"This is a ten-piece suit, this is a twelve-piece suit, haven't you heard of these?" Boshanka showed off to Han Peacock again.
Han Kongque shook his head and said, "I have never seen it before, but I have heard about it. I heard that there are sixty-four crab-eating tools."
"Here it is! Just take a good look at it." The crab-eating tools were neatly placed on the stand, enough for Han Peacock to take a closer look at them.
"The word above is Cao, right? Is it the eight pieces of crab used in the legendary Cao Shu?" At this time, Han Peacock, who was walking, stopped again.
When it comes to eating crabs, we have to talk about Caoshu. Legend has it that the person who first invented crab-eating tableware in the Ming Dynasty was called Caoshu. He created hammers, knives, and pliers. Later, the number of crab-eating tools gradually increased to 8, including hammers, upsetting tools, etc.
, tongs, shovel, spoon, fork, scraper and needle are called the eight pieces of crab.
Later, when crab-eating tools reached their peak, the largest set had as many as 64 pieces.
"Capital? I've never heard of it, but these sixty-four crab-eating tools all have the word "cao" engraved on them," Boshangka said.
"It should not have been used by Caoshu himself. Although he invented the crab-eating tool, it was definitely not its heyday at that time. There should not be a sixty-four-piece set." Han Kongque thought for a while and finally shook his head.
"Why do you care so much? Look, the crab-eating tools made of gold, silver and copper here are all of high quality." Boshanka said.
7⊥ "It is indeed a fine product. I wonder who has the intention to collect so many genuine products." The more Han Kongque looked at these things, the more he liked them.
There used to be a lot of these things, but now they are rare. In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, literati tasted crabs as a cultural enjoyment. When appreciating chrysanthemums, reciting poems and eating crabs, everyone had a set of special tools. Suzhou, Shanghai and Hangzhou were commonly known as "crabs"
"pieces".
According to relevant information, the person who first invented crab-eating tableware in the Ming Dynasty was named Caoshu. In order to reduce the trouble of eating crabs and make eating more convenient and smooth, he created three tools: a hammer, a knife, and pliers to deal with the hard shells of crabs. Later, gradually
It grew to eight pieces.
Although this method of eating is elegant, it is very time-consuming, so now, few people can use eight pieces of crab to eat crabs.
Crab-eating is divided into "Wen Chi" and "Wu Chi". The so-called "Wu Chi" means eating with pleasure, while "Wen Chi" eats with tools, which means eight crabs are used.
Later, from the Ming Dynasty to the early years of the Republic of China, on this basis, it developed to three pieces (ding, stick, hammer), four pieces, six pieces, eight pieces, ten pieces, twelve pieces, and later developed to the most in its heyday.
There are as many as sixty-four pieces in a set of crab eating tools.
These crab-eating tools are generally made of copper, and the more sophisticated ones are made of silver.
Because in terms of toughness, although gold is valuable, it is not as hard as silver, and copper can easily contaminate food, so it stands to reason that the best "crab pieces" should also be made of silver.
The craftsmanship is extremely exquisite, the shape of the scraper is a bit like a sword. The key holder is a bit like a water bowl in the study room, and the three-legged jue is used to hold crab meat.
These crab-eating tools are equipped with a round or lotus leaf-shaped plate, and there are three legs carved into the shape of a dragon under the plate.
The eight pieces of crab include a small square table, a round hammer, a long-handled axe, a long-handled fork, round-head scissors, tweezers, a drill, a small spoon, respectively, with pads, knockers, splitters, forks, scissors, clamps, picks, and servings, etc.
It has multiple functions, beautiful appearance, shiny luster, exquisiteness and exquisiteness. It is easy to use.
The crabs are steamed and served to the table, piping hot. The crab eater puts the crabs on the small square table, uses round-head scissors to cut off the two large claws and eight crab legs one by one, and points the round hammer against the sides of the crab shell.
Tap gently in a circle.
Then use a long-handled ax to split the back shell and navel. Then use a drill, tweezers, fork, hammer, or pick, pinch, fork or knock to take out the golden and shiny crab roe or the milky white and sticky crab paste, and take out the snow-white and tender crab meat.
.
Each tool is used in turn, and each function is performed alternately, as if playing a rhythmic food song.
When you use a small spoon to scoop in the dipping sauce, pick up the crab shell and eat it, it is really a fairy-like joy with endless flavor.
Thanks to these eight pieces of crabs, the people of Suzhou and Zhouzhou can eat all the Yangcheng Lake hairy crabs.
Later, in the late Qing Dynasty, the eight-piece crab became a dowry for women in Suzhou and Zhouzhou. This short exhibition stand has written all the history of the eight-piece crab from its appearance to its heyday.
This is what collecting is like. If you love something and reach a certain level, you will definitely achieve great things.
Just like this person who collects crab pieces, he has reached a state where, not to mention other things, just these crab pieces with the word "Cao" are very collectible, and he must have been careful to collect so many.
Anything that can achieve this level has to be admired.
Seeing these eight pieces of crabs is like seeing a crab feast held by literati in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. They not only ate crab meat and satiated their gluttony, but also tasted crabs, drank wine, admired chrysanthemums, and recited poems. This is absolutely
It is a romantic affair in the golden autumn season.
This kind of joy of eating crabs is fully and vividly described in the writings of Cao Xueqin, the author of "Dream of Red Mansions". It is endlessly memorable and unforgettable.
"Originally, some people thought that these tools were discovered by Suzhou people in practice. Today you add one, and I will add another tomorrow. There is no final conclusion, just for common use. These things here are enough to prove that this is
It was made systematically." Han Peacock sighed in admiration.
"Today, we have lost a lot of cultural inheritance! Just talking about eating crabs, modern people are definitely not as good as ancient people." Boshanka also said with regret.
"There is nothing we can do about this. This thing is not an ordinary commodity. It is only used by wealthy people. In modern times, it is not only rare to see, but the style has also been simplified." Han Peacock also sighed.
Bo Shanka laughed and said: "In Liang Shiqiu's "Yashe Talks about Eating Crabs": each diner has a small wooden mallet, a small wooden mat, made of boxwood, and a custom-made turning machine. It can be used for knocking and knocking. This can be compared with the ancient times.
It’s a huge step back compared to the times.”
Han Peacock also laughed: "That's nothing. After the 1960s, this set of objects, as a representative of decadence, gradually disappeared from the dining tables of major hotels and crab restaurants in Suzhou, Shanghai and Hangzhou. In the past few years, there were
Crab pieces appeared again and again, but after all, these clinking eating utensils are no longer suitable for modern people's habits.
It is said that it takes at least half an hour to tear apart a crab using eight pieces of crab. Who can afford to spend this time nowadays? Even if we use eight pieces of crab, it is just a way to make it easier to eat crab meat."
"It would be really troublesome to use the eight pieces of crab according to the process. However, you can't deny that with the eight pieces of crab, eating crabs becomes more convenient and elegant." Boshangka said.
Han Peacock agreed: "Yes! At that time, eating crabs with eight pieces of crab was a symbol of arty style, but this was definitely only popular among the upper class, and the people would not invest too much energy.
Today's Chinese society is somewhat similar to that of the Ming Dynasty, and many arty people have begun to appear. I think crab eight-pieces may become a popular fashion again."
"At any time, only people with money and leisure would do such things. Compared with the extravagance of southerners, northerners are much more generous, and they don't have so much trouble eating crabs." Boshanka said.
Crab-eating tools are generally made of copper, and the more sophisticated ones are made of silver or gold, so it is absolutely impossible to use them without money.
But compared to the way in the south where eating a crab requires a set of eight crab tools, people in the north are much more generous. Basically, when the crabs are cooked, they eat them every day.
When northerners eat crabs, they just steam or fry them whole. The most delicious way to eat them is grilled river crabs. During the autumn harvest, many people who harvest crabs in the fields will light a bunch of them with straw on the edge of the crab fields.
Keep warm by the bonfire, and grill the freshly caught river crabs on the rack.
Therefore, using crab pieces or other tools, you can eat elegantly.
"Changji Folk Arts and Crafts Store? Is this the exhibition organized by this store?" When they got to the end, Han Kongque saw a billboard at a glance, with the big characters of Changji Folk Arts and Crafts Store on it.
"This should be a specialty store that specializes in eight pieces of crab." Boshanka said.
"You know it very well?" Han Peacock looked at Bo Shanka.
Bolshanka cast a charming glance at Han Peacock, and then said: "Of course, I am in charge of the intelligence department now, and nothing on the island can be hidden from me. This store can be regarded as a century-old store.
Nowadays, you can see the Changji folk arts and crafts store when you go to "Gusu No. 1 Street", where you can buy eight pieces of crabs. According to the shop owner, he and the old master of "Changji" visit the flea market all year round.
I collected some scattered pieces of old version of Crab.
Nowadays, the price is very high, and a single piece that is well-preserved can be sold for tens of thousands of yuan. Some people claim to have "eight pieces" that are well-preserved at home, but if they want to take it, there is no way, even if they pay to take a look.
This is probably the hateful and lovely "axis energy" of Suzhou people. A small fortune means peace, and everything is not based on money. People there just want to have fun at home, so you can imagine that they
Didn’t it take a lot of effort to collect these things?”
Han Kongque nodded. It seemed that he wanted to acquire all these things and put them in his own museum. He could let them go.
"Look, that's the place where Cheong Kee sells eight pieces of crabs. Now Cheong Kee's eight pieces of crabs have been improved. The creative and producer is the boss. He is the third generation descendant of 'Chang Kee' copper scissors.
His ancestors were craftsmen of Sujian, and he helped his master make crab pieces when he was an apprentice.
The eight pieces of Changji crabs are carved and polished by his own hands bit by bit. His signature is the "eight pieces of carved copper crabs", which include 8 pieces: spoon, axe, forger, tweezers, hammer, scraper, fork and scissors.
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Each piece has its own particularity: the 'key' is based on a banana fan, the 'axe' is Zhuge Liang's hat, the 'upset' refers to the plum blossom seat with tiger feet on mahogany furniture, the handle of the 'tweezers' is shaped like an ancient coin, and the 'hammer',
'Scraping' and 'fork' are unified carved handles, and 'scissor' is the most delicate, using the 'Sujian' technique. The scissor legs are inlaid with two banana leaves, and the details are only a few millimeters thick, which is called 'Linglong scissors'.(