中國古代的生食肉類餚饌──膾生

Kuai and Sheng － the Raw Fish and Meat Dishes in Chinese History

自從有火食以來，漢族人一直還是吃各種禽、獸、魚、甲殼類和貝類的生肉的。這些現作現吃的各種生肉稱為「膾」或「生」，或「膾生」。但膾生不是日常生活的餚饌，而始終是帝王、貴族或富豪人家的佳餚，宴飲中的盛饌，是普遍地受人珍視的美味珍饈。食用膾生是韻事，是賞心樂事。在淮河以南，人們易於獲得各種水產，魚生食俗遠盛於北土。南方人也常把魚鱠視為南土特有的家鄉菜。在江南一帶，嗜吃生魚者尤多。膾生必須選用極新鮮的肉、魚來製作，切成薄片的稱為「軒」或「膹」，再將薄片細切成絲的叫做「膾」，剝成碎末的稱為「臊」或「臊子」。切得越薄越細就越理想。切膾時用紙來吸去殘血，但到晚明時魚鱠已改為切片，而不流行切絲，並用水來清洗殘血了。膾生常用的調味料有芥子醬、八和齏和膾醋等。自隋代開始並用各種生菜來拌食。膾生菜餚還很講究色彩和造型上的視覺美惑。膾生可以補益身體或治療疾病，但生肉有毒，在不當的時刻食用，或攝取過量，或與某些食物同吃時都會產生病害。而所拌食的各種調味料和生菜則可以防治這些病害。漢人膾生食俗的衰落，禽類、獸類先於魚類，在地域上則北地早於南土。約在明清之交，禽、獸肉生已經消失了，魚生則以殘餘的型態繼續流行於嶺南和杭州灣地區。

In the Book of Rites edited by Dai De and in the chapter ''Wang Zhi'' of the Book of Rites, ''cooked foods'' as opposed to ''raw foods'' were used as a criterion to distinguish the Chinese from their neighbouring ethnic groups. The Chinese ate cooked foods while other ethnic groups ate raw foods. However, since the invention of 'cooked foods', have the Chinese had the custom of eating raw fish and meat at all? As this article will show, they certainly have. Then, what have they eaten? How were they prepared? How important were these fish and meat dishes in the life of the Chinese in historic times? What was the geographical distribution of this eating custom? Did people have some particular views concerning eating raw fish and meat? Why are the average Chinese today no longer aware of this custom? This article will explore the questions concerning the custom of kuai and sheng－or catching for immediate slaughter and preparing for immediate consumption instead of having the raw fish and meat processed by drying in the air, pickling, soaking in sauce or wine, brewing, etc. It will also try to give tentative answers to these questions. The eggs of Clonorchis sinensis (liver fluke) have been found in ancient corpses at archaeological sites dating from the Warring States Period to the Ming dynasty. This proves that the eating of raw fish was a tradition that existed in China for a very long period of time.