At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang became emperor, and the whole country was afraid to say pig (Zhu). There was a rich man named Shen Wansan in Zhouzhuang. Because he was extremely rich, Zhu Yuanzhang was jealous, so he visited Shen Wansan's house, and Shen Wansan took out pig's hoof to entertain Zhu Yuanzhang. Zhu Yuanzhang saw that he was deliberately embarrassed and asked how to eat this.

Because the whole pig's trotters have not been cut, if you answer with a knife, Shen Wansan will be punished, because in ancient times, you could not use a knife in front of the emperor. Shen Wansan had a brainwave, pulled out a thin bone from the pig's trotters, and cut the meat with bone, saving his life.

Zhu Yuanzhang thought the meat was delicious and asked what the name of the dish was. Shen Wansan knew he couldn't say pig's hoof, so he turned his head and said it was "Wanshan's hoof". So Wanshan hoof got its name.