Article | History of Feiyu

According to incomplete statistics, in the history of Chinese cuisine, there are about 66 dishes influenced by Su Dongpo. The ones we often eat are:

Dongpo meat, Dongpo fish, Dongpo tofu, Dongpo elbow.

Thinking of these delicacies really makes people drool. For modern people, it is a good thing that Su Dongpo loves to eat, but for pigs, Su Dongpo is a nightmare level figure.

Of course, he not only loved eating, but also loved cooking. If we look at it now, he would be a qualified gourmet. And many of Su Dongpo's poems and paintings are related to eating. It seems that as long as there is food, , Su Dongpo's unsatisfactory career was nothing at all.

For example, when Su Dongpo was demoted to Huangzhou, he wrote this poem:

The pork in Huangzhou is good, but the price is like dirt. The rich refuse to eat it, and the poor do not know how to cook it. Start the fire slowly and add less water. When the fire is sufficient, it will be beautiful. Get up and have a bowl every day, and you will be so full that you don’t care. ——"Ode to Pork"

In today's terms, this poem means that Su Dongpo is praising the pork in Huangzhou for how good it is. Not to mention cheap, you can still eat enough, but, rich people But he refused to eat it, and people who have no money can't cook it. This was no problem to Su Dongpo. He also invented a new way of eating it, simmering it slowly over low heat and adding less water. When the heat is up, don't mention how beautiful the meat is.

Not to mention, Su Dongpo is really knowledgeable about eating.

Su Shi is good at eating and writing poems. He writes poems when he is hungry, writes poems when he is full, and writes poems when he disagrees. He went to jail because of writing poems. The first thing he did after he was released from prison. The main thing is to write poetry.

Su Dongpo was also frivolous. He had outstanding literary attainments and felt that he was invincible, so he hung a couplet on his door:

Know all the characters in the world and read all the books in the world.

After seeing this, an old man felt that this kid was crazy, so he took a book and asked him for advice. As a result, Su Dongpo couldn't answer, so he had to add 4 more words before the couplet. What did he add? Well, let's take a look together. Su Dongpo: In terms of knowledge and literacy, I claim to be the best in the world

Is Su Dongpo talented? Of course he is talented, and his younger brother Su Che and his father Su Xun are also talented, among the eight great masters of the Tang and Song Dynasties , their Su family has three children. How can such a learned family not be admired?

Su Dongpo has shown extraordinary intelligence since he was a child. Perhaps due to the influence of his father, he was good at poetry and prose at a young age, and was a well-known young genius in the local area. Such an environment and Su Dongpo was very conceited about his own abilities. Thinking about it, being invincible always makes him lonely.

When Su Dongpo grew up, his arrogance still existed. One day, Su Dongpo got a little drunk, and while he was intoxicated, he wrote a couplet and posted it on the door of his house.

The first line is: Know all the words in the world;

The second line is: Read all the books in the world.

As soon as this couplet came out, it really made people lose their temper. People around them were speechless to this arrogant boy, but they were helpless. Who made him so talented? But then again Wow, this couplet is really not an ordinary one. Even the editors of Xinhua Dictionary do not dare to claim to know all the Chinese characters in the world.

Looking at the couplet on the door, Su Dongpo felt good about himself. He didn’t even think there was anything wrong at all. Not to mention, without two brushes, he really didn’t dare to be so high-profile, but there are always things outside the world. God, there are always people outside the world. There was an old man who couldn't stand Su Dongpo, who claimed to be the best in the world. The white-haired old man: The world is written in the Book of the World, and the people we know have read only a drop in the ocean

After a few days of hanging the couplet, Su Dongpo’s couplet also spread to several surrounding places, and a few days later , a gray-haired old man came to Su Dongpo's door. He held a book in his hand and said that he came to ask Su Dongpo for advice. Su Dongpo was not polite and decisively took the book from the old man's hand.

As a result, Su Dongpo was confused at first glance, because Su Dongpo didn’t recognize any of the characters in the book. Su Dongpo felt panicked and showed an extremely unnatural embarrassment. The old man smiled and pointed at the door. The couplet said:

The world's words, the world's books, I have only made a drop of the ocean...

After the old man said this, before Su Dongpo could react, he trembled After leaving, Su Dongpo looked at the old man's background and the couplets on the door. He felt extremely ashamed and it took a long time for him to come back to his senses.

This couplet cannot be pasted anymore. When Su Dongpo wanted to tear it off, he thought of four characters and added two in front of this couplet. This five-character couplet also It became a seven-character couplet:

The first couplet became: strive to read all the world;

The second couplet became: determined to read all the books in the world.

Not to mention, just by adding these four words, the meaning of this couplet completely changed. From the original arrogance and arrogance to one of self-motivation and hard study, it also attracted praise from the surrounding neighbors.

From then on, Su Dongpo began to study humbly, read widely, worked tirelessly, and persevered. Later, he finally made amazing achievements in literature, poetry, calligraphy and painting, and became a literary master of his generation.

Chaoyun: The bachelor is talented, but he is full of inappropriateness

Having mentioned the interesting story about Su Dongpo, let’s look at another one. Su Dongpo had a concubine named Chaoyun. This person was originally just The famous singer in West Lake was more than 20 years younger than Su Dongpo. It was Su Dongpo's talent and cooking skills that completely conquered this prostitute.

Su Dongpo loved this concubine very much. One day when Su Dongpo returned home, after eating a full meal, he touched his round belly and asked everyone:

What do you think of me? What exactly is in your belly?

Anyone with a discerning eye can answer this question, and it is clear that he is pretending to be rice, but naturally no one is willing to give such a tacky answer, so a maid said:

It is filled with articles.

This is a good answer, but Su Dongpo was not satisfied. Another maid replied:

It’s all based on knowledge.

Su Dongpo was still dissatisfied, and finally he looked at Chaoyun, who said:

It is inappropriate for a bachelor to have a full belly.

Su Dongpo burst out laughing after hearing this, and from then on he regarded Chaoyun as a confidant. Chaoyun’s answer could be said to have touched Su Dongpo’s heart. What he had in his stomach was indeed inappropriate. Because of the Wutai Poetry Case that almost killed Su Dongpo, he was charged with "fooling the court and slandering the New Deal" because of the poems he wrote.

After Chaoyun passed away, Su Dongpo was extremely sad and wrote a couplet specifically for her:

Untimely, only Chaoyun can recognize me;

Playing ancient tunes alone, I miss you even more every time it rains.

Full of lovesickness, all in this couplet. Indeed, there were very few people who could understand Su Dongpo at that time, but Chaoyun was one. How could Su Dongpo let go easily?

The famous poet Yu Guangzhong once said:

I don’t want to travel with Li Bai because he is irresponsible and has no sense of reality; I also don’t want to travel with Du Fu because he is too bitter and I’m afraid he is too Serious; Su Dongpo is very good, he is very interesting, and we can be very good friends.

Of course, following Su Dongpo, not only can you learn knowledge, but at least you can eat a lot of delicious food. Su Dongpo's official career was also very bumpy, but every time he was demoted to a place, he seemed to be reborn. , because he turned his bad luck into appetite and lived his life into a joke.

As long as there is food, Su Dongpo will not panic. As long as there is food, Su Dongpo will not forget to write poems. Who wouldn’t want to be friends with such a foodie?

Reference materials: "Encyclopedia of Chinese Couplets", "Dongpo Poetry", "Guanlin Poetry", etc.

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