Hunan has a low terrain and a warm and humid climate. Fresh meat is not suitable for storage, but smoked bacon is antiseptic and durable. Gradually, people also developed the eating habit of eating bacon.

As early as the Han Dynasty, the ancestors of Hunan used bacon to make delicacies. By the Qing Dynasty, such dishes were already very famous, and "steamed cured meat" was one of many cured meat dishes.