The Culture Of The Diet Of The Central Plains Area In Northern Song Dynasty

The Central Plains Area ( JifeE) on the middle and lower reaches of the Huanghe River is one of the cradles and birthplaces of Chinese cultivation culture and diet culture, hi the Northern Song Dynasty this area had become the most advanced region of diet culture whose culture of food and drink had developed to a new stage at that time and took an important place in the whole Chinese diet culture history. The Northern Song Dynasty chose Kai Feng (Jf眛) city as its capital that lied in Central Plains Area, so this area remained as the center of national politics and culture, which was the strongest drive of the prosperity of the diet culture of that time in this area. But at the same time it had lost its central position in economy, which at the other hand made the constructure, customs and fashion of drinking and eating in this area change a lot and take on a new look, which reflected obvious epoch and regional characteristics.The majority of the inhabitants of the central plains Area still took wheat as their staple food hi Northern Song Dynasty, but the inhabitants of bigger towns changed such custom being influenced by some factors, such as the provisionment, the intercommunity of the culture of bit and sup, etc., they began to take rice as their staple food. The inhabitants of the Central Plains Area took vegetable as their main dishes, meat as their auxiliary dishes in Northern Song Dynasty. Vegetable dishes were attached increasingly with importance. They developed greatly and changed into one of the self-governed systems of dishes. A lot of food materials such as goals fish and shrimps etc. were carried into the Central Plains Area from other areas of the country at that time, which changed the structure of the meat dishes of the inhabitants of the Central Plains Area. Pork and mutton were severed as their main meat dishes, while fish, shrimp quails and rabbits as their auxiliary meat dishes.The beverage of the inhabitants of the Central Plains Area included mostly alcohol, tea, soup, cold liquid, milk etc. In Northern Song Dynasty Alcohol and teawere the kinds of the beverages that the amount of consumption was greatest, hi order to gain the biggest profit the government of the Northern Song Dynasty carried out the system of the monopolization of alcohol and tea. Compared to previous dynasties, the customs and the fashions changed greatly either.The market of foods and beverages was very prosperous in Northern Song Dynasty. Some precedent changes came into being.The bit and sup of different classes of the Central Plains Area differed greatly in Northern Song Dynasty. At the basis of the festival foods and beverage of the pervious dynasties, the customs of the eating and drinking gained some new forms. The bond of festival foods and festival customs was stronger, and the mentality of accepting the lucky and avoiding the unlucky displayed outstandingly. Foods and beverages took important roles in the activities of the propriety, such as fertile, marriage and funeral etc. They had some abstract meanings in such activities, and their functions were implacable.