one foot into the water and playfully swung it, and the boat stopped spinning. Inspired by this, Lu Ban added a wooden foot at the back of the boat—the rudder—and the boat could then sail steadily and smoothly according to the boatman's wishes. Therefore, when boatmen worshipped the water protection deities, they also worshipped this young woman who had contributed to shipbuilding, later known as the "Water Mother Goddess," both out of gratitude and to pray for her divine power to bless their voyage with favorable winds and safe arrival.
Complaining to the Underworld: A folk divine judgment custom, popular in many areas of the province. In olden times, people, especially the poor, backward, and illiterate, believed that unseen spirits ruled all. Divine power was vast, unmatched, and boundless. Problems that people in the world of the living could not solve, divine power could surely solve. "Good is rewarded with good, evil with evil." All evil deeds would surely meet retribution before divine power; all evil people would have to submit to divine power. So when someone suffered injustice and bullying, was powerless to resist, and had nowhere to appeal, they would write the facts, nature, process, and consequences of their victimization, along with the wrongdoer's name, age, gender, and crimes, on paper, burn it before the gods, or kneel before the gods and pour out their grievances and the wrongdoer's name, asking the all-powerful deities to uphold justice and punish the evildoer. This was called "complaining to the underworld." Later it evolved to mean secretly informing on someone, also called "complaining to the underworld."
Recalling the Frightened Soul: An old superstitious custom, popular in many areas of the province. Folk belief held that when a child cried at night, or was listless, or had poor appetite and looked sallow and thin, it was because the child had been frightened and the soul had fled and not returned to the body. A soul-calling ritual was needed to recall the frightened soul, also called "calling the fright" or "calling the soul." In southern Hunan, the mother or an elderly grandmother or aunt would hold a fishing net, go to the crossroads where the soul was lost, burn incense, light candles, and burn paper money, then scoop three times with the net and call three times: "So-and-so (the child's name), come back!" The mother would call and answer "Come back!" or another elder would answer: "Come back!" This would continue all the way home, ending with three gentle taps on the child's body. This was done for three consecutive afternoons. In western Hunan, a spirit medium or wizard was invited to recall the soul. The method was to wrap a bowl of rice together with the bowl in a towel, circle it several times over the child's head while chanting incantations, then unwrap the cloth and, based on the unevenness of the rice in the bowl, determine from which direction the child had encountered a ghost and been frightened. The parents would then, according to the indicated direction, burn paper money at night and pour water and rice as offerings to the ghost, begging it to release the child's wandering soul. Some would carry a winnowing basket containing chopsticks, an egg, and three cups of wine, and two people would go to the Earth God shrine to press paper money and call the soul. On the way home, the one in front would call: "So-and-so, come back!" and the one behind would answer: "Come back!" They would call all the way to the doorstep, stamp three times on the threshold, and boil the egg for the child to eat, believing that in this way the child's wandering soul could be recovered.
Locking the God of Wealth: A folk belief custom, popular in central Hunan. In olden times, people believed the God of Wealth was the heavenly deity in charge of wealth; with his blessing, a household could attract wealth and treasure. Therefore, the God of Wealth was enshrined in the ancestral altar where ancestral tablets were placed, worshipped devoutly, and prayed to for blessings. People believed that the God of Wealth was only efficacious if stolen, so there was a folk custom of stealing the God of Wealth. If a family's God of Wealth was stolen, not only could they not attract wealth and treasure, but even the wealth they already had would be lost, and great misfortune would follow. Therefore, while ancestral tablets and other deity images were not locked, only the shrine of the God of Wealth was locked all day to prevent theft, called "locking the God of Wealth."
Worshipping the Earth God and Earth Goddess: One of the folk nature deity worships, popular throughout the province among all ethnic groups. In olden times, every three to five li in urban and rural areas throughout the province, there was an Earth God temple (shrine) enshrining the Earth God and Earth Goddess. Many common people, when having children, would dedicate them to the Earth God and Earth Goddess, naming them with the character "tu" (earth) to seek their blessing, such as "Tufu," "Tubao," "Tusheng," "Tufeng," "Tuxiu," and so on. On the first and fifteenth of each lunar month and on the second day of the second lunar month, the Earth God's birthday, those seeking the Earth God and Earth Goddess to send children, wealth, or blessings would go to the temple to burn incense, light candles, burn paper, and sacrifice a rooster. Some would invite masons and carpenters to repair the Earth God temple, and some would invite painters to redecorate the Earth God statue, called "dressing the deity in new clothes," to seek the blessing of the Earth God and Earth Goddess. The Earth God worshipped by the people was a minor deity; as the saying goes, "Earth God, Earth God, only governs five li." But the Earth God and Earth Goddess were the local earth deities, familiar with the mountains, waters, and people, and their divine power was actually very broad. As the saying goes: "If the Earth God does not open his mouth, the tiger will not drag away the dog; if the Earth God does not make a sound, the wildcat will not bite the chicken." "A dragon from a thousand li cannot overcome the Earth God." "A strong dragon cannot defeat the local snake." The people worshipped the Earth God and Earth Goddess both to pray for protection and to thank them for the virtue of earth producing all things.
Zhongyuan Ancestor Worship: A folk worship custom, popular throughout the province. People regarded the first to fifteenth days of the seventh lunar month as the "Ghost Festival." In southern Hunan, the fifteenth day of the seventh month was called "Seventh Month Half," "Zhongyuan Festival," or "Ghost Festival." It was said that Yama, the king of the underworld in charge of ghosts, ordered the ghost gate opened to release the ghosts of the underworld to return to their descendants in the world of the living to enjoy sacrifices, while lonely ghosts without descendants would receive sacrifices at crossroads. At this time, every household sacrificed to ancestors and wild ghosts. In Xiangtan, this was called "receiving guests"; those who died within the year were called "new guests," and those dead more than a year were called "old guests." In southern Hunan, it was called "burning incense"; those who died within the year were called "new incense," and those dead more than a year were called "old incense." "Receiving guests" was done as seriously as entertaining honored guests. Before "receiving guests," the house had to be swept clean, and impurities removed and incense burned. At nightfall, the head of the household would lead the family, carrying lanterns, to welcome the ancestral guests at crossroads or watersides, lighting incense and candles, setting off firecrackers, bowing to the sky in welcome, humble and courteous. After receiving them home, they would bow and invite them to wash their faces and take seats, offering cigarettes and tea. Three meals of wine and dishes, fresh fruits, and candies and snacks were offered daily. The duration of "receiving guests" varied from one day, three to five days, or seven days, with three days being most common. Sending off the guests could not be later than the evening of the fourteenth; on the fifteenth, Yama would order the ghost gate closed, and if they went late, they could not enter and would become wild ghosts. Before sending off the guests, paper money had to be burned, called
"burning bundles." Finally, the ancestral guests were sent to the place where they had been "received," with incense burned, candles held, and bows before returning. In southern Hunan, Zhongyuan ancestor worship and sacrifices to wild ghosts generally took place on the fourteenth and fifteenth of the seventh month, with three sacrificial animals, fresh fruits, candies and snacks placed before the ancestral tablets on the altar, and incense, paper, and candles burned and firecrackers set off to worship ancestors, and sacrifices made to wild ghosts at crossroads. This custom is still observed in some farming families today.
Pilgrimage to Mount Heng: A folk belief custom, popular throughout the province. Also called "paying homage to Mount Heng" or "paying homage to the sacred," meaning worshipping the Mount Heng deity. People believed the Mount Heng deity was the guardian deity of the Hunan region. When devout men and women encountered illness or disaster, or when male and female believers sought his blessing, they would go to make vows and return thanks. To show devotion, they often walked on foot, not shrinking from fatigue even at distances of hundreds of li. Before setting out, they would fast and bathe, tie a red cloth around their heads, wear blue clothes, wear a chest bib embroidered with "Pilgrimage to Mount Heng," carry a fragrant bag on their backs, and sing the "Pilgrimage Song," with one singing and the crowd responding, as they went to offer incense. There was "lighting incense," where one offered incense at every temple and bowed at every bridge; "bowing incense," where one bowed every three steps; "hungry incense," where one drank only water and went without cooked food for several days on the journey; and "flesh incense," where one dug a finger-sized hole in the left arm, poured in sesame oil, inserted a wick, lit it at the foot of Mount Heng, and let it burn until reaching the summit of Zhurong Peak. By enduring much pain, they demonstrated their devotion and sought protection. Every year in the seventh and eighth months after the autumn harvest, pilgrims came in an endless stream. Whether or not their prayers were answered, those who made vows had to fulfill them; even if they died, their descendants had to fulfill the vows on their behalf, called "fulfilling underworld vows." This custom continues to this day.
Hunan Marriage Customs
In the old marriage customs of the Han people in Hunan, there was a complete set of ceremonies including matchmaking, blind dates, exchanging horoscopes, betrothal, entering the household, bowing in the hall, teasing the bridal chamber, and returning to the bride's home. The birth dates and eight characters of the young man and woman were written on red paper and passed to the other party through a matchmaker, called "exchanging horoscopes" or "sending the red horoscope." If the horoscopes matched well, they would exchange tokens, called "betrothal." The man's family sent clothing and cloth; the woman's family usually sent a pair of cloth shoes, socks, and insoles. Choosing an auspicious day to welcome the bride was called "entering the household," and the two families exchanged betrothal gifts and dowry. They bowed in the hall and shared the nuptial cup, performing the ceremony, and after entering the bridal chamber there was the custom of teasing the bridal chamber, with various forms. In western and southern Hunan, the custom of crying marriage was also popular. One or two days, or even half a month, before the wedding, the bride would begin singing "crying marriage songs." In Jiahe County, southern Hunan, this developed into a complete set of "bridesmaid songs and dances," including seat-setting songs, crying marriage songs, complaining about mother songs, scolding the matchmaker songs, separation songs, farewell songs, shooting songs (calendar songs), play songs, matchmaker's bitter songs, child bride songs, and so on, performed in sitting singing, antiphonal singing, choral singing, and long song forms, as well as the song-and-dance "Bridesmaid Dance" (including raising cups, incense, walking horse, rowing boat, selling wine, grinding mill, mother calling daughter, and other dances), in which anything encountered during the dance could be used as a dance prop.
Among ethnic minorities, courtship, betrothal, and weddings are more colorful than those of the Han, and many still retain primitive and simple characteristics.
Minority young men and women often meet and choose partners at festive festivals or on the way to market fairs. The Miao's April Eighth, June Sixth, and Autumn Festival song gatherings, and the Dong's "mountain play and market rush," are excellent opportunities for young men and women to gather and make friends. In western Hunan, the Miao also have the custom of moon dancing, where young men and women go to the forest and mountain tops on clear moonlit nights to sing antiphonal songs and dance. Those who find each other agreeable, even if they have never met, may agree to become engaged.
Some minority young men and women have distinctive betrothal customs. For the Yao in Longhui, the betrothal token is an oil-paper umbrella. If the woman's family is interested, they will tie twelve triangular silk-thread cloth bundles made of various colored flower cloth and silk threads onto the ribs of the paper umbrella. For the Dong in Huaihua, it is chicken-blood betrothal. On a moonlit night, young men and women meet accompanied by friends. The man pricks the comb of a big rooster he has brought, drips the chicken blood into wine, and both drink to swear an oath of eternal union.
Minority weddings each have their own set of rituals, joyful and lively, full of charm. In the Miao wedding in western Hunan, there is a ceremony of washing the "harmony face." When the bride arrives at the groom's home, an elder of the groom's family brings a basin of clear water with a silver bracelet placed in it, and the bride and the groom's family wash their faces together in this basin. It is said that after washing the "harmony face," the whole family can enjoy peace and safety and live in harmony.
Tujia weddings are unique. The girl sings "crying marriage songs" when she marries, and when seeing off the bride, the girl and her mother sing "sedan-chair departure songs." After the newlyweds enter the bridal chamber, singers sing "congratulatory songs" and "thanking guests songs." The Yao in southwestern Hunan have a "bride-snatching" custom. When the groom goes to fetch the bride, the bride avoids him, and the groom chases her; this is repeated three times before the marriage is considered complete. It is said that couples united in this way can respect and love each other and grow old together.
Mao Zedong Talks About Chili Peppers and Braised Pork
In the 1960s, Peruvian philosopher Mendez visited China, and Mao Zedong invited him to dinner.
Mao Zedong sat in the host's seat, had the foreign guest sit on his right, asked me to sit on his left, and the interpreter sat opposite him. Mao pointed to the eight dishes on the table and said that tonight there was no fine food or wine to entertain the guest, but he guaranteed that everyone could eat their fill, so no need to be polite, just eat casually. The eight dishes were Hunan cured meats, stir-fried shrimp, stir-fried dried scallops, fish-flavored shredded pork, sweet and sour fish slices, braised lion's head meatballs, fish head tofu soup, winter mushroom with cabbage, and braised pork. The last dish was placed in front of Chairman Mao, and next to it was a large plate of bright red cold dressed chili peppers. Chairman Mao picked up a chopstick of red chili peppers and put them in his mouth, and while chewing said, "Both the rich and the poor in Hunan like to eat them. Without a bit of chili, it seems no dish has any flavor." "People in some South American countries also like chili peppers. Brazil has a kind of chili that is very small, similar to Sichuan's facing-heaven chili. When I visited Brazil, I tasted this small chili. I only tried a little, and my whole body was sweating." I interjected a couple of sentences. "It seems you don't have the habit of eating chili. This needs training," Chairman Mao said, pointing at me. "When I was little, I was also afraid of the heat when I first started eating chili and didn't dare to eat it. I ate a little at a time and gradually got used to it. Later, not only was I not afraid of the heat, but I was afraid it wouldn't be hot enough." The guest saw Chairman Mao constantly putting chili peppers into his mouth and said admiringly: "Mr. Chairman, you really can eat chili. Among all the leaders of various countries I have met, you are the one who can eat the most chili and are not afraid of the heat at all!" "You are right. Sichuan people eat chili and are not afraid of the heat; Jiangxi people eat chili and are not afraid of the heat; we Hunan people eat chili and are afraid it is not hot enough!" Chairman Mao put another chopstickful into his mouth and said with relish. "Mr. Chairman, what a wonderful metaphor. By reversing the position of the word 'afraid,' one can see the different attitudes of the three provinces toward chili. Concise and comprehensive." Chairman Mao picked up a chopstick of fish-flavored shredded pork and offered it to the guest, saying: "Try this dish. It's a bit spicy, not very spicy." The guest tasted it and said admiringly: "The flavor is fresh and delicious, but not too spicy. Some people in Peru also like chili, and some eat it very strongly, not afraid of the heat."
"The three attitudes toward eating chili express three different temperaments. Generally speaking, people in cold and tropical zones like to eat chili, but I want to add that basically all people who like to eat chili can be said to be revolutionaries. As for our Communist Party and the Red Army, which of course includes the Eighth Route Army, Sichuan people, Hunan people, and Jiangxi people are the most numerous, and most of the current senior cadres are also from these three provinces, so I say that most people who like to eat chili are revolutionaries." Mao Zedong said this and smiled to himself, seemingly feeling this statement was a bit far-fetched. Mao Zedong picked up a piece of braised pork and offered it to the guest, changing the subject: "Try this braised pork. It's my favorite dish." The guest tasted it and praised it endlessly: "This dish is oily but not greasy, sweet and savory, and after eating it, one feels wonderfully refreshed all over!" "This is a good dish, never tiresome no matter how often you eat it. Some people disapprove of my eating it, thinking it has too much fat and is bad for health, and won't let me eat it every day, only agreeing to let me eat it once every few days to satisfy my craving. This is a rigid rule. Revolutionaries are not afraid even of imperialism, so what is there to fear from fat! After eating it, it is comprehensively digested, converted into feces, excreted, and disappears without a trace! What is there to fear!" "Mr. Chairman, your comprehensive digestive capacity is strong. Such a healthy body is rarely seen..." The guest took some red chili with his chopsticks, tasted it, and said, "This chili is quite hot, but the flavor is very good. Is there some seasoning in it?" "No, just pickled with salt." "Delicious." The guest took another chopstickful of chili and ate it. "It can be said that we are like-minded. Not only are we close in philosophical views, but we are also close in diet. Although Peru and China are separated by thousands of miles, just as the Tang poet Wang Bo said: 'A bosom friend afar brings a distant land near.'" The guest bid farewell to Chairman Mao. Chairman Mao was in especially high spirits and very happy, personally seeing him to the door and bidding him a reluctant farewell. By then the stars were fading, pedestrians on Chang'an Street were sparse, and it was already past midnight.
That Mao Zedong received a foreign guest alone, talked at such length, and dined together, and was in such good spirits, was, judging from my many years of being close to the Chairman and accompanying him in receiving foreign guests, a rare occurrence. (Excerpted from "Recollections of Past Events" by Zhou Erfu, in New Literary Historical Materials, Issue 1, 1997)
Unique Changsha Culinary Terminology
In some time-honored food shops in Changsha, the small eateries with long histories have developed a complete set of professional jargon, forming a unique food culture of Changsha. In a well-known century-old shop, regular customers are generally able to use certain customary expressions when they come in for noodles, and for convenience, the staff also try to use this slang when asking customers what they want. Using this language is simple and clear, leaves a deep impression, and reduces the frequency of mistakes.
On the menus on the tables in the shops, some of the terms are indeed striking. For example, "wide soup, less oil" means the noodles should have more broth and less oil; "fall in the pot and rise" means the noodles should be soaked in boiling water briefly and then immediately scooped out; "heavy oil" means more oil should be added. These are still relatively simple; there are also ones that sound baffling to outsiders, such as "carry a message," which means the noodles should be firmer, while "carry a message dry" means the noodles should be a bit firmer and also have no broth at all. If a customer says "light pick" to the server, it means the portion of noodles should be a little less than usual; "very light pick" means the portion should be one liang less than usual; on the contrary, "heavy pick" means adding one liang of noodles. "Second row" means the noodles should be cooked a bit softer, while "silver row" means very soft. In Changsha slang, one portion is one ma, so "double ma double oil" means putting twice the usual amount of oil when cooking the noodles.
Because this food-related language is highly regional, outsiders often have no idea what is being said when they first hear it, and at such times they need the staff to explain; however, many people from local areas of Hunan can still understand it. Surveys have found that since most customers of old Changsha shops are regulars, they already know these terms inside out, so the staff use this language even when they do not know the customer's background. Comparatively speaking, more people can understand it than can speak it, and among local Changsha residents, middle-aged and older people speak it more than local young people or students.
Random Talk on Xiangtan Betel Nut
Betel nut mostly comes from Hainan. Therefore, betel nut stalls generally post a few words: Authentic Hainan Betel Nut. When they come across poor ones, people all say, those are Vietnamese kezi. When Chinese people get patriotic, even betel nut has to step forward. "Kezi" is another name for betel nut in Hunan. After the spindle-shaped betel nut is cut open, it looks like a small boat, like a rocking cradle. The name "kezi" comes from this. But it is also possible that it is betel nut "shell" (kezi) as pronounced in the Xiang dialect.
Chewing betel nut in Xiangtan and even throughout Hunan has become a habit for the whole population. Whether students or teachers, officials or common people, whether for weddings or funerals or friends' gatherings or business socializing, almost no occasion can do without betel nut. The chewing of betel nut has formed a special cultural landscape. Some people use "a stall every five steps, a shop every ten steps" to describe the bustling sales of Xiangtan betel nut, and this is not an exaggeration at all. According to incomplete statistics, in Hunan Province alone, annual betel nut consumption can reach as high as one billion yuan, and thus betel nut is also hailed as "China's Green Arrow chewing gum."
Xiangtan people have a history of chewing betel nut of more than three hundred years. Regarding the Xiangtan people's habit of chewing betel nut, there are different accounts. Which one should be taken as authoritative? In recent years, with the development of the betel nut industry, Xiangtan has produced a group of cultural figures and food experts who write about betel nut. When writing the history of betel nut chewing, they mainly rely on what is recorded in the Xiangtan County Gazetteer. According to Xiangshang Chituo Nan Zalu, in the late Ming and early Qing, Huguang Governor He Tengjiao joined forces with Li Chuangwang's wife and his subordinate generals to resist the Qing. Because the supervising general's commanders were not united, the anti-Qing forces were weakened. In order to resolve the conflict, He Tengjiao led his troops from Hengyang to Xiangtan, where they encountered the Qing army. It was the beginning of the sixth year of Shunzhi (1650 AD). Because the people of Xiangtan helped He resist the Qing, the Qing Prince Jin ordered a nine-day massacre of the city, killing so many that corpses lay everywhere in Xiangtan, no fewer than one hundred thousand, with fewer than thirty or forty households left and less than a hundred people. At that time, a merchant surnamed Cheng from Anhui came to Xiangtan and learned that an old monk collected the white bones and chewed betel nut to ward off miasma, and only thus was the harm of the plague lifted and homes rebuilt. The habit of chewing betel nut continued and developed from this. From then on, Xiangtan people formed an indissoluble bond with betel nut. The custom of chewing betel nut also gradually spread to central and northern Hunan. There is another account: in the forty-fourth year of Qianlong in the Qing dynasty (1779 AD), a great epidemic struck Xiangtan, and many common people suffered from bloating disease. County Magistrate Bai Jing (a native of Guangdong), who understood medical principles and knew the properties of medicines, distributed medicinal betel nut to the patients to chew, and the epidemic unexpectedly disappeared. From then on, chewing betel nut gradually became a habit among Xiangtan people. There is also another account: in very early times, Xiangtan had many medicinal material shops, mainly run by the Jiangxi group from other places. Many medicinal material merchants doing business in medicinal materials discovered when purchasing medicinal materials that betel nut shells tasted quite good when chewed, and so over time it became a habit and has continued to develop to the present day. Through three hundred years of historical accumulation, betel nut has consciously or unconsciously integrated many Xiangtan elements. Today every betel nut more or less carries the incomparably warm and hospitable qualities of Xiangtan people, and it has become one of the city calling cards for Xiangtan's external image.
Xiang Lotus Seed
Among Chinese lotus seeds, the most famous are Xiang lotus seed produced in Xiangtan County, Hunan Province, Jian lotus seed produced in Jianning County, Fujian, and Xuan lotus seed produced in Xuanping, Wuyi County, Zhejiang, and they are called China's five great lotus seeds. Among them, Xiang lotus seed is the most distinctive and has historically served as a precious tribute to the imperial court, hence it is also called "tribute lotus" and praised as "China's number one lotus seed." Later people gradually expanded the scope of the three great lotus seeds and broadly referred to Hunan lotus seeds as "Xiang lotus seed."
When Xiang lotus seed began to be cultivated and when it rose to the top is impossible to verify. More than 5,000 years ago, Qu Yuan, a grandee of Chu during the Warring States period, was exiled among the Yuan and Xiang rivers in Hunan, and the poems he wrote contain a great deal of description about lotus, such as in "Zhao Hun": "The lotus begins to bloom, mixed with water caltrop and lotus." In "Xiang Jun": "Build a house in the water, roof it with lotus leaves." From this it can be seen that Xiang lotus seed was already eye-catching at that time, and the influence of lotus had already permeated Hunan folk customs. The attire of the "Master of Fate" described by Grandee Qu is: "Garments of lotus, belt of orchid, suddenly coming and suddenly going."
The term "Xiang lotus seed," in the books currently available, first appears in Jiang Yan's "Lotus Rhapsody" from the Southern Dynasties: "Raising pale water caltrop out of the waves, gathering Xiang lotus to reflect on the islet. Welcoming the fair one from Northern Yan, seeing off the palace lady to Southern Chu." In the rhapsody, not only is the term "Xiang lotus seed" used, but the southern foothills are also mentioned. This is precisely the designation for the Hunan region in ancient times. It can be seen that "Xiang lotus seed" was already renowned during the Northern and Southern Dynasties, and at that time no records of other lotus varieties named after places are seen, which shows that the name "Xiang lotus seed" was earlier than that of other lotus varieties.
The main varieties of Xiang lotus seed include Xiangtan Cunsan lotus, hybrid lotus, Huarong Yinbaihua, Hanshou Shuiyudan, Leiyang Dayepa, Taoyuan Jiuxijiang, Hengyang Wulian, and others. The best among Xiang lotus seeds is Xiangtan lotus seed. Xiangtan lotus seed not only has a long history of cultivation, but also has high yield and excellent quality, is famous at home and abroad, and enjoys renown in both ancient and modern times. The "Cunsan lotus" is especially famous. It is said that during the Warring States period, the lotus seeds and lotus root powder produced in Baishi Pu, Xiangtan, were already presented as tribute to the court. The Han, Tang, Song, Ming, and Qing dynasties all made it a tribute item. The Guangxu edition of the Xiangtan County Gazetteer records: "Lotus has red and white kinds; what the officials buy enters tribute." "Local tribute includes lotus seeds, produced in Yangtang west of the county. Soon many sought them, and local people who planted them treasured them for their own use. Those who offered them as gifts bought them from Qingquan in Hengyang and labeled them 'Xiang lotus seed.'" It was not until the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Qing (Daoguang) that "the sage virtue was respectful and frugal, and all local tributes from all directions were abolished, and the Xiang lotus tribute was also abolished." West Yangtang is present-day Baishi Pu, and the lotus produced there is the famous "Cunsan lotus." After shelling, three seeds joined together measure one cun in length, hence the name "Cunsan lotus." Because Xiangtan lotus seed is of extremely high quality, it has the reputation that "Xiang lotus seed is first under heaven, and Tan lotus seed is foremost in Huxiang." Xiangtan County is honored as the "Hometown of Chinese Xiang Lotus Seed," and Xiangtan City is praised as the "Lotus City."
By the Sui and Tang dynasties, lotus cultivation in Hunan was already very widespread and its reputation was prominent, as can be seen from the poems left at that time. For example, Song Zhiwen of the Tang dynasty wrote "Autumn Lotus Rhapsody with Preface": "If it had grown by the Xiaoxiang and Dongting, there would be Qin and Qi'ao." Cui Lu's "Viewing Lotus Flowers at Yunmeng Pavilion in Yueyang": "Like drunk, like languid, at the heart of one stretch of water, the slanting sun about to darken, colored clouds deep. ... At that time, for you, poems were inscribed everywhere; this place still follows the old and chants." From the poems it can be seen how much the poets chanted about "Xiang lotus seed."
The Ming and Qing periods were the peak of Xiang lotus seed development. It was not only planted in large quantities in Xiangtan County, but also widely cultivated in neighboring Hengyang, Hengshan, Hengnan, and farther places such as Qiyang and Leiyang. In particular, outside the small west gate of Hengyang there was "ten li of white lotus on West Lake," which became one of the eight scenic spots of Hengyang.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, attention began to be paid in the mid-1950s to developing lotus seed production. In the 1960s, an aquatic plant research office was established in the Hunan Provincial Institute of Aquatic Science, a "Xiang Lotus Research Institute" was established in Xiangtan County, and the provincial supply and marketing department also established a "Xiang Lotus Research Institute." Scientific research on Xiang lotus cultivation techniques gradually got underway. In the 1960s, the whole province carried out planned variety renewal, focusing on promoting the excellent white lotus variety "Cunsan lotus" from Xiangtan County to replace red lotus, and invited lotus farmer technicians from Xiangtan to Xiangyin and Hanshou to help with trial planting. Per-mu yield rose from about 10 jin to more than 100 jin. Afterward, Xiangtan's improved varieties rapidly spread throughout all lotus-producing areas of the province.
On April 6, 1995, at the naming conference of the "First China Hometown of Specialties" jointly held by the Development Research Center of the State Council, the Chinese Agricultural Society, and the China Quality Product Development Service Association, Xiangtan County was named "Hometown of Chinese Xiang Lotus Seed."