Song and Yuan Dynasties

This book selects common foods， vegetables， fruits， cooking utensils， tea， wine， cuisines， etc. It introduces the changes in food from ancient times to the present， explains where these foods come from， what they have gone through， and how they have become indispensable in people’s daily lives.

Before the Song Dynasty， people ate twice a day. The Song people began to eat three times a day. The southern residents mainly ate rice， and the northern residents mainly ate wheat.

In the north， wheat was the primary crop. Wheat knives and wheat baskets made it much easier to harvest wheat.

In the south， rice was the staple crop. The seeding stool was the equipment that helped farmers plant rice.

More and more people began to eat crabs. Fried crabs， boiled crabs， and pickled crabs were all wildly welcomed.

The tradition of eating yuanxiao during the Lantern Festival began in the Song Dynasty. Yuanxiao were called “floating balls.” In the Song Dynasty， people called boiled bread miantiao， “wheaten strips.”

The great millet， mung bean， sponge gourd， carrot， and broad beans came to China in the Song Dynasty. The Song people began to grow watermelon in great quantities.

The Yuan people loved lamb. Once， Kublai， the founder of the Yuan Dynasty， was about to fight a war， and he didn’t have much time to eat. His cook cut lamb into thin slices， which cooked instantly in boiled water. Later， this became the well-known lamb hot pot.

Li Chaodong

Li Chaodong graduated from the Department of History of East China Normal University. He has been deeply involved in education and publishing and has successively won the honorary titles of “National Press and Publication Leading Talent” and “China Publishing Person of the Year.” He has served as the vice chairman of the Fifth Council of the China Book Publishing Industry Association， vice chairman of the Anhui Publishing Association， and vice chairman of the Jiangsu Publishing Association.