Tang Dynasty poet Du Mu wrote in "Passing the Huaqing Palace Quatrains (Part One)", "Chang'an looks back and embroiders in piles, and the top of the mountain opens thousands of times. A ride on the red concubine laughs, no one knows. Litchi is coming." Some readers have raised questions. Isn’t it normal for the royal palaces to eat lychee? Why did Yang Guifei be scolded for eating lychee for thousands of years?
According to historical records, as early as the Han Dynasty, there was a precedent for the northern movement of litchi. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty tasted lychees for the first time around the first year of Jianyuan (140 years ago). At that time, the king of Nanyue Zhao Tuo presented some tributes, including lychees. After eating lychees, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty liked it very much. He also ordered people to build a Fuli Palace in Shanglinyuan and wanted to transplant lychee trees. As a result, most of them died due to climate problems.
Litches are particularly prone to breakage, and Chang'an cannot grow litchi trees. "New Tang Book" describes that Concubine Yang eats fresh lychees. "The concubine is addicted to lychee, and she must want to grow it. It is to be transported by riding. After walking thousands of miles, the taste has not changed and she has reached the capital." "Picture Preface" writes, "If you leave the original branch, the color will change in one day, the aroma will change in the second day, the taste will change in three days, and the color and fragrance will disappear after four or five days."
Lingnan area is too far away According to the transportation conditions of the Tang Dynasty, the freshness cannot be guaranteed at all, so the litchi that Yang Guifei ate most likely came from Sichuan. Song dynasty history books insisted on this point. At that time, both Zhongzhou and Peizhou in Sichuan had litchi distribution. For example, "Yudi Jisheng" described litchi in Fuzhou, "The concubine garden is in the west of the state, fifteen miles away from the city. Meat fat is the favorite of Concubine Tang Yang.”
The author believes that there is no possibility that the litchi eaten by Concubine Yang will be transported from Lingnan. Even if it is really from the Lingnan movement to Chang'an, the fastest route should be this, from Shaoguan, Guangdong to Jiangxi, along the Ganjiang River north into the Yangtze River, and then through the Han River to Xiangyang, and then enter the pass through Wuguan Road. It takes at least 4 days for fast horse and water transportation, and the cold storage technology at that time is backward, which means that the litchi has been broken before it reaches Chang'an.
Litchi in Sichuan does not have this problem, because the transportation distance is far and near Lingnan. For example, after picking fresh lychees in Peizhou (now Fuling), they will go north to Tongzhou (Dazhou, Sichuan) and enter through Zhenba County, Shaanxi Province. Xixiang County, Shaanxi Province, then enter the Ziwu Valley Road to Chang'an. Obviously, Tang Xuanzong wanted Concubine Yang to eat the freshest lychees, which meant that he had to use post roads for transportation.
The post road is mainly used to transfer military grain and grass materials and the passage of military orders. As a result, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang transported lychees to Concubine Yang. History experts said, “From the moment Emperor Xuanzong of Tang Dynasty decided to transport lychees through the post, Concubine Yang was destined to be controversial.” In fact, the reason why Concubine Yang’s eating lychees was controversial throughout the ages, the author believes that the biggest reason is the rapid outbreak of the Anshi Rebellion. Up.
If the Anshi Rebellion did not break out, Tang Xuanzong ordered someone to transport lychees to Concubine Yang, this kind of thing would be a good story. When the emperor did such a thing to his beloved woman, it was easy to be praised by literati and poets, which was quite a romantic thing. More importantly, the transportation of lychees across thousands of miles proved the atmosphere of the prosperous Tang Dynasty.
Reference materials: "New Tang Book", "Queju of the Huaqing Palace (Part One)"
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