Abstract

This paper analyzes the history of Dongpo pork through a variety of approaches. The dish is named after Su Shi (1036-1101), a famous scholar-poet who lived in the Song Dynasty, who was also known as Su Dongpo. Although it is possible that Su Shi might have invented a method of cooking pork, it was not called “Dongpo Pork” at the time, and the term did not appear until the Ming Dynasty. The method of cooking Dongpo pork also evolved over time. The method is described as paying attention first to the heat, and then to the variety of spices and the mixing of the sauce. In Ming and Qing times, it was not a dish for common people, but a favorite cuisine item among the literati and gentry. Dongpo pork became an important dish during elite banquets, and was also a common gift among friends. The popularity of Dongpo pork was linked to the veneration of Su Shi and the dish thus became a symbol of literati culture and identity. Dongpo pork became a main feature in Hangzhou cuisine only during the Republican Period. As Hangzhou restaurants gradually expanded their business to other parts of China, they vigorously promoted Dongpo pork as their signature dish, and even invented fictional accounts about Su Shi when he was an official in Hangzhou. Dongpo pork eventually spread overseas, most conspicuously to Japan, where it became widely regarded as a representative dish of Chinese literati culture.