Does Takeaway Exist in Ancient China?

As early as in the Song Dynasty, “takeout” services were already available. In Zhang Zcduan's popular painting Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival, there is a restaurant boy who has just come out of the shop with “to-go boxes” in his left hand and tableware （餐具） in his right, still     1     (wear) the shop apron and seeming to deliver the food somewhere. That image     2     (believe) to be a reflection of the original takeaway boy.

In ancient times, there were three ways to order food. The first is servant order. Send a family retainer （仆人） to go to a restaurant and make     3     order. When the food is ready, there is someone who     4     (particular) delivers the food to the customer's home, and then gets paid. The second is agreed delivery. Sign a long-term     5     (agree) with the restaurant. The store,    6    every agreed day, will pack the food well and send it to the customer's home. The last one is door-to-door selling. The sellers from restaurants sell the food door to door, especially in the entertainment places like theatres,    7     are crowded with many people.

The to-go box, wenpan (warm tray),     8     (consist) of two layers of porcelain. When     9     (use),   hot water is injected into the interlayer of the plate     10     (keep) the dishes warm. In this way, the dish is still warm when it arrives at the customer's home.

7 . THE BOAT RESTAURANT