In the first year of Tianbao in the Tang Dynasty (AD 742), Li Bai, a poet, was favored by Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty and went to Beijing to worship the Hanlin, known as "Li Hanlin" in history. For a time, Li Bai was famous in the ruling and opposition, and his glory was very great. At that time, Li Bai wanted to make some contribution to the imperial court with the great ambition of "and set my cloudy sail straight and bridge the deep, deep sea". However, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty only regarded Li Bai as a "jester" who wrote poems and lyrics, and did not reuse his meaning politically. In addition, Li Bai's arrogant personality and contempt for powerful people were vilified by Yang and Gao Lishi, which gradually alienated Li Bai.
In order to realize his political ambition, Li Bai tried his best to get close to Xuanzong of Tang Dynasty.
Li Bai remembered Tang Xuanzong's hobby of eating and drinking, and the delicious stewed roast duck he used to eat in Sichuan when he was young. This delicious dish may win favor and realize your dream. So based on the duck he ate as a child, he steamed a duck dish for Tang Xuanzong with fat duck, century-old carved flowers, medlar, notoginseng and other materials.
Xuanzong ate this fat duck, which was white and rotten, and the soup was fresh and mellow. He found it delicious and memorable, and greatly appreciated it. He asked Li Bai what this dish was, and Li Bai replied, "I'm afraid your majesty is exhausted, so he has to mend his ears."
Xuanzong was very happy to say: "This dish is rare in the world and can be called Taibai Duck." Although this dish won a moment's great popularity and was named Taibai Duck, in the end, due to the slanderous remarks of Yang, Gao Lishi and others, Li Bai was never reused by the imperial court.
However, Li Bai's cooking has become a much-told story in the history of cooking. Taibai duck has gained great fame and has been handed down from generation to generation, becoming a traditional Sichuan dish.