馋饮:酸梅汤与清以来北京城市生活

Appetites:Smoked Plum Beverage and Urban Life in Peking Since the Qing Dynasty

酸梅汤是解暑消夏的良品,一般认为其发源于北京。尽管酸梅汤最早起源于何时已无从考证,但至迟于清中后期,以乌梅为主要原料、口味酸甜的酸梅汤已经成为京津地区最为流行的季节性饮品,也因此诞生了其独特的消费文化。然而由于街头挑贩所售梅汤卫生条件恶劣,饮用不卫生梅汤致病乃至丧命的事件屡有发生。自清末民国初始,随着国民卫生意识的增强和卫生检疫水平的提高,政府逐渐加强对北京地区贩售的酸梅汤等饮料的管控。

The smoked plum beverage is a favorite drink to relieve the summer heat.The drink is rooted in Peking in public opinion,yet the exact origin remains unknown.Nevertheless,until the middle and late Qing Dynasty(1644-1911),the sweet and sour smoked plum beverage,made with black plum,had become the most popular seasonal drink in the Peking and Tianjin area,thus giving birth to a unique consumer culture.However,due to the poor sanitary conditions of the smoked plum beverages sold by the street vendors,people often got sick or even died from drinking unhygienic plum drinks.From late Qing and early Republican era,with the awareness of public health and the development of bacterial quarantine technology,the government gradually strengthened the control of smoked plum beverage and other drinks sold in Peking area.