Why do Xiangtan people like to sip betel nuts?

classification: culture/art > > Folklore tradition

Description of the problem:

Betel nut is not a specialty of Xiangtan, and there is no such habit in the surrounding areas. Why do people in Xiangtan (Zhuzhou and Changsha) like to sip it?

Analysis:

A brief history of the development of betel nut in Xiangtan

The more you chew betel nut, the stronger it will be. When it comes out, the more you eat it, the more friends you make, so as to avoid plague, stimulate appetite and relieve oil. "This is a folk song circulating in the streets of Xiangtan, which vividly reflects the indissoluble bond between betel nut and Xiangtan people and Xiangtan food culture. Betel nut, as a kind of food, has been rooted and developed in Xiangtan for more than 3 years. According to Xiangtan City Records, in the first month of 165 (the sixth year of Shunzhi), the Qing army slaughtered Xiangtan for nine days, with a population of tens of thousands, and the remaining households were not more than 2 or 3, with less than 1 people. An Anhui businessman named Cheng learned that an old monk chewed betel nuts to avoid the epidemic and collected the corpse. Since then, the habit of chewing betel nuts has continued. In 1779 (forty-four years of Qianlong), the residents in Xiangtan city suffered from bloating. The county magistrate Bai Jing chewed the medicinal betel nut for patients, and the bloating disappeared. Later, the original patients often chewed it, so that the patients did not chew it, and it became a habit for a long time. As a result, Xiangtan betel nut has been gradually developed. With the development of betel nut in Xiangtan, betel nut culture came into being. In some places, folk packages such as ancient dramas, "praising the land" and wedding celebrations all have betel nut's praise. For example, "Tanzhou Zhuzhi Ci" wrote: "The romantic drama is full of love, and the beautiful posture is good at elegance; A string of beads of throat songs turned around, and some people threw betel nuts under the stage. " The close relationship between Xiangtan betel nut and local culture and art is vividly outlined. This just shows that Xiangtan betel nut culture is the product of Xiangtan betel nut development. This reflects from one side that the development of economy breeds the emergence of superstructure (culture and art), and in turn, culture and art promote the rapid development of economy, which is a universal law. Of course, from the perspective of the whole betel nut culture, a beautiful and rich folk song "Picking Betel Nuts" expresses the people's special feelings for betel nuts in the form of art.

in the development history of betel nut in Xiangtan for hundreds of years, it has experienced a process from primary, decentralized and small-scale development to advanced, centralized and large-scale development. Generally, it can be divided into three stages:

The first stage: Before liberation to the early 197s, the betel nut processing in Xiangtan was a traditional workshop, and there were more than 1 households in the city, mainly represented by Liu Ji, the ninth general manager of Xiangtan, and the betel nut shop in Li Ji.

the second stage: from 1981 to 1991, Xiangtan betel nut, as a productive force, made a breakthrough development under the impetus of reform and opening up. There are more than 4, betel nut processors and operators in the city, with an annual sales of more than 7 tons and a sales amount of about 5 million yuan. The main representatives are China Everbright, Zhang Xinfa and other betel nut shops.

the third stage: from 1993 to now, it is the take-off period of betel nut in Xiangtan. A number of new betel nut owners, such as Haojue, Wangye, Binzhilang, Yipintang, Xiangnan, Laoye, Xiangai, Haishun, Pangge, Xiaolongwang and Xiangqiong, live in Xiangtan. During this period, the quality, variety, packaging, sales, market and other aspects of Xiangtan betel nut have all appeared unprecedented situation, which embodies the following six characteristics:

First, it started to break through the traditional small workshop style in the form of production and processing, and gradually formed a large-scale operation. Several large betel nut processing enterprises hired more than 1 temporary workers, with the highest daily sales of more than 4, yuan.

second, private joint-stock limited liability companies, such as Binzhilang Food Co., Ltd., Wangye Areca Co., Ltd., Haojue Food Co., Ltd. and Yipintang Food Co., Ltd., have emerged from the management system, which has introduced new mechanisms for Xiangtan Areca to meet the needs of the development of socialist market economy.

thirdly, it is a variety of betel nut processed to meet the tastes of all kinds of people, and it is introduced with sesame, osmanthus, mint, cream, dried betel nut, wet betel nut and other flavors. Several large-scale betel nut processing factories in the city began to organize on-site betel nut processing according to the requirements of "Edible Betel Nut Standard" issued by Hunan Provincial Bureau of Standards, thus greatly improving the production level and product quality of Xiangtan betel nut. Xiangtan people's habit of chewing betel nuts is getting stronger and stronger. "Hang your hands, walk down the street, chew betel nuts and make friends." At present, the number of people who love to chew betel nuts in the city has increased to about 3% of the city's total population.

fourth, there are two kinds of packaging, internal and external. There are vacuum packaging and pillow packaging in inner packaging. The outer packaging is more dazzling and has its own characteristics, which has written a new chapter for betel nut culture.

Fifth, it started to rush out of Xiangtan from the management channel of betel nut and went to the whole province. Now there are a group of Xiangtan people making authentic Xiangtan betel nut in Changsha, Zhuzhou, Shaoyang, Yiyang, Changde, Hengyang and other places, which has promoted the vigorous development of betel nut processing in the whole province and become an industrial army of food industry that cannot be underestimated. According to rough statistics, the number of people engaged in betel nut processing and management in the city has exceeded 1, (including seasonal temporary workers). The annual sales of betel nut processing is about 2 million yuan. Especially with the establishment and development of the socialist market economic system, the competition of betel nut processing industry in the city is becoming increasingly fierce, and many betel nut processing households have continuously introduced various sales methods, which has brought about the continuous activity of the city's economy, and there have been new sales phenomena such as "buying betel nuts by lottery", "special car delivery" and "delivery to the counter".

6. People engaged in betel nut production and management, far beyond the scope of historical ordinary citizens and idlers. A group of young people with economic mind and modern management knowledge (including aspirants from Shanghai and Changsha) joined the betel nut industry, which not only changed the cultural quality of betel nut industry in Xiangtan, but also created a new talent team for the prosperity of betel nut industry and the development of betel nut culture in the city.

after hundreds of years of gradual development, Xiangtan betel nut has now spread all over the urban and rural areas and streets of Tanzhou, entered thousands of households, and ascended the elegant hall, which plays an important role in Xiangtan's economic development. (Written by Xin Men)