Shen Wansan's pig's trotters originated from the Zhou Dynasty. Pig's trotters are a traditional delicacy in Zhouzhuang, Jiangsu Province.
Pig's trotters are delicious, red, fat but not greasy.
Because they mean reunion, they are the main dish on locals’ holiday tables.
There is another interesting legend about the origin of Shen Wansan's pig's trotters: It is said that in the early Ming Dynasty, when he was the emperor, the people in power at that time paid great attention to the taboo of surnames.
Pig sounds the same as Zhu, so the whole Ming Dynasty did not dare to say pig.
At that time, Shen Wansan was the richest man in the country. He had countless money in the treasury and was very wealthy.
The emperor's fawning over him is understandable.
One day, Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang went to Shen Wansan's house as a guest and stayed at his house for dinner.
When it was served, there were pig's trotters.
Zhu Yuanzhang was unhappy and muttered in his heart: My surname is Zhu.
What do you mean when you say that I am a guest in your home and you feed me pig trotters?
Do you still want to eat me?
This world is mine.
The emperor was powerful, so he deliberately embarrassed Shen Wansan and asked him how to eat pig's trotters, because pig's trotters were whole, at least a few of them were on a plate.
If Shen Wansan kills them with a knife, then Zhu Yuanzhang can deal with his sins openly and return the family wealth to the treasury.
But Shen Wansan is not stupid.
He had an idea and took out a thin bone from the pig's hoof.
Fortunately, Shenyang chefs are good at this.
He called the pig's trotters rotten skin.
Shen Wansan used the bone as a knife to separate the pig's trotters, cleverly solving Zhu Yuanzhang's difficulty.
This is also the origin of Shen Wansan’s traditional way of eating pig’s trotters.
Seeing that Shen Wansan was not troubled, Zhu Yuanzhang began to concentrate on eating pig trotters.
Unexpectedly, he actually ate it right and found it delicious, so he asked about it.
Shen Wansan thought that he could not just say "pig's trotters", so he patted his thigh and said, "This is Shen Wansan's pig's trotters, so it is called Shen Wansan's pig's trotters."
The story of Zhu Yuanzhang and Shen Wansan: Zhu Yuanzhang was the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, and Shen Wansan was a businessman in the late Yuan Dynasty.
According to records, the only contact between Zhu Yuanzhang and Shen Wansan was when the Ming Dynasty Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang was jealous of Shen Wansan's wealth and exiled his family to Yunnan.
But is the relationship between Zhu Yuanzhang and Shen Wansan really just like this?
Statue of Zhu Yuanzhang The news that Zhu Yuanzhang exiled Shen Wansan was first recorded in the "History of the Ming Dynasty", but this is not necessarily correct.
Because Zhu Yuanzhang established the Ming Dynasty and became emperor in 1368, and "Wujiang Chronicle" according to Mo Dan's "Wujiang County Chronicle" states that Shen Wansan was already dead as early as 1356 when Zhang Shicheng occupied Wuhui.
If this is the case, Shen Wansan has been dead for at least twelve years when Zhu Yuanzhang became emperor, so the theory that Shen Wansan was exiled by Zhu Yuanzhang is obviously untenable.
It also makes people wonder, did Zhu Yuanzhang really ask Shen Wansan to build Nanjing?
Did Shen Wansan really propose to reward the three armies?
What is the real history?
There is no precise conclusion yet.
In other words, it is unknown whether Zhu Yuanzhang and Shen Wansan met.
What is Shen Wansan’s underwater tomb?
Shen Wansan's original name is Shen Fu, and just like his name, he is indeed very wealthy.
He was very successful as a businessman and earned a lot of money as a result.
Folklore even said he had a cornucopia.
Although it is not necessarily true, it can be seen that his wealth is indeed as rich as that of his enemy.
But precisely because of this, he was eventually frightened by the emperor and ended up in exile.
After his death, the legend of Shen Wansan's underwater tomb came out.
Where is Shen Wansan’s underwater tomb?
Tomb of Water Emperor Wansan in Shenzhou Shen Wansan settled in Zhouzhuang with his father in his early years, and later moved to Nanjing to live.
From agriculture to business, he embarked on the road to wealth.
But by the Ming Dynasty, his wealth made the emperor very afraid, because he not only built a section of the city wall construction project, but also completed it before the emperor completed it.
Later, he also proposed a reward for the three armies, which made the emperor angry, which led to his eventual exile.
He was buried in Guizhou at that time.
But it is said that in 1498, his fifth-generation grandson took his daughter and moved his bones back to Yinzi Bang in Zhouzhuang and buried them at the bottom of the river.
This is the origin of Shen Wansan's burial in the water.
This view is also spread among the people.
It is said that no matter how dry the bottom of Ginzi Bang is, there is an ancient tomb at the bottom, which is very solid and hard.
Shen Wansan was buried in it.
Some people say that his grave was buried underwater to prevent anyone from disturbing his sleep because of money, and to prevent his grave from being destroyed.