In 1470, the Korean king Song-jong decided to restore the waning fortunes of Confucianism in his country, and invited Chinese dignitaries to his court. As described in Felipe Fernández-Armesto's excellent book 1492: The Year Our World Began, when the Chinese arrived, they were as much struck by the backwardness of Korea (despite the ancientness and wealth of the land and the well-established administrative system based on the mother country's) as by Korea's friendliness and hospitality:
five layers of honeyed bread, honey and flour cakes piled a foot high, rice soup, pickled relish, soy, rice wine superior in aroma and flavour to Chinese millet wine, beef, mutton, pork, walnuts, dates, mutton sausages, fish, and lotus roots to sweeten the breath.
2 comments:
honey and flour cakes piled a foot high
Where's Kim Jong-Atkins when you need him?
He's busy.
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