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開門七件事: 柴米油鹽醬醋茶

7 daily necessities: firewood, rice, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar, tea
Origin: China

In ancient Chinese households, seven items were seen as necessities for maintaining daily life — firewood, rice, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar and tea.

These items appeared as early as the Song Dynasty, in a book titled Dreams of Splendor of the Eastern Capital (1187).

One famous poet of the time, Wu Zimu, recorded “wine” as among the daily essentials. However, this item was eliminated by the following Yuan Dynasty, leaving the expression in its current form.

Oil, in this Chinese expression, refers to the oil from sesame seeds, perilla, and cannabis, made popular through commerce at the time during the Southern Song Dynasty.

Today, in most parts of modern China, firewood has changed over to the use of petroleum gas and natural gas.

 

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