As the saying goes, "When the autumn wind blows, the bass gets fatter."
There is a famous story related to bass in "Shishuo Xinyu": the Western Jin Dynasty writer Zhang Han was from the south. He came to Luoyang, the capital at that time, and served as an official in the government of Qi King Sima Jiong. Later one day, when Zhang Han saw the autumn wind blowing, he remembered the wild cabbage soup and seabass noodles in his hometown of Wuzhong, and said: "The most valuable thing in life is to follow your own heart. Why do you have to go thousands of miles away from home?" Why do you want to pursue fame and fortune?"
So Zhang Han resigned and went home. Not long after, Sima Jiong was defeated in the Eight Kings Rebellion, and more than 2,000 of his party members were not spared. Zhang Han escaped because he had resigned and returned home. People at the time believed that although the seabass and clams were delicious, the main reason why Zhang Han resigned and returned home was to act according to the opportunity and seek good fortune and avoid misfortune.
Of course, the reason Zhang Han resigned from his job and returned home was because he wanted to eat seabass. This shows that seabass is known to be delicious all over the world. People in the Wei and Jin Dynasties liked to eat fish, and the way of eating was still "荍", that is, cutting the fresh fish into slices and dipping it in seasonings to eat, which is what people today call sashimi or fish.
There is also a story about eating sashimi in "Shishuoxinyu": When Zhang Xuan, a famous scholar in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, was serving as a minister, he went to Jiangling by boat. On the way, he saw a man carrying half a small basket of live fish on the shore. He shouted from the boat: "I have some fish in the basket, and I would like to ask you to help cut it into sashimi." After hearing this, Zhang Xuan pulled the boat over and let this man get on the boat.
After this man got on the boat, Zhang Xuan asked him what his name was, and he called himself Liu Yimin. Henry Zhang was very happy after hearing this, because Liu Yimin was also a famous person at that time, so he wanted to communicate more with him. However, after Liu Yimin learned that Zhang Xuan was an imperial envoy on a business trip, his enthusiasm was greatly reduced. After eating the sashimi, Liu Yimin couldn't wait to leave. He also said, "I just caught this fish. I thought you must have fish filleting utensils on your boat, so I came to disturb you." Liu Yimin was a hermit and knew that Zhang Xuan is a member of the officialdom, so he doesn't want to talk too much in depth with him.
In addition to eating river fish, people at that time also ate sea fish. Sima Yao, Emperor Xiaowu of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, once had a meal with his minister Yu Xiaofu. After drinking for a while, he suddenly asked: "Old Yu, you said you were in the province under my command, but why have I never seen you offering anything?" Xiao's father's hometown is in the south of the Yangtze River. He is very rich and close to the sea. After listening to the emperor's words, he thought that the boss was asking for a gift from him, so he quickly replied: "It's hot and humid now, so we can't make all kinds of dried fish and shrimps. After a while, it will be dry, and we can give these good things to him." Your Majesty." Emperor Xiaowu clapped his hands and laughed.
"Shishuoxinyu" also mentioned that Liu Bao, a litterateur in the Western Jin Dynasty, often went fishing in grasslands when he was young. Indeed, fish are a gift from nature. For the hermits, they can be happy and eat fish among the mountains and rivers. Moreover, fish meat is also a good choice to improve their diet. Therefore, some wealthy landowners also choose to raise fish in their own ponds.
For example, Huan Wen, a powerful official in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, raised fish in his home. The celebrity Hao Long was very famous at that time, so he wanted to join Huan Wen so that his talents could have a stage to showcase. Who knew that Huan Wen assigned him a position of "joining the army in the barbarian government". The Manfu was the official office responsible for ethnic minority affairs at that time. As for joining the army, it was equivalent to a staff officer or a staff member.
On March 3rd, the Shangsi Festival, Huan Wen organized a gathering for his employees and made a request: everyone who attended the party had to compose poems, and those who failed to compose would be fined three liters of wine. Hao Long didn't do it at first and was punished with a drink. After finishing the drink, he saw the fish in Huan Wen's pond, and suddenly an idea came to him. Taking advantage of the drunkenness, he picked up his pen and wrote: "Jūyú leaps into the clear pond." The leaders and colleagues present were stunned when they saw this sentence. The monk was confused and didn't know what Hao Long wrote.
So Huan Wen asked him: "What is Gaoyu?" Hao Long replied: "In barbarian language, fish is called 'gaoyu'." Huan Wen said: "What barbarian language do you use to write poems? Everyone! Can't even understand.Hao Long replied: "I worked hard and traveled thousands of miles to join you, so I became a barbarian and joined the army. How can I not speak barbarian language!" "
However, it was not easy for ordinary people at that time to eat fish regularly. For example, when Wang Cheng, a famous scholar in the Jin Dynasty, was in charge of Donghai County, a clerk under him stole the fish raised in his pond. After Bo knew about it, he wanted to investigate the matter. But Wang Cheng said: "In those days, King Wen's hunting ground was shared with the common people, so there is nothing to be stingy about just a few fish. "After all, the reason why petty officials came to steal fish must be because of the war and the lack of food.
It is precisely because fish meat is also rare, so people often pickle and preserve the fish that they can't finish. Tao Kan, a general in the Jin Dynasty, once said when he was young I worked as a clerk in a small county town supervising fish beams. A "fish beam" was a dam construction facility for fishing at that time. One day, in order to honor his mother, Tao Kan sent home a can of pickled fish.
When her mother saw it, she didn't like the taste, so she sent the kipper back intact, and wrote a letter to scold him: "You are in charge of the fishery now, so is your jar of kippers a public property?" You dare to give me things belonging to the government even though you are still a petty official. Not only does this do no good, but it will make me even more worried. "
Tao Kan was born in poverty, but his mother kept a clear distinction between public and private affairs and was determined not to be greedy for petty gains. In the end, Tao Kan, who was born at the bottom of the family, broke the monopoly of the gentry and became a very popular minister in his later years, and was able to survive in troubled times. And retreat. It has to be said that Tao Kan can achieve such achievements, his mother's words and deeds are indispensable.
