7 Chapter VII Life 0214.docx

7 Chapter VII Life 0214.docx

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7ChapterVIILife0214

ChapterVIILife

ThischaptergivesabriefintroductiontothelocallifeofWuxi,anditconsistsofsixparts:

cuisine,teacultureandfestivals.

JiangsuCuisineisonetheEightCulinaryTraditionsofChina.WuxiCuisineisoneofthebestexamplesofthefamousCuisine.ItisdeprivedfromthenativecookingstylesoftheJiangsuregioninChina.Ingeneral,Wuxicuisine'stextureischaracterizedassoft,butnottothepointofmushyorfallingapart.Forexample,themeattastessosoftbutwouldnotseparatefromthebonewhenbeingpickedup.Othercharactersincludethestrictselectionofingredientsaccordingtotheseasons,emphasisonthematchingcolorandshapeofeachdishandemphasisonusingsouptoimprovetheflavor.AlthoughsometimessimplycalledtheYangCuisine,namedafteritsmajorstyle,theHuaiyangcuisine.

ThefamedteapotsmadetheirfirstappearanceinEuropebywayofDutchtraderswhorecognizedthesturdymaterialsandpracticalshapes.UnlikeDelftearthenwareoftheerainEurope,Yixingpotscanwithstandrapidlychangingtemperaturesandcanholdboilingwaterwithoutcracking.

Yixingteapot,asitisoftencalled,isactuallyzishaclay.Zishameans"purplesand"andisonlyfoundinChina.Yixingisacounty-levelcityunderWuxi’sjurisdiction.Thecityitselfdatesbackthousandsofyearsandhaslongbeenassociatedwithteapotculture.

7.1Cuisine

Therearemanystoriesaboutthelocalcuisine.Apopularjokeisthat"theycansellyoumeatthatisreallybonesandtheysellyoudumplingsthatarejustairinside",i.e.WuxiporkribsandWuxifriedtofudumplings,whicharehollow.Someconsiderthistraituntrustworthy.

OneofthemostfamousfolkloresisabouttheWuxitraditionalporkribs.ItwassaidthattheribswerecreatedbyapeasantLuXiaosheng.Hiswifewasillbuthewaspoor.Onedayshewantedtoeatpork.Luwenttobuysomeribsandcookedin"PoGaoJian"（damagedhaulmcushion）.Amazingly,thetasteoftheribswassogoodthathiswifeimmediatelyrecoveredfromherillness.Folkssaythatthecushionwasusedbyabeggarwhohappenedtobeagod.Luthenbegantoselltheporkribs,andbecamerichandfamousforthebrand"OldLu’sGaoJian”.

　　Wuxicuisineisfamedforthenumeroustypesofcongee.Itsdishesemphasizeaneventasteandmatchingcolor,withexcellentdishesincorporatingriverfish/shrimpsandduckandchicken.Itemphasizesontheselectionofmaterial,strongertastethantheNanjingcuisine,andwithatendencytobesweeterthantheothervarietiesofthecuisine

●FiveMainCharacteristicsofWuxiCuisine:

Distinguishedforexquisiteingredients,freshness,andaliveness;

Highcuttingtechniques;

Goodcommandoffreshanddegreeofheatingandcooking;

Goodatkeepingtheoriginaltaste,oneparticulartasteforonedish;

Paythegreatattentiontosoup,whichisstrongbutnotgreasy,anddelicious.

●WuxiSpareribswithSugarandVinegar

ItispopularinWuxi,whichisknownasitsoriginplace,moreoveritiswelcomedaroundtheeasternChinaeventhewholecountry.Thenameimpliesthatshortpigribsarethemainingredients.First,theribsshouldbecleanedandslicedintosmallpieces,thenthecookwilladdChinesecinnamon,aniseeds,garlic,gingerandsugarbeforecooking.Ittastesalittlesweet,sourandcrispy,andthebonescanbeeasilyseparatedfromthemeat.

WuxispareribsarethemostpopularlocaldishandarethespecialtytolookoutforpeoplecometoWuxi.Theyfeaturethecommoneasterntechniqueof"redcooking"inastockofricewineandsoysauceandspicedwithginger,anise,clovesandblackpeppercornsandhaveuniquered-sweetsauceonthetopinordertogiverichtaste.

●WuxiBaozi

XiaolongbaoismoreoftenknowninShanghaianditssurroundingareasas“xiaolongmanto”."Mantou"describesbothfilledandunfilled“baozi”insouthChina,butonlydescribesunfilled“baozi”innorthChina.Toavoidconfusion,thename“xiaolongbao”isusuallyusedinotherareas.Itistraditionallysteamedinbamboosteamers,hencethenameisawarded.

XiaolongbaoinWuxitendstobesweeterandhasathinnerdoughskin,andisjuicierthantheShanghaivariety.

●WhiteFish

WhitefishinTaihuLake

Itisknownasoneofthe“ThreeWhites”,thewhitefishofabout1kgisfreshest,tenderestandthemostdelicious.Aftercooking,itisthebestmealatdiningtablesinhotels,restaurantsandhouses.

●DafuWaxberry

●

DafuwaxberryisproducedinDafuandMajiHillsofsuburbanareasinWuxi,with1000-yearcultivationhistory.WaxberryisnativetothesouthYangtzeRiverandwasnamed“ProperFruitoftheSouthYangtzeRiver”inancienttimes.Withthickfleshandsmallcore,Dafuwaxberrytastessweetandsour.Itsfruitshavetheeffectsofquenchingthirstandpromotingsalivation.Wuxipeoplealsolikeeating“waxberrysoakedinliquor”.Oncesoakedinliquorandaddedwithafewbrownsugar,waxberrywinemayhelpremovewetandcheckdiarrheaaswellasrelieveheatandstandthecold.

●WuxiHoneyPeach

WuxihoneypeachisoneofWuxi’sfamousindigenousproducts,withacultivationhistoryofnearly70years,renownedathomeandabroadforsuchcharacteristicsasbeautifulshape,delightfulcolor,goodtaste,tenderflesh,intenseflavor,beingeasilypeeled,juicy,fragrantandmeltinthemouth.

7.2TeaPotCulture

YixingTeapot

Authenticpurpleclaypossessesuniquepropertiesandarebestrecognizedintheverylayersoftheearthinwhichtheyarecreated.Thepricerangeoftheteapotsarefromafewdollarstothousandsofdollars.

●ChineseTeaHistory

Chinaisamulti-nationalcountry;with56ethnicgroups,eachnationalityhasitsownwayoflife.Mostofethnicgroupsliketodrinktea,buttheirwaysaredifferent.Therearetwomainwaystodrinktea.Onewayistoaddnothingtothetea.Justbrewbyboiledwatertoavoiddestroyingtheflavoroftea.ItismorepopularintheHanpeople’sregions.ThiswayfollowstheteadrinkingtraditionsoftheMingandQingDynasty.Anotherwayisaddtomanythingstotea.Peoplecanaddsalt、sugar、milk,orangepeer,menthahaplocalyx,longan,reddatesandsoon.AndthesecondwayismorepopularinMinoritynationalityregions.Forexample,butteredteaisakindofteathattheZangpeopleaddsalt,buttermilktothetea.TheHuipeopleliketoaddlongyancrystalsugartotheteatoservetheirguest.

InonepopularChineselegend,Shennong,thelegendaryEmperorofChinaandinventorofagricultureandChinesemedicinewasdrinkingabowlofjustboiledwaterwhenafewleaveswereblownfromanearbytreeintohiswater,changingthecolor.Shennongtookasipofthebrewandwaspleasantlysurprisedbyitsflavorandrestorativeproperties.AvariantofthelegendtellsthatShennongtestedthemedicalpropertiesofvariousherbsonhim,someofthempoisonous,andfoundteatoworkasanantidote.ShennongisalsomentionedinLuYu'sfamousworkonthesubjectChaJing.AsimilarChineselegendgoesthatthegodofagriculturewouldchewtheleaves,stems,androotsofvariousplantstodiscovermedicinalherbs.Ifheconsumedapoisonousplant,hewouldchewtealeavestocounteractthepoison.

ArathergruesomelegenddatesbacktotheTangDynasty.Inthelegend,Bodhidharma,thefounderofChanBuddhism,accidentallyfellasleepaftermeditatinginfrontofawallfornineyears.Hewokeupinsuchdisgustathisweaknessthathecutoffhisowneyelids.Theyfelltothegroundandtookroot,growingintoteabushes.

Whetherornottheselegendshaveanybasisinfact,teahasplayedasignificantroleintheChinesecultureforcenturiesasastaplebeverage,acurative,andastatussymbol.Itisnotsurprising,therefore,thattheoriesofitsoriginareoftenreligiousorroyalinnature.

TheChinesehaveconsumedteaforthousandsofyears.PeopleoftheHanDynastyusedteaasmedicine.Chinaisconsideredtohavetheearliestrecordsofteaconsumption,withrecordsdatingbacktothe10thcenturyBC.

Laozi,theancientChinesephilosopher,describedteaas"thefrothoftheliquidjade"andnameditanindispensableingredienttotheelixiroflife.LegendhasitthatmasterLaowassaddenedbythesocietyofmoraldecayand,sensingthattheendoftheDynastywasnear,hejourneyedwestwardtotheunsettledterritories,nevertobeseenagain.Whilepassingalongthenation'sborder,heencounteredandwasofferedteabyacustomsinspectornamedYinHsi.YinHsiencouragedhimtocompilehisteachingsintoasinglebooksothatfuturegenerationsmightbenefitfromhiswisdom.ThisthenbecameknownasTheTaoTehKing,acollectionofLaozi'ssayings.In59BC,WangBaowrotethefirstknownbookwithinstructionsonbuyingandpreparingtea.

In220AD,famedphysicianandsurgeonHuaTuodescribedtheteacouldimprovementalfunctionsinhismedicalbook.

DuringtheSuiDynastyteawasintroducedtoJapanbyBuddhistmonks.TheClassicofTeabyLuYuoftheTangDynastywasanearlyworksonthesubject.AccordingtoTheClassicofTea,teadrinkingwaswidespread.Thebookdescribedhowteaplantsweregrown,theleavesprocessed,andteapreparedasabeverage.Italsodescribedhowteawasevaluated.Thebookalsodiscussedwherethebesttealeaveswereproduced.Teasproducedinthisperiodweremainlyteabrickswhichwereoftenusedascurrency,especiallyfurtherfromthecenteroftheempirewherecoinslosttheirvalue.

DuringtheSongDynasty,productionandpreparationofallteachanged.TheteaoftheSongDynastyincludedmanyloose-leafstyles,butanewpowderedformofteaemerged.Steamingtealeaveswastheprimaryprocessusedforcenturiesinthepreparationoftea.Afterthetran