Did Ancient Chinese People Have Hot Pot? 古人也吃火锅吗？
Hot pot is popular in China today. Did ancient Chinese people have hot pot？
Ancient Chinese people had hot pot as early as the Shang Dynasty （1600—1046 BC）. At that time， people boiled foods and soups in bronze cauldrons. The cauldron had two parts—one was the pot to cook foods in soup， the other part was a layer or a space inside the cauldron to hold firewood. But at that time， the cauldron was only for a single person to eat from.
During the Han Dynasty （202 BC—AD 220）， people divided a pot into several parts to enjoy different flavors.
During the Tang Dynasty （618—907）， having hot pot was a trendy thing. When people held family feasts， they would prepare hot pot. People of the Song Dynasty （960—1279） had hot pot to welcome winter.
现如今在中国，火锅非常受欢迎。那么，古人也吃火锅吗？
早在商朝（公元前1600—前1046），中国古人就开始吃火锅了。那时人们在青铜鼎中煮食物和汤。鼎有两个部分——一部分用来煮汤食，另一部分是鼎的一个内部空间层，用来放木柴。但那时，一口鼎只供一人使用。
到了汉朝（公元前202—公元220），人们将一口锅分隔成几部分，以便品尝不同的味道。
在唐朝（618—907），吃火锅变得流行起来。举办家庭宴会时，人们会准备火锅。在宋朝（960—1279），人们会以吃火锅的方式迎接冬天的到来。
Huoguo， the Chinese name for hot pot， was mentioned by Yuan Mei， poet and foodie in the Qing Dynasty （1644—1911）， in a book about all kinds of food. At that time， hot pot was very popular. People put all kinds of meats and vegetables into pots made of different materials， such as copper and iron.
Hot pot also became a famous royal dish， called reguo. It’s said that Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty loved hot pot so much that he had it for almost every meal. He once held a big hot pot feast， inviting more than 5，000 people to enjoy about 1，550 hot pots.
Now， hot pot remains a popular Chinese cuisine， and foreign friends also enjoy it. It has also become a “bridge” for people to maintain and communicate their feelings.
清朝（1644—1911）诗人、美食家袁枚在他的一本介绍各种食物的书中提到了“火锅”这个词语。当时，火锅非常流行。人们把各种肉类和蔬菜放入不同材质的锅中煮制，比如铜锅和铁锅。
火锅也是著名的皇家菜肴，被称为“热锅”。据说，清朝的乾隆皇帝非常喜欢火锅，几乎每顿都要吃。他曾举办了一场盛大的火锅宴会，邀请了5000多人一起享用约1500口火锅。
如今，火锅仍然是一种受欢迎的中国菜肴，外国人也喜欢吃。火锅也已成为人们维系和交流感情的“桥梁”。
Word Bank
trendy /'trendi/ adj. 时髦的；赶时髦的
He was trying to be really cool and trendy.
feast /fiːst/ n. 盛宴；宴会
foodie /'fuːdi/ n. 美食家