What kind of wine and drinks do Han people drink during the Spring Festival?
There are three main types.
The first kind is Chili wine.
Li Xian explained in the annotation of the Book of the Later Han Dynasty: "Pepper wine is also put in pepper wine." In other words, it is a kind of wine soaked in vanilla. This kind of wine is mild and fragrant, suitable for everyone to drink. More importantly, because this herb bears a lot of seeds, it is also implied as "many children and many blessings", so it is very auspicious to drink it in the New Year.
"Four-person Moon Order" records: "The first day of the first month. The family is humble, regardless of size, sitting in front of the ancestors; The son-in-law and the great-grandson presented their parents with pepper and wine respectively, saying that they should celebrate their long life and happiness. Pay homage to Hejun, teachers, old generals, clans, fathers and brothers, elders, friends, relatives, old people and fellow villagers. "
What do you mean? In other words, on New Year's Day, the whole family will gather in front of the ancestral tablet and sit down in turn. Sons, daughters-in-law, grandsons and granddaughters will toast the elderly and drink "Chili wine". You can't go to relatives and friends' homes to pay New Year's greetings until you finish drinking.
The second is cypress wine.
The ancient book "Han Guan Yi" records that "drinking baijiu will lead to a longer life". As the name implies, cypress leaf wine is brewed from cypress leaves. People in the Han Dynasty thought that cypress was evergreen all the year round, which meant that it had a beautiful meaning of longevity, so it was suitable for celebrating the birthday of the elderly during the Spring Festival.
The custom of drinking cypress wine in Han dynasty has been circulating for a long time. Yu Xin's "Zheng Dan Monti Wine" in the Southern Dynasties also wrote: "In the new year, we will give up evil wine and live a long life. The cypress leaves come with the inscription, and the pepper flowers come one by one. "
The third is Tu Su wine.
The Chronicle of Jingchu records many customs of the Han Dynasty, in which it is written that during the Chinese New Year in the Han Dynasty, on the first day of the first month, "all ages know their clothes and pay tribute to them. Pepper, white wine and peach soup. Tu Su wine, chewing gum teeth. Take five coriander, apply powder and take ghost pills. One chicken per person. Every time I drink, I start from an early age. "
This historical data is very important Besides recording the third kind of wine that people in the Han Dynasty drank during the New Year, it was Tu Su wine, which was said to have been invented by the famous doctor Hua Tuo. Soaking rhubarb, Saposhnikovia divaricata, Zanthoxylum bungeanum, Radix Aconiti Lateralis Preparata, Rhizoma Atractylodis Macrocephalae, Ramulus Cinnamomi, etc. in wine can also strengthen the body and remove toxins. However, the custom of drinking this wine is very strange. "People who drink at a young age" should start from the youngest.
It also records a fruit juice drink that Han people must drink during the New Year, that is, "peach soup".
This is peach juice made by boiling peaches in hot water, because the ancients thought that peach wood could ward off evil spirits, so they also took this idea. The biography of Wang Mang in Han Dynasty records that Wang Mang dreamed that "the God of the Han Temple sent warriors into the high temple, drew his sword and hit them all around, and the axe destroyed the households, and the peach soup whipped the walls of the house."
In other words, Wang Mang dreamed of Liu Bang, the Emperor Gaozu, and was very scared, so he sent warriors to sprinkle this juice in the temple of Emperor Gaozu.
There is also a record of "one person and one chicken" in the story of Jingchu era, that is to say, when drinking in the New Year, everyone should eat an egg.
This is probably the moral of reunion.