Shenyang, 8 August (ZXS) -- Topic: Exploring the "standard" of the Qing Palace to relieve the summer in the Shenyang Forbidden City
China News Agency reporter Han Hong
What did ancient ice cream look like? The Shenyang Palace Museum launched the "Ancient Pastry Mountain" series of cultural and creative ice cream this summer, trying to restore the ancient production method in the production technique, which is very popular with tourists.
In the collection of Tang Dynasty notebook novels "Youyang Miscellaneous Tricks", it is recorded that the practice of "crisp mountain" is to heat cheese until it almost melts, then drizzle it into the shape of a small mountain in a vessel, and then freeze it in ice cubes, and insert flowers and other decorations after molding. This is where the name "Ancient Mo Crisp Mountain" is derived. In order to restore the ancient ice cream making method to the greatest extent, when grinding smoothies, "Ancient Grinding Crisp Mountain" refers to the stone grinding of ancient grinding tools, and grinds a soft and delicate taste at low temperature.
Recently, the Shenyang Palace Museum launched the "Ancient Grinding Crisp Mountain" series of cultural and creative ice cream, trying to restore the ancient production method in the production technique, which is very popular with tourists. (Photo courtesy of Shenyang Palace Museum)
In fact, in terms of diet and living, the ancient Chinese had many ways to cool off the heat. According to Zhang Guobin, deputy director of the research office of the Shenyang Palace Museum, the nearly 400-year-old Shenyang Palace Museum has more than <>,<> cultural relics, including many Qing Palace summer use items, which can give a glimpse of the ancients' ingenious "cool" way to relieve the heat.
"In ancient times, it was important to 'eat from time to time', that is, everything you eat is in season, and when you eat something, you should eat summer food in summer." According to Zhang Guobin, lychee should be the most luxurious fruit in the summer Qing Palace, and every year Fujian pays tribute to the lychee tree, which is generally picked and eaten fresh.
Ice bowls, also known as "sweet bowls", are also "must-haves" in the summer Qing Palace, with different combinations such as melon lotus root, lily lotus seeds, and almond tofu. The Qianlong Emperor once gave the poem "Ice Bowl": "Floating melon sinking plum pile ice plate, crystal light mixed with glazed pills... The ancients turned stones into gold, and ice will be made into water. "Take the melon root ice bowl as an example, that is, the freshly picked fruit root buds are cut into thin slices, paired with the seeded melon, and eaten cold.
How to chill? Zhang Guobin said that in ancient times, ice was a luxury, and people often picked ice in winter and stored it in summer. The ice cubes in the Qing Dynasty court were mainly used to chill drinks, cool off the heat, and kept food fresh in the "refrigerator".
The Qingqianlong cloisonné enamel treasure phase flower large refrigerator in the courtyard of the Shenyang Imperial Palace is made of tin board inside, with a compartment of wooden board, and natural ice can be put in to keep food fresh. (Photo courtesy of Shenyang Palace Museum)
The Qingqianlong cloisonné enamel treasure phase flower refrigerator in the courtyard of Shenyang Imperial Palace is a tin plate inside, with a partition wooden board, and natural ice can be put in to keep food fresh, and its cover has two hollow Tuanshou character holes to emit cold air.
"Refrigerator" also has a wonderful use in indoor furnishings, such as the Qingqing silk enamel Panlong open-cut treasure phase flower animal ear square refrigerator in the Shenyang Imperial Palace is a mini Xiaoice box, the box has ice drainage and emitting cold air holes, which can transmit the cold air emitted by the ice to reduce the indoor temperature, which can be described as "environmental protection air conditioning".
The Qingqing silk enamel panlong open-cut Baoxiang flower animal ear square refrigerator in the courtyard of Shenyang Imperial Palace is a mini Xiaoice box, the box body has holes for ice discharging water and emitting cold air. (Photo courtesy of Shenyang Palace Museum)
Of course, if you want to cool off with you, you have to rely on a fan. The fans of the Qing Palace are divided into group fans and folding fans. Tuan fan can be divided into bamboo fan, feather fan, ivory fan, banana fan, etc. according to different textures, while folding fans are mainly paper, and there is also a small amount of silk and yarn texture. In addition, there are "artificial fans", which are equipped with fan blades on one shaft, ropes are tied to the shaft, and the waiter cranks the rope on the axis, and the fan blades are driven to rotate to produce cool breeze.
The function of the Qing Palace fan is not limited to cooling off the heat, but also a decoration, a work of art, and a culture. According to Zhang Guobin, taking the large red yucca butterfly fan with a large red ebony handle in the courtyard of the Shenyang Imperial Palace as an example, this fan is a daily necessities of the concubines of the Qing Palace. The top of the fan is slightly curved back for easy fanning; The fan surface is a large red ground, and orchid flowers are made by silk reeling process, the orchid root has Ganoderma lucidum, and the upper part is colored butterfly; The fan bone and frame are beaded with colorful embroidered brocade edges; The fan handle is made of wood, with floral patterns and string patterns engraved on the surface, and the two ends of the handle are inlaid with red-dyed bone ornaments, and the bottom of the handle is tied with yellow silk tassels.
The large red silk silk butterfly fan with a red handle in the courtyard of the Shenyang Imperial Palace is a daily necessities of the concubines of the Qing Palace. (Photo courtesy of Shenyang Palace Museum)
In order to escape the summer, the ancients also put a lot of thought into "living". The yellow-tiled and green-trimmed roof of the Shenyang Forbidden City is not only beautiful, but also provides shade from sunlight around the summer solstice. The design of the supporting windows in the palace, that is, the upper part of the doors and windows can be supported, and the lower part can be removed, which can increase ventilation. According to Zhang Guobin, the supporting windows of the Shenyang Imperial Palace are mainly used in buildings such as the Jiezhi Palace added during the Qianlong period, and are the window type with the largest number of uses in the Shenyang Imperial Palace.
"As a royal palace built and used in the early Qing Dynasty, it is also an important place for Kangxi, Qianlong and other emperors to stay and store court treasures after the Qing capital moved to Beijing, and the indoor cooling facilities and summer daily necessities of the Shenyang Imperial Palace reflect the innovative spirit and wisdom of the ancients, and also provide reference for today's people to cool off and cool down." Zhang Guobin said. (End)