Cold Night Guest Arrives: Notes on Chinese Food Culture II

Author: Dai Yaodong
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-12-01
Features: Du Fu's poem "To Wei Ba, the Scholar-Official" goes: "Children prepare wine and jugs. On a rainy night, spring onions are cut from the garden, and newly cooked millet is mixed with yellow millet. The host says meeting is hard, and raises ten cups in one go. Ten cups do not make him drunk, for he feels your kindness deeply. Tomorrow, separated by mountains, the world's affairs are vast and mysterious." On a rainy spring night, Du Fu, who had wandered through turmoil, came to the mountain village where Wei Ba lived. The host asked his children to prepare wine and food. The village had nothing to offer but spring onions freshly picked from the garden and a bowl of newly cooked yellow millet. Thus, the two long-separated old friends, looking at each other with their shoulders, drank heartily and chatted about the changes since their parting. The candlelight flickered on the table, while the rain outside drizzled softly. It was truly indistinguishable whether it was today or another day—this was a realm of dining.
The Song Dynasty poet Du Lei wrote in "Cold Night," "In a cold night, guests arrive, tea serves as wine. The bamboo stove boils water, and the fire first glows red." In a cold night, the north wind blows, and it's hard to sleep under the blankets. Suddenly, an old friend visits, and one gets up, greeting them with their shoes off. Yet there is no extra dish in the kitchen, nor any aged wine in the cabinet. So, snow ised, water is melted, and a fire is lit to boil tea. Outside the cottage, snow falls silently on the branches, while sparks from pine charcoal in the bamboo stove sputter and splash. In the pot, tea boils, with tiny bubbles appearing. At this moment, the wind is calm, the moon bright, and a few sparse plum blossoms are reflected in the window—another realm.
The so-called realm of dining is the culinary interest and taste formed by the environment, atmosphere, and mindset. It has nothing to do with the fineness or coarseness of the food, nor with the joyous gathering of guests in a dazzling setting with cups and plates clinking. This book collects about 30 articles, all written in the author's consistent style—combining historical research with references and the humanistic sentiments of visiting local cuisines, narrated in a gentle, literary manner. There are essays on the art of dining, stories about famous dishes and historical anecdotes, observations of changes in daily eating habits, blending historical allusions, real-life experiences, and nostalgia. "Of all those who spread slander in Zhejiang, none surpass Zhang Dai."