Imperial Consort’s Craving for Lychees
贵妃嗜荔
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The earliest record of imperial consort Lady Yang (Yang Yuhuan 杨玉环, 719–756) and her fondness for lychees appears in the Supplement to the History of the Tang State (《唐国史补》), written by Li Zhao during the Yuanhe reign (806–820) of the Tang dynasty. It notes: ‘Imperial Consort Lady Yang was born in Shu and loved lychees. Those from the South Sea were superior to those from Shu, so each year they were hurriedly delivered.’
Later, the New Book of Tang (《新唐书》) formally recorded: ‘The consort was fond of lychees and insisted on having them freshly picked. Couriers were stationed along the route to gallop thousands of miles, ensuring the taste remained unchanged upon arrival in the capital.’
This extravagance was encouraged: Zhang Jiuzhang, military commissioner of Lingnan, was promoted by Emperor Xuanzong of Tang (Li Longji 李隆基, 685–762) for his timely tribute. Other officials followed suit. The poet Du Mu later satirised this indulgence in a now-famous quatrain:
From Chang’an I look back at embroidered piles,
Palace gates open one by one atop the hills.
A single rider raises a red dust—she smiles,
No one knows it is the lychees arriving still.
(长安回望绣成堆，山顶千门次第开。一骑红尘妃子笑，无人知是荔枝来。)
For more on the decadence of Emperor Xuanzong and the favoured Consort Yang, see Imperial Consort Lady Yang Getting Drunk.
image identification and literature research by Dr Yibin Ni
Similar Figural Story Scenes for Differentiation:
Seasoning a Stew with Sour Prunes 调梅和羹
Fig 1-2: famille verte porcelain lantern, Kangxi period (1662–1722), Qing dynasty, courtesy of the Jie Rui Tang Collection