自1 9 7 5 年起，在其后的49年間，我有近30次進(jìn)入蒙古草原的經(jīng)歷。我幸運(yùn)地結(jié)識(shí)了許多蒙古族友人、一些中外蒙古學(xué)者，還品嘗了很多草原美食。

Since my first visit in1975， over the past 49 years， I’vebeen fortunate enough to travel to the Mongoliangrasslands nearly 30 times. These journeys haveintroduced me to countless Mongolian friends，as well as Chinese and international scholars ofMongolian studies. Along the way， I’ve also had thechance to savor a wide array of traditional grasslandfoods.

今天人們說(shuō)起內(nèi)蒙古草原飲食文化，首先想到的總是手把肉。就悠久性、普及性、醇厚性與典型性意義來(lái)說(shuō)，蒙古族手把肉無(wú)疑可成代表。不過(guò)，不要誤解，內(nèi)蒙古草原美食不僅有手把肉，還有奶茶、羊雜湯、奶酒、奶皮子、奶油、奶疙瘩、掛面、餡餅……而且都獨(dú)具魅力。

When people think about the food culture ofInner Mongolia， the first thing that often comesto mind is boiled lamb. Given its long-standinghistory， widespread appeal， rich flavor， and culturalsignificance， it’s easily the region’s most iconic dish.But Inner Mongolian cuisine is much more thanjust boiled lamb. From milk tea and lamb offal soupto fermented mare’s milk， naipizi （dry milk sheet），cream， dried Mongolian cheese， noodles， and meatpancakes， each has its unique charm.

藍(lán)天白云，綠草黃葉，勒勒車旁，氈房坐定，一盆全羊，騰騰熱氣，信手利齒，笑語(yǔ)歡歌，那是民情融洽、朋友推心、物我同在又兩忘的感覺(jué)。氈房主人的熱情是溫厚敦實(shí)的，他們的真誠(chéng)沒(méi)有任何顧慮矯飾。孩子的真誠(chéng)，可愛(ài)未免天真；而成人的真誠(chéng)則是人性的光輝、人格的偉大。我在許許多多個(gè)蒙古包中感受到的是集體的品格，每次躬身步入神圣的氈房都不禁心潮激蕩。

Picture this： under a sky of vivid blue，surrounded by green grass and golden leaves， youfind yourself seated beside a traditional lelechecart， inside a snug felt yurt. A steaming pot ofwhole lamb is brought out， and everyone digsin — relaxed， laughing， singing， sharing stories.It’s a moment where connections deepen， and theboundary between nature and people dissolves. Thehospitality of the yurt owners is generous and sincerewithout any concern. The children’s sincerity are fullof innocence， while the adults possess a heartfeltwarmth and a nobility of spirit that is deeply moving.In countless yurts， I’ve experienced this collectivegenerosity， and every time I bow to step inside， I feela surge of emotion.

在我的心目中，手把肉不是單純的一盤白水煮羊肉，而是能夠身心感受和理解的手把肉文化。理解這種文化，就一定要深入草原，有隨同放牧甚至跟從轉(zhuǎn)場(chǎng)的體驗(yàn)，也就是深入草地生活。因此，不是在草地蒙古包里，不是與蒙古族牧民在牧場(chǎng)上呼拉爾（圓圈）圍坐，手把肉的感覺(jué)會(huì)大打折扣。

To me， boiled lamb is more than just a dish. It’sa cultural experience that feeds both the body andthe soul. To truly understand its essence， you needto immerse yourself in the grasslands， walk withthe herders， and witness the rhythms of nomadiclife， including their seasonal migrations. In short，unless you’re seated in a yurt on the grasslands，or assemble （“khural” in Mongolian） withMongolian herders in a circle， the fullsignificance of boiled lamb can neverbe fully appreciated.

我第一次深入草原， 住進(jìn)游牧氈房，司馬遷《史記》的蒙古草原記載就生動(dòng)起來(lái)，與此同時(shí)，我對(duì)“二十五史”中有關(guān)草地民族風(fēng)俗的記敘有了深切的感悟。清水煮肉，是歷史上游牧食生產(chǎn)方式?jīng)Q定的食生活文化，是限定條件下的可行性選擇。傳統(tǒng)游牧生活中，晚餐是一天唯一的一次正餐，牧民會(huì)例行殺一只羊。一只羊被分割成若干大塊，漢語(yǔ)成語(yǔ)“大卸八塊”可作形象理解。一只羊從宰殺到開(kāi)吃，也就半個(gè)小時(shí)。東蒙西蒙的宰羊方法不同，以下是我在呼倫貝爾草地的一次經(jīng)歷：男主人在牧羊犬的配合下圈攏料理羊群，女主人在氈房外的鍋灶燒水，捆倒的羊旁大小盆各一擺放，小盆中有飯碗一枚，八歲娃娃從腰間抽出解手小刀獨(dú)立完成宰羊過(guò)程。在去皮、開(kāi)膛和分割之后，女主人隨即逐一將大塊的羊肉投入近沸的水中。肉分割完畢后，娃娃將解手小刀折疊入鞘重新插回腰間，全過(guò)程熟練、輕松、利落，那神態(tài)絕不遜色于魔術(shù)師在一片掌聲中的成功表演。女主人說(shuō)：“巴特爾（Bater）能幫助爸爸媽媽做很多事。”而娃娃在我眼里已然是勇士。我心中暗想：“難怪蒙古旋風(fēng)影響世界，英雄的民族！”娃娃宰羊的專業(yè)性，與草地生活裝束、生態(tài)環(huán)境的神體雕琢，這一切都讓我震撼感慨。

The first time I ventured deep into the Mongoliangrasslands and stayed in a yurt， the world describedin Sima Qian’s Records of the Grand Historian cameto life， and the customs of the grassland peoplesrecorded in the “Twenty-Four Histories” took onvivid meaning. Cooking meat in water is a foodtradition shaped by this nomadic lifestyle. In thisculture， dinner is often the only full meal of the day，usually involving the slaughter of a sheep. The animalis butchered into large chunks， which perfectlycaptures the spirit of the old Chinese idiom “cut intoeight pieces.” From the moment of slaughter to themeal on the table， the entire process takes no more than half an hour.The methods ofbutchering differbetween eastern andwestern Mongolia， butone scene stays with me.I was in Hulunbuir， watching atypical nomadic family prepare dinner. The father，with the help of herding dogs， rounded up the sheep，while the mother boiled water over an outdoorstove. Next to the sheep， two basins — one large， onesmall — sat ready， with a bowl placed in the smallerone. Their eight-year-old son pulled a small knifefrom his belt and， with surprising ease， handledthe slaughter himself. In no time， he had skinned，gutted， and divided the meat， while his motherswiftly dropped large pieces of lamb into the almostboilingwater. When he was finished， the boy foldedhis knife and tucked it back into his waistbandwith fluid， precise movements， like a magicianconcluding a trick to applause. His mother proudlyremarked， “Bater can help with many things aroundhere.” To me， this boy was already a young warrior.I thought， “No wonder the Mongols took over theworld in a whirlwind. They are all heroes！” The boy’sslaughtering skills， his attire and poise， all shaped bythe grasslands， left me in pure awe.

煮好的羊肉同樣是盛在大盆里端上來(lái)的，幾柄小刀隨同配備，主人例行割取幾片肉向天地拋祭。調(diào)料唯獨(dú)鹽粉，再多不過(guò)一碟草地野韭菜花醬。肋條肉最可口，講究骨凈若脫，食后毫無(wú)肉痕留存。羊肉食畢，女主人將羊湯掛面一碗恭敬端上。食畢，清臺(tái)，斟酒入碗，各陳面前，酬酢間推心話語(yǔ)。

Once the lamb was cooked， it was served in a large basin alongside small knives for carving. Inkeeping with tradition， the host cut a few slices ofmeat and tossed them into the air as an offeringto heaven and earth. The only seasoning was salt，though there was also a small dish of wild chiveblossom sauce， a specialty of the grasslands. The ribmeat was the most flavorful， and it’s customary toeat the bones clean， leaving no trace of meat behind.Afterward， the hostess served a bowl of noodlescooked in the lamb broth， which rounded out themeal. With the table cleared， bowls of wine werepoured， and the evening ended with heartfelt toastsand conversations.

根據(jù)當(dāng)?shù)氐牧?xí)俗，用于款待最尊貴客人的羊通常是“二歲子”，在基因改良、科學(xué)催肥、激素促成等生物技術(shù)進(jìn)入草地之前，這種羊凈肉約14 斤。我與主人一家三口，一餐輕松地享用了一只羊。我還目睹過(guò)蒙古壯漢一人吃掉一只羊的景觀。時(shí)任呼和諾爾書記的楚魯（Chulu）聽(tīng)我說(shuō)起此事還笑著說(shuō)：“那有什么奇怪？我現(xiàn)在還能吃一只羊！”Chulu的漢語(yǔ)意為“石頭”。楚魯書記當(dāng)時(shí)已年近五十，他性格堅(jiān)強(qiáng)，但溫和、寬厚、友善，不是一般的石頭，而是溫潤(rùn)的瑪瑙石，光彩而不耀眼。他每天都喝酒，且喝白酒而非奶酒。騎著馬在方圓數(shù)十里內(nèi)或逾百里外巡視，經(jīng)常半醺狀態(tài)的他從來(lái)沒(méi)有從馬背上掉下來(lái)過(guò)。

In keeping with local custom， themost honored guest is served a“two-year-old lamb.” Beforethe days of gene t i cmodification， scientificf a t t e n i n g ， a n dhormone-enhancedb i o t e c h n o l o g y，such a lamb wouldproduce around 7kilograms （14 jin） ofpure meat. The host， hiswife and son， and I easilyfinished eating an entirelamb in one sitting. I’veeven seen a full-grownMongolian man devoura w ho l e l amb b yhimself. Chulu， whowas the secretary ofHohonor at the time， smiled at me after hearing mywords and said， “What’s so surprising？ I can still eat awhole lamb myself！” The word “chulu” means “stone”in Chinese. Chulu was nearly fifty then. He wasstrong and unyielding， but not in a rough way. Hewas more like polished agate， solid yet smooth， witha warmth that drew people in. He drank alcohol dailyand always preferred white spirits over the traditionalfermented mare’s milk. He’d often ride his horse formiles — sometimes over a hundred — conducting aninspection. Even though he was frequently in a halfdrunkenstate， he never once fell from his horse.

蒙古人習(xí)慣在腰帶上斜插一把鞘上鑲有銀飾、瑪瑙的精致佩刀，刀鞘上寬出一槽，內(nèi)插約15 公分的駝鹿（犴）骨制筷子一雙，稱為“刀箸”。刀是勞動(dòng)中割切削所需，也是用來(lái)割食的。那么那雙筷子呢？草地蒙古人傳統(tǒng)的進(jìn)食方式與漢族并不完全一樣，以肉為常餐食物的蒙古族是不需要筷子助食的。定居是后來(lái)的事，隨著食生產(chǎn)與食生活方式的轉(zhuǎn)變，餐具演變?yōu)轱L(fēng)格或異而規(guī)制略同于漢族的碗筷。也就是說(shuō)，刀箸中的箸并非日常餐的助食具。從文獻(xiàn)、考古、風(fēng)俗、器物、行為等多學(xué)科、多角度審視，應(yīng)當(dāng)說(shuō)，蒙古族刀箸中的筷子主要是用來(lái)夾取熱湯面的。在各類方便面流行起來(lái)之前的相當(dāng)長(zhǎng)一段時(shí)間里，掛面是蒙古族人，尤其是游牧生活的蒙古族牧民大量?jī)?chǔ)備的“干糧”。掛面用白紙裹包，一斤一匝，這種“白皮掛面”既便于長(zhǎng)期貯存，也便于挈帶致遠(yuǎn)。因此，蒙古包中出現(xiàn)白皮掛面可以說(shuō)司空見(jiàn)慣。對(duì)于蒙古族來(lái)說(shuō)，當(dāng)然，不僅僅蒙古族，還有許多處于流動(dòng)狀態(tài)、居于偏僻環(huán)境的少數(shù)民族，掛面無(wú)疑是他們最便捷的食糧儲(chǔ)備，而蒙古族傳統(tǒng)的草地“羊湯掛面”的麥、水、肉自然純正，更是無(wú)可比擬。有理由說(shuō)，是蒙古族的生產(chǎn)與生活方式?jīng)Q定了掛面的天緣需求，而掛面的大量產(chǎn)銷也正是在元代。陸地上，游牧的草地蒙古族離不開(kāi)掛面，而海上季風(fēng)時(shí)節(jié)往來(lái)中國(guó)的各國(guó)船隊(duì)連帆接艫，它們重要的儲(chǔ)備糧也莫過(guò)于掛面。所以我說(shuō)，中華掛面是歷史上的絲綢之路食品，馬可 · 波羅伴隨闊闊真公主遠(yuǎn)嫁波斯的船隊(duì)也是儲(chǔ)備了大量掛面的。掛面不是蒙古族的發(fā)明，但掛面的規(guī)模生產(chǎn)與文化張揚(yáng)確是蒙古族的貢獻(xiàn)，掛面文化是蒙古族吃出來(lái)的，而吃羊湯掛面需要筷子。

Mongolians traditionally carried a beautifullycrafted knife， sheathed in a scabbard adorned with silver and agate， worn diagonally at the waist. Thescabbard had a groove that held a pair of chopsticks，about 15 centimeters long， made from elk bone，called the “knife and chopsticks.” The knife wasused both for cutting during work and for slicingfood. But what about the chopsticks？ Unlike theHan Chinese， Mongolians didn’t traditionally usechopsticks for meals， as their diet was primarilymeat-based. It wasn’t until they settled down andtheir food production and eating habits evolved thatbowls and chopsticks became part of their diningculture， much like those of the Han people. Thechopsticks in this “knife and chopsticks” set thusweren’t for everyday meals. From a multidisciplinaryperspective — combining insights from literature，archaeology， customs， and behavioral studies — it’sclear that Mongolians primarily used chopsticks toeat hot noodles in soup. Before the era of instantnoodles， dried noodles were a staple for nomadicMongolians. These noodles， often packed in whitepaper bundles weighing about 500 grams （onecatty）， were easy to store and carry over longdistances. In traditional Mongolian yurts， driednoodles were a common household item. Noodlesweren’t unique to Mongolians; many ethnic groupsliving in remote or mobile environments dependedon them for sustenance. However， the purity ofMongolian wheat， water， and meat makes Mongolian“l(fā)amb soup noodles” incomparable. It’s fair to saythat the Mongolian way of life and their productionmethods naturally gave rise to the demand for driednoodles， which began to be mass-produced duringthe Yuan Dynasty. On land， nomadic Mongoliansrelied on these noodles， while at sea， fleets travelingto China during the monsoon seasons stocked upon them as essential provisions. This is why I arguethat Chinese dried noodles were a staple along thehistoric Silk Road. Marco Polo， when travelingwith Princess Kokachin to Persia， brought largequantities of dried noodles aboard their ships.While Mongolians didn’t invent dried noodles， theirlarge-scale production and cultural significance areundoubtedly Mongolian contributions. The cultureof dried noodles grew out of the Mongolian diningexperience and eating lamb soup noodles requiredchopsticks.

所有到過(guò)內(nèi)蒙古草原的人離開(kāi)之際都會(huì)滿心流連， 滿臉依依不舍。我在草原學(xué)會(huì)了騎馬，有次突然勒韁從驟停的走馬頭前跌倒在草地上。那一刻驚詫過(guò)后，整個(gè)身體呈“大”字型在茫茫草原上舒展開(kāi)來(lái)。仰望高遠(yuǎn)天空，悠悠白云，蔚蔚青空；微風(fēng)拂面，愜意舒適。朦朧中，自己似乎在被身下的無(wú)數(shù)小草合力慢慢托起，托向藍(lán)天白云，而縈繞腦海的則是洋溢著騰騰熱氣的手把肉、羊湯掛面、奶茶……

Everyone who visits the Inner Mongoliangrasslands leaves with a heart full of nostalgia and areluctance to say goodbye. It was on these grasslandsthat I first learned to ride a horse. One time， afterpulling the reins a bit too sharply， the horse cameto an abrupt halt， and I went flying headfirst ontothe soft grass. After the initial shock， I found myselfsprawled out， staring up at the endless blue sky，with white clouds lazily drifting by， a gentle breezebrushing my skin， and the warm sun shining down.As sleep slowly began to overtake me， it felt as thoughthe countless blades of grass beneath me were gentlylifting me， carrying me up toward the sky and clouds.In that moment， my thoughts wandered to the flavorsof steaming boiled lamb， lamb soup noodles， andmilk tea...