The sand in the desert is like snow, and the moon in Yanshan is like a hook. A classic verse drew us to Qinglong County, Qinhuangdao, located in the eastern section of the Yanshan Mountains in northern Hebei. Since ancient times, Qinglong has been blessed with rich resources and outstanding people, and the famous poet Zang Kejia once praised it as "the heaven of painting and poetry". In my impression, chestnuts in Qianxi have always been very famous. Only when I got here did I realize that Qinglong is the hometown of chestnuts. I heard that there is a thousand-year-old tree here, so we drove to visit it. This thousand-year-old tree is located in Liangshuihe Township in the west of Qinglong County. The locals call it "Little Tibet". Not to mention the scenery, the rugged mountain roads here have a bit of Tibet.
Chestnut King, a thousand-year-old tree, looking for the history of chestnuts in the hometown of chestnuts
After an hour and a half of ups and downs, we finally came to Xiacaonian Village, passing through a cornfield, and a big tree appeared in front of us. This is the treasure of Qinglong County - Chestnut King. According to expert identification, this ancient tree has a history of more than one thousand years. The canopy is 10 meters from east to west, 16 meters from north to south, and 6.82 meters in diameter at breast height. It takes five people to embrace it. It is the thickest and oldest chestnut tree ever found in China.
The ancient tree is divided into three main branches, one of which was cut off due to death. There are many tree tumors growing on the main trunk. Although it has been through vicissitudes, it is still luxuriant, showing tenacious and vigorous vitality. The chestnut king with a long history aroused our interest in chestnuts, so we continued to explore the historical stories of chestnuts in the hometown of chestnuts.
Chestnut king ancient tree is the representative and symbol of Qinglong chestnut. As a local specialty, chestnut has been cultivated on this land for more than 3,000 years. Chestnuts have appeared in many literary works. "The Book of Songs·鄘风" once mentioned: "In the prescription of Ding, it was made in the Chu Palace. When it was day, it was made in the Chu room. The hazel chestnut of the tree, the lacquer of the chair, the tung and the lacquer, and the cutting of the qin and the se".
"The Book of Songs·Zheng Feng" once wrote: "The chestnut in the east gate has a family. Don't you think about it? If you don't, you will!" It can be seen that 2800 years ago, from the princes and generals to the common people Chestnut trees have been widely planted in the courtyard.
The important reason why the chestnut tree is widely planted is its economic value, which has reflected its outstanding importance in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. According to "Historical Records", Su Qin, a political strategist, once described the country of Yan in this way: "There are Jieshi Yanmen in the south, and jujubes and chestnuts in the north. Although the people do not work hard, they are full of jujubes and chestnuts. This is the so-called Tianfu." Geographically, Qinglong is located in the north of Yan State, and it is here that there is the benefit of jujube and chestnut in the north. In "Historical Records · Huozhi Biography" there is: "Yanqin Qianshu Chestnut...these people are all like Qianhuhou." It can be seen that chestnuts have become an important resource for the rich at that time.
Du Fu, a poet of the Tang Dynasty, wrote in his poem "Southern Neighborhood": "Mr. Jinli's Wujiao scarf, the garden harvested taro and chestnuts are not all poor." In Bai Juyi's poem "Dengcun East Ancient Tomb", "The villagers don't love flowers, so they have many kinds of dates and chestnuts", which reflects the custom of people in the Tang Dynasty who paid attention to practical planting of chestnuts.
Chestnuts, together with peaches, plums, apricots, and dates, were called "five fruits" in ancient times. They can be eaten raw or cooked; Li Bai, a poet, has a poem in "Night Mooring Huangshan, Wenyin Fourteen Wu Yin", "The fruit of the dynasty is Cangzhou Yi, and the wine and rice are frosted and chestnut". When I went to meet a hidden master, I brought fried chestnuts instead of delicacies from mountains and seas, which shows how delicious chestnuts are in Taibai's heart!
Wang Anshi wrote in Qijue "Gift to Grandson": "He loved pears and chestnuts when he was young, and he has to read five carts of books when he grows up." In his opinion, chestnuts are the most suitable snack for children. The great writer Su Shi was also a gourmet, and he often entertained guests with fried chestnuts. Once, in order to compete for chestnuts and Foyin, Su Shi wrote the first couplet: "The chestnut breaks the phoenix", and Foyin immediately wrote "The root is broken and the heron is connected", which is wonderful.
Lu You, a great poet in the Southern Song Dynasty, has been writing all his life. There are more than 9,000 existing poems, and chestnuts have also been written into his "Notes of Lao Xue'an". and". It is also mentioned in the notes: "Chen Fugong and Qian Shangge in Shaoxing went to the court, and when they arrived at Yanshan, suddenly two people brought ten parcels of fried chestnuts to offer each. The three festivals also got one parcel, and they praised Li Heer as well. , Swipe away." In the poem, Lu You once wrote: "The root of the tooth floats and sighs for my decline, and the chestnut cannon burns to cure night hunger." Chestnuts are used as a diet therapy.
Fan Chengda, a famous minister in the Southern Song Dynasty, once went to the Kingdom of Jin, and mentioned in his poem "Liangxiang": "Purple rotten pears, red wrinkled dates, and Yili chestnuts are always very sweet." Wang Chongyang, the Taoist ancestor who founded the Quanzhen School, respected the Confucian "Book of Filial Piety" very much, and regarded chestnuts as a delicacy for filial piety to his parents. Mr. Shu Yuexiang’s "First Eating Chestnuts" describes chestnuts very vividly: "Xinliang likes to see chestnuts, and the search is close to Chongyang. Rabbits are purple, and geese are yellow after shelling. Steam food in the cold night to warm, and the hunger dawn chews for fragrance. Flavor Hello Shan family, let’s enjoy it together.”
In the Qing Dynasty, Yuan Mei was not only a writer, but also a gourmet. He collected famous dishes from various places and his own specialties in the book "Suiyuan Food List", among which "Miscellaneous Menu" recorded the detailed method of fried chicken with chestnuts. The chestnut cake is included in the "Snack List". Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty also had a special liking for chestnuts. He also wrote a poem "Eating Chestnuts" with a royal pen, and wrote the secret of roasting chestnuts.
Chestnuts are not only delicious but also used as medicine. Sun Simiao, the king of medicine, wrote in "Thousands of Gold Prescriptions": "Chestnuts are the fruit of the kidneys, and kidney diseases should be eaten." The theory of traditional Chinese medicine pays attention to supplementing the shape with the shape, and modern medicine has also proved that chestnuts have the effect of nourishing the kidney and strengthening the spleen. Su Zhe of the Northern Song Dynasty wrote in "Food Li" that "we get more waist and foot problems when we grow old, and the mountain old man takes Li old recipes" is about the case of using chestnuts to treat waist and leg pain.
Good chestnuts come out of Qinglong, the hometown of chestnuts is well-deserved
The chestnut tree has strong vitality and stable output, and is known as "woody grain" and "hardcore crop". During the Three Kingdoms period, Lu Ji described the chestnut tree mentioned in the "Book of Songs" in "Mao Poems, Vegetation, Birds, Animals, Insects and Fishes" in this way: "There are chestnuts in all five directions, Zhou, Qin, Wu, and Yang Trao. Wu, The more you are surrounded by the city, the chestnuts are both inside and outside. Only Yuyang and Fanyang chestnuts are sweet and long-flavored, which are not as good as those from other places. The chestnuts on Japanese and Korean islands are as big as chicken eggs, and they are short in taste.” Yuyang here, because it is located It is named after the Yang of Yushui, and Qinglong County is located within the boundaries of Yushui. It can be seen that the excellent quality of Qinglong chestnut has been widely recognized in ancient times.
Hao Yixing, a famous scholar in the Qing Dynasty, became a habit of buying sugar-fried chestnuts when he was a child when he came home from school. Later, when he recalled, he wrote this childhood feeling into "Shaishutang Transcripts". Sound, the tongue is flowing, buy it with full sleeves, chew it freely, the chestnut is very small, the shell is thin, and the middle is full, the shell is very soft and brittle when fried with massecuite, the hand is slightly peeled, the shell is easy to separate and the film is not sticky, The meaning is very fast.” The description of the fried chestnut is exactly the characteristic of Qinglong chestnut today. In order to learn more about Qinglong Chestnut, we visited the Chestnut Exhibition Center. The exhibition center was completed in October 2019, showing the detailed current situation of Qinglong chestnut and the long history of chestnut culture.
Qinglong County is located in the north of the Great Wall in the northeast of Hebei Province, in the eastern section of the Yanshan Mountains. There are many mountains and hills in the territory, and the forest coverage rate exceeds 67%, ranking second in Hebei Province. It is "the greenest place in Yanshan". Semi-humid monsoon climate, abundant precipitation, rain and heat at the same time, long frost-free period, sufficient sunlight, and large temperature difference between day and night. The soil-forming parent rock is mainly gneiss, sandy loam soil, slightly acidic, loose soil layer, good permeability, and high organic matter content. The unique soil and climate provide suitable conditions for the growth of high-quality chestnuts.
Chestnut cultivation in Qinglong County has a long history and rich experience. Many excellent varieties have been bred. The fruit shape is correct and uniform, the color is bright, the flesh is delicate, the sugar content is high, the soft waxy and sweet, and the astringent skin is easy to peel off. It not only enjoys a high reputation in China, but also in Japan. , South Korea and Southeast Asia are also very popular. In 2012, Qinglong County was identified as "a million-mu export-oriented Jingdong Chestnut Export Base County". From 2012 to 2018, at the China (Langfang) Agricultural Products Fair, Qinglong chestnut won a total of 13 medals, including 3 gold medals, 6 silver medals, and 4 bronze medals. Product Brand" title.
World chestnuts look at China, Chinese chestnuts look at Yanshan, and Yanshan chestnuts look at Qinglong. Relying on the unique geographical environment, the chestnuts produced by Qinglong become the top grade chestnuts. At present, a total of 1 million mu of chestnuts have been planted in the county, ranking first in the country. The annual output of Qinglong chestnut is more than 30,000 tons, and the output value is nearly 500 million yuan. Nearly 20% of the county's land area is planted with chestnuts, with an average per capita of 2.2 mu and an income of nearly 1,000 yuan. It is a veritable hometown of chestnuts.
Since chestnuts have the same pronunciation as "Lizi", they have become an indispensable item in the wedding process, and they have placed good wishes. There are many foods made with chestnuts in Qinglong, ranging from big dishes to snacks and desserts. Local food processing manufacturers have developed many deep-processed products using chestnut resources. Among them, the famous brand "Zaiqi" and other manufacturers have made a series of foods such as small chestnut buns, jujube chestnut hair cakes, and chestnut sticky bean buns, which have brought chestnut products to the whole country.
Opposite the Chestnut Exhibition Center is Baifeng Company, the owner of the famous Hebei trademark "Jingdong" brand chestnut trademark and one of the leading enterprises in Qinglong chestnut industry. "Jingdong" brand chestnut has become a famous brand of Qinglong chestnut. It won the silver medal at the 18th China Agricultural Products Fair, and won many awards in many conferences and competitions in Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei and Hebei. We walked into the factory area and visited the workshop of the chestnut processing factory. Bags of chestnuts bought back were selected on the production line, packed, and processed into small packages and gift boxes of various specifications and sent to all parts of the country. It has become an important source of raw materials for sugar-fried chestnuts in supermarkets and brand stores, and is also an important supplier for exports to Japan.
In Japan, there is Lin Wanchang Tang, a sugar-fried chestnut shop with a history of 140 years. Lin Wanchangtang began to import chestnuts from Qinglong in the 1970s, and formed a deep relationship with Qinglong chestnuts. With its excellent quality, Qinglong Chestnut has become the main source of raw materials for Japanese customers, and Lin Wanchangtang's business is also growing. Before his death, Mr. Lin Qingyi, the third-generation head of Lin Wanchang Tang, entrusted his ashes to be buried under the Qinglong chestnut tree, which shows his love for Qinglong chestnut. Kato Kunio, chairman of the Japan Chestnut Association, once commented: "The world has more chestnuts than China, China has as many chestnuts as Yanshan, Yanshan has as many chestnuts as Jingdong, and Jingdong has as many chestnuts as Qinglong."
Publicity and promotion, hold a meeting for the chestnut festival
In order to further expand the popularity of chestnuts and promote the high-quality development of the chestnut industry, Qinglong County held two Chestnut Festivals and two "Qinhuangdao Chestnut Industry Development Conferences". We were honored to be at the site of the second conference. At the meeting, the secretary of the county party committee delivered a welcome speech, played the promotional video of "Qinglong chestnut is the best in the world", awarded the "high-quality chestnut planting base", "excellent chestnut product processing enterprise", and "leading chestnut product marketing enterprise". The deputy mayor announced the opening and speak.
After the meeting, the participants came to the National Culture Square and visited various special agricultural products of Qinglong. Among them, chestnuts were the most eye-catching. A large pot was set up on the square to fry chestnuts on the spot. Passers-by can taste the freshly cooked sugar-fried chestnuts. chestnut.
The short two-day trip to chestnut gave us a new understanding of Qinglong and a deeper understanding of the history of chestnuts. Only after eating chestnuts from Qinglong did we know what delicious chestnuts taste like. No wonder It has been loved from ancient times to the present. When you visit Qinglong, the hometown of chestnuts really lives up to its reputation.
