The Ming Gentleman's Table, Part Two

Pickles, wild greens, wines, cakes, dumplings and Daoist elixirs from a Ming gentleman's kitchen. In 1591 the Hangzhou scholar Gao Lian 高濂 published the Zunsheng Bajian 遵生八牋, Eight Discourses on Following the Principles of Life. Its "Discourse on Food, Drink and Elixirs" fills three chapters and is one of the richest records of the Ming dynasty table to survive. Book 6 of this series presented the first chapter; this volume presents the remaining two in full. Here are 310 entries: pickled melons and sugar-steamed and sweet-sour eggplant; more than ninety wild greens and flowers, from toon sprouts to pea shoots; wines and the leavens that make them; candies, pine nut cakes, stamped butter cookies, taro cakes; crystal dumplings, wontons and zongzi; spiced and sugared remedies such as hawthorn paste; and finally the Daoist elixirs meant to lighten the body and lengthen life, closing with Gao Lian's own warning against bedroom drugs. This edition includes: The complete original Chinese text of Books Two and Three of the discourse, with a faithful new English translation Modern Kitchen notes for every entry, clearly marked Cook it today, Needs a substitute, or Read, don't cook, with honest food-safety advice Color paintings and food photographs of dishes you can make today An introduction to Gao Lian and the late Ming art of nourishing life For food historians, home cooks, lovers of Chinese culture, and anyone curious about the history of the Chinese table. The Imperial Kitchen Library brings the forgotten cookbooks of imperial China to English readers, one complete text at a time. Read with Book 6, The Ming Gentleman's Table, Part One, for the complete discourse.