Pepper is a condiment that many people like to eat. In fact, it is not difficult to grow peppers. There are many provinces in China that can grow peppers now. However, pepper was a luxury in ancient times, which led some officials to be corrupt, not only greedy for money, but also hid a lot of pepper at home. Pepper was not a native plant at first, but was introduced from the western regions. Since then, people have regarded pepper as a precious medicinal material, which is generally used to soak wine, but it is too extravagant as an ordinary condiment. Let's give you a brief introduction to the history of pepper. Come and have a look if you like.

Pepper, native to tropical areas such as South Asia and Southeast Asia, has transliteration of "ignorant branch", "Bova fever" and "Pillay".

"Youyang Miscellaneous Notes" records: "Pepper, from the country of Mogadishu (now India), is called the foolish branch ... it is extremely spicy, picked in June, and is now used as food."

Pepper has been cultivated for more than 4000 years, and the exact time when it was introduced into China is unknown.

One said that Zhang Qian was sent to the Western Regions in the Han Dynasty and brought back to the Central Plains from the Western Regions;

It was introduced from the Tang Dynasty.

According to the historical records of Jin people, the latter statement is wrong.

In the Western Jin Dynasty earlier than the Tang Dynasty, the book Continued Han written by imperial clan Sima Biao recorded pepper for the first time:

"Tianzhu County produces stone honey, pepper and black salt."

It is enough to prove that Jin people have realized the existence of pepper.

People in the Jin Dynasty originally used pepper as a precious medicinal material to make wine.

Zhang Hua, a scholar in the Western Jin Dynasty, recorded the formula of pepper soaking wine in the Natural History:

"Pepper wine side, five liters of good wine, one or two dried ginger, seventy peppers, and five good pomegranates at the end, taking care of the middle and lower levels."

It can relieve middle-aged qi and treat abdominal distension and fullness.

Modern medicine shows that pepper is rich in volatile oil, crude protein, piperine and other substances beneficial to human health.

Sun Simiao, a medical scientist in the Tang Dynasty, wrote: "Pepper is pungent, warm and nontoxic. Can control temperature and reduce phlegm ... "

Pepper looks like a Chinese herbal medicine, plum blossom. Its fragrance is not as good as pepper, but it is hotter than pepper. Besides treating diseases, it is also an excellent condiment.

In the 12th year of Tang Daizong Dali (AD 777), Yuan Zai, the prime minister, was robbed of his property due to corruption. Investigators found 800 stones of Zanthoxylum bungeanum, accounting for about 60 tons according to modern measurement units. It is estimated that almost all the tribute peppers were intercepted by Yuan Zai and hidden in their own warehouses.

In May of that year, Tang Daizong ordered Yuan Zai's "father's tomb" to be cut off and abandoned, and Yuan Zai's house and family temple were demolished at the same time.

It can be seen that in the Tang Dynasty, pepper was still a luxury enjoyed by upper-class aristocrats.

If it was more than 60 tons of rice, Tang Daizong wouldn't be so angry.

Yu Qian, an upright official in the Ming Dynasty, once wrote a poem satirizing Yuan Zai and warned his colleagues and ministers to take a warning:

"Honor is more important than Mount Tai, and greed is lighter than a feather ... Pepper welcomes guests in 800 miles, but it is a thousand-year-old brand ..."

In the early Ming Dynasty, pepper was monopolized by tycoons and powerful people.

Pepper was introduced in the middle of Ming Dynasty, which broke the monopoly of merchants and gradually became widely planted, and later became one of the more common plants.