About Bird’s Saliva Nest - Birdnest's History

About Bird’s Saliva Nest - Birdnest's History

The first person to taste Bird’s Saliva Nest

PictureIt has been said in the “Bai Shi Tong” that there was a person in Java , Indonesia by the name of Sato Nurod who saw Bird’s Saliva Nest flying to limestone caves on mountains near the sea. His curiosity got the better of him and he decided to venture into the limestone caves. There were many beautiful Bird’s Saliva Nests inside and he removed a few and took them home. At first, he thought it was jus fun but he decided to test for its taste. He cooked a few pieces of the Bird’s Saliva Nest and found them to be tasty. News spread and the local people went to collect Bird’s Saliva Nest from the limestone caves. After long periods of consumption, everyone felt healthy and energetic and that was when they realized Bird’s Saliva Nest is a treasure. From then on, the tradition of Bird’s Saliva Nest as a nutritional product was popularized. This may be just a legend and since it was ages ago, there was no way to prove its authenticity. The earliest tax on Bird’s Saliva Nest was recorded during the Ming Dynasty in 1589 where “superior grade Bird’s Saliva Nest was taxed 1 tael of silver for every 100 katis, medium grade at 0.7 tael of silver and low grade at 0.2 tael of silver.” It can thus be seen that trading in Bird’s Saliva Nest was very mature at that time.

Historical records showed that when Admiral Zheng He sailed south (1405-1433 AD), at a time when barter trade was carried out between Chinese fleets and South East Asian countries, ceramics from the Tang Dynasty were traded for Bird’s Saliva Nest from the people of Borneo (consisting of Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia). These were brought as tributes to the emperor and since then, Bird’s Saliva Nest was regarded as a precious nutritional supplement.
Zheng He visited the coastal regions of Malaysia , Indonesia and Thailand which are chief production places of Bird’s Saliva Nest. It has been recorded that some 125,000 pounds of Bird’s Saliva Nest consisting of some 4 million pieces were exported from Batavia , Java (now known as Jakarta ) to China after the 17 th century. This coincided with the seven voyages down south of Zheng He.
The following is a legend on how Zheng He discovered Bird’s Saliva Nest: There was once Zheng He's fleet was caught in a thunderstorm on one of his trips down south. He floated to a deserted island in the Malay Archipelago . When there was a shortage of food, some of the sailors accidentally discovered there were Bird’s Saliva Nest on the cliffs. Zheng He ordered his subordinates to take the Bird’s Saliva Nests, cleanse them and stew as food. Several days later, everyone of his crew looked healthy and was full of energy. Upon returning home, Zheng He presented the Bird’s Saliva Nest to the Emperor. From then on, Bird’s Saliva Nest became an item used as tribute to the Emperor and court officials. The practice of using Bird’s Saliva Nest for beauty purposes also became popular in the royal courts.

The earliest Chinese to discover Bird’s Saliva Nest:

The “Sarawak Records”: When Ye Zhen Hua and Wang San Shu of Kuching reached Miri in Sarawak , they discovered a swiftlet cave. At that time, whoever discovers any swiftlet cave can have it as his personal property.

The earliest medical records on Bird’s Saliva Nest:

“Ben Jing Feng Yuan”: Written by Zhang Lu Cheng in 1659. It has been recorded that “Bird’s Saliva Nest is sweet and mild. It promotes the constructive combination between metal and water, the lungs nourishes the kidneys, while it also calms down the stomach, making it an excellent food.”

The earliest record on Bird’s Saliva Nest in medical books:

“Medical Dictionary of China” was published by Xie Guan in 1921. It has been recorded that Bird’s Saliva Nest is used for revitalizing qi, balancing qi, nourishing the lungs, improving appetite, dissolving phlegm, stopping cough, increasing sperm, nourishing bone marrow and as an aphrodisiac.”

The earliest poetry on Bird’s Saliva Nest:

“Wu Mei Cun Poetry Collection”: End of the Ming Dynasty and early Qing Dynasty. Wu Wei Ye (1609-1671) wrote: The sea Bird’s Saliva Nest are homeless, they fight for tiny white fishes. They provide food for humans, but they can never settle down. The taste is delicious but their nests are soon empty. Officials look for things afar and they present their books early.”

The classic literature which described Bird’s Saliva Nest most:

“Dream of the Red Chamber”: In the diet of Da Guan Yuan in the Dream of the Red Chamber, the word “Bird’s Saliva Nest” appeared 17 times. There is a passage which sounded, “Dai Yu is weak and replenishment of superior nutrients is not recommended. The most suitable nutritional replenishment recommended was Bird’s Saliva Nest. For Qin Ke Qing who suffers from both weakness of the blood and qi and Jia Bao Yu who is mentally down and weak, Bird’s Saliva Nest is the perfect medicine for them. In Chapter 45 of the Dream of the Red Chamber, Bao Chai said, “I saw your prescription yesterday and found that there is too much of Ginseng and Cinnamon. Although these herbs replenish both qi and mental energy, they are too heaty. I would suggest that the liver be calmed down and nourishment be given to the stomach first. When the heat in the liver is gone, the gas in the stomach will also disappear. Health can be maintained by just taking in food. Take one tael of Bird’s Saliva Nest upon waking up each morning, added with half a tael of rock sugar and boiled into porridge. Taking it on a regular basis, it possesses strong effects and is best for replenishing qi.” This clearly showed that Bird’s Saliva Nest has been utilized in Chinese food since a long time ago. It also showed that Bird’s Saliva Nest possess the ability to calm down the liver and nourish the stomach while replenishing qi.

The earliest magazine with knowledge of Bird’s Saliva Nest:

The “Oriental Magazine”: Page 15 of the 8 th edition published in 1918 (Talk on Bird’s Saliva Nest)

Words from the earliest Bird’s Saliva Nest trader:

“Dong Xi Yang Kao Monthly”: 1833

The largest import location of Bird’s Saliva Nest in the world:

TRAFFIC Report: Hong Kong . 1986 – 145.5 tonnes, 1988 – 148.4 tonnes, 1989 – 138.4 tonnes, 1990 – 137.6 tonnes, 1991 – 124.1 tonnes.

The longest living man who took Bird’s Saliva Nest:

“San Lian Sheng Huo Zhou Kan ”: Madam Song Mei Ling, aged 106 years. “She took a small bowl of Bird’s Saliva Nest with rock sugar everyday.”

The youngest person consuming Bird’s Saliva Nest:

“Lian He Zao Bao”: Babies above 4 months may take Bird’s Saliva Nest. “Many pregnant women in Singapore take it, and many fetus have been “enjoying” the nutrition from Bird’s Saliva Nest for many months in their mother's womb.”

The group which are most familiar with taking Bird’s Saliva Nest as a supplement:

Hong Kong movie stars and singers performing take Bird’s Saliva Nest as their only food before concerts.

The largest flock of Collocalia ciphaga Bird’s Saliva Nest:

Britannica encyclopedia: 1 million Bird’s Saliva Nest.

The earliest swift house:

National Geographic of China : Built in 1880 in the final year of the 54 th East India Resident, J. W. van Lansberge, coinciding with the 10 th year of Xian Feng during the Qing Dynasty.