What do you think the object in the picture above is for?
an exquisite box? A birdcage with a closed window?
Don’t worry, let’s dismantle them one by one:
and then pull it open to the left and right sides. What is this?
Then we took out the small box inside. They are such a beautiful box that can be assembled and disassembled.
reveals the answer! This is a food box.
You should have seen this scene in movies, TV dramas or history books:
In ancient times, gentry and celebrities would go out to visit friends, or participate in the activities of poetry and literary societies. They would drink and chat with their close friends, and would often prepare some dishes in advance. Eat fruit as a side dish to add to the fun.
Whenever a scholar or doctor went out for an outing and felt hungry, he would shout: "Young man, bring me something to eat!" The young man would take out warm food and wine from the food box and give it to his master.
The food box that appeared in Zhou Wenju's "Wenyuan Picture"
The food box recorded in the text:
There is a record in the fourteenth chapter of "Jin Ping Mei Ci Hua": "Ximen Qing was overjoyed when he heard this, and ordered Wang'er and Dai'an'er to come. Four boys, Laixing and Ping'an, and two food boxes, brought three thousand taels of gold and silver to the house first. "
Chapter 1 of "The Scholars": "While I was thinking, I saw a man in the distance. I picked up a load of food boxes.”
Obviously, food boxes have been around for a long time.
This should be the large food box mentioned above that can be carried on the shoulders.
The food box is an ancient bamboo-wood structure utensil used to hold food, with several layers inside. A large box that can be picked up and used to hold food, tableware or other gifts. It is commonly used in restaurants, restaurants and wealthy families.
NO!
NO!
This is good~
As a special object, the food box is the common property of the family. It is particularly particular. The status, prestige and wealth of a family can be reflected through the food box. To this day, some places still retain the tradition of bringing food boxes during weddings and funerals.
Red rosewood food box
In ancient times, food boxes were made of various materials, including wooden boxes, lacquer boxes, rattan boxes, porcelain boxes, and enamel boxes. Many of them had handles. They were exquisitely crafted, solemn and elegant, and watertight. Not only can it hold food, but it can also hold scrolls, pens and ink, combs, and mirrors.
During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, in addition to food, the food boxes of literati and refined scholars when traveling would also contain pens, inks, paper, inkstones, and manuscripts. Sometimes, combs and bronze mirrors are even installed. Although men in ancient times rarely wore makeup, they always needed to tidy up their hair and clothes if they had long hair. At this time, the food box was roughly equivalent to a man's "dressing box" and was a must-have in the study rooms of literati in the Ming and Qing Dynasties.
There are many specifications of ancient food boxes, which can be roughly divided into three categories: holding boxes, saving boxes, and carrying boxes.
Holding box
Holding box is a practical utensil popular in the heyday of the Qing Dynasty. It has many styles and is very popular in the court and among the people. It has a certain ceremonial quality. On the emperor's birthday, gifts from courtiers must be presented in gift boxes, both to be formal and to protect privacy. The emperor commended the servants with snacks, which were also given in boxes.
Officials and officials also use serving boxes when serving food. It can prevent food from being too hot and causing inconvenience in carrying it, and it can also keep food warm and prevent dust from falling. As a hand-held vessel, the material of the holding box should be light but also have the function of heat preservation. It is mostly made of porcelain, lacquer, wood, and occasionally enamel and metal. The shapes are mainly for easy holding, including oblate, square, bell-shaped, hexagonal, octagonal, peach-shaped, lotus leaf-shaped, peony-shaped, etc.
Zan box
Zan box is a compartmentalized box for storing preserved fruits and fruit bait. The appearance is not much different from that of a holding box, but the inside is divided into many small grids, and there is a small box in each grid, which means "gathering" in the word "saving". Usually there is one grid in the middle, and it is divided into multiple grids around it. As a hand-held container, the material of the box is lighter and does not require heat insulation, so it is mostly a paper or wooden lacquer box.
Carrying box
Carrying box is the most common food box in costume dramas. It uses symmetrical handles to support the box and can be carried away with one hand. The suitcase appeared earlier and was used by shops and restaurants to transport food in the early days.However, the two lifting beams and several layers of grids are made of either painted white wood or woven bamboo, which is very rough.
It was not until the Ming and Qing Dynasties that literati became interested in it and participated in its design, and the suitcase became more sophisticated. In particular, the hardwood rectangular suitcase is strong and tough. It is not only resistant to collisions, but also has a certain weight, so it will not swing around no matter whether it is picked or carried. Otherwise, wouldn't it be bad if the soup and water inside were spilled?
Small suitcases only need to be carried in one hand. Most of the food boxes in TV dramas are small suitcases. In the later period, small suitcases were mostly made of precious woods such as red sandalwood and huanghuali, and were decorated with carved lacquer or treasure inlays. At this time, the food box was no longer used to hold food, but was used to store jade seals and small documents and toys.
Before the Ming and Qing Dynasties, it was not popular to carry food boxes when going out. Especially before the Song Dynasty, bags were often used to bring meals when going out. The term "wine bag and rice bag" originated from this.
The "mountain tour device" used by the humanistic poets in the Song Dynasty for outings can probably be regarded as the origin of the food box. Mountaineering equipment, as the name suggests, is a cabinet-type container used to store various elegant furniture during outings. It was first seen in the Northern Song Dynasty poet Wen Yanbo. The title of the poem is "Because I was away from home, I was given a pair of mountaineering utensils. It is light and elegant, with a gorgeous appearance but a solid core. It is easy to carry around. It is actually a treasure in the forest. , a poem about failure. "
This mountaineering device is made of bamboo. It is strong and lightweight and can easily carry dry food, drinks, a change of clothes, and even a complete set of good tea sets. The so-called "My grandpa left me the tools for traveling to Song Dynasty, and the wash cups and bowls are full of color."
It sounds complicated, but it is actually the bamboo backpack Ning Caichen carries in "A Chinese Ghost Story".
In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, most of the food boxes carried out were suitcases, with sizes ranging from large to small and materials ranging from expensive to ordinary.
Gao Lian's "Eight Notes of Zunsheng" contains: "It is made by Yu. Mr. Gao is one foot eight inches long, one foot two inches long, and one foot deep. The style is like a small kitchen (cabinet), which is the outer body. Next Leave it empty, with a square of four inches and two sections, and cover it with a board gate to make a small warehouse, containing six wine glasses, one wine pot, six ribs (chops), and two narrow cups on the top, like a square box with a bottom. , each grid is one inch and nine cents high, with four grids each for six plates, and two grids for wine cups, and two grids for four large plates, and one for salmon and rice dishes (chopsticks). , it can be locked when loading and unloading, it is easy to carry, and it is very light and enough to serve the needs of six guests. "Gao Lian was an elegant man in the Ming Dynasty who paid attention to the interest in life and designed the food box not only for the sake of comfort, but also for fun.
By the middle and late Qing Dynasty, the suitcases had become increasingly sophisticated. The most exquisite workmanship is probably the Qing Dynasty ivory carved food box collected by the National Palace Museum in Taipei. The suitcase is divided into four levels of grids, which can accommodate different foods. The carving is very fine, with the main part made of hollowed out ivory pieces embedded in the frame, like a silk carpet.
The ivory pieces are also carved with figures, birds, animals, garden scenes and boats, like the oriental paradise imagined by Europeans in the old days. The lid buttons, box frame and handles are all dyed with light blue or red as embellishments. Obviously, this is not a functional device, it is a work of art from the beginning.
Qing Dynasty carved ivory food box
The ancients regarded "eating" as a major event in life. The word "harmony" in "harmony" has a pictographic meaning of eating. The ancients were naturally unambiguous in making food boxes. Whether it is the carved and gilded food boxes of noble officials or the bamboo food boxes used by villagers and peasant women, they are all made from natural materials, simple and unpretentious, and the leather is durable. A food box can be passed down for generations, revealing the The intimate relationship between man and nature coexisting in harmony.
The daily life of ancient people has injected soul into these daily practical utensils. There are thousands of exquisite things in China, but this food box can be said to be far away from people’s hearts and is always in my heart. This exquisite thought in treating food is highlighted by square cakes and bowls of soup. Moreover, these exquisite, delicate and antique food utensils give people a simple and elegant feeling. The seemingly natural and simple design is actually unique and ingenious. Luck, restrained and generous.
Appreciation of ancient exquisite gourmet food boxes:
Ming Chongzhen bamboo strips painted with lacquer and gold, three-collision eight-sided food box
Clear yellow glaze pastel food box
Clear mahogany multicolored dotted snails, flowers, birds and auspicious animal food boxes
Clear pastel pastel food box with a hundred children picture
Varnish food box
Late Qing Dynasty blue and white ice plum mountain water pattern food box
Qing Dynasty bamboo carving, lacquer and gold double-layer food box
Mid-Qing dynasty filigree enamel food box (set of five)
Late Qing Dynasty wooden body and large lacquer and gold character pattern food box
Clear wood food box inlaid with mother-of-pearl
Bamboo carved lacquered gold food box
Qing palace food box (jasper)
Qianlong lacquer three-layer food box inlaid with mother-of-pearl
Gold-painted lacquer food box
Pastel color food box of the Republic of China, clean and honest food box
Cloisonné food box
Lacquered gold-painted landscape food boxes with figures
With the development and changes of the times, these food boxes have been completely replaced by plastic bags and foam lunch boxes that are convenient but not environmentally friendly, and the care in life has also been lost to time. engulf. By appreciating this group of ancient food boxes, our purpose is not to show the luxurious life of wealthy people in ancient times, but to provide a reference for the quality of life that we are paying more and more attention to now.
Content source: Art restoration
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