CRADLE OF TOFU

BY DAVID DAWSON

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在路上ON THE ROAD

CRADLE OF TOFU

BY DAVID DAWSON

A journey to the fabled origins of bean curd

舌尖上的淮南，傳說中的中國豆腐之鄉

W ith the possible exceptions of rice and dumplings， few foods seem as intrinsically tied to Chinese culture as tofu. But despite its widespread popularity throughout China and vegetarians everywhere， the origins of this food remain shrouded in mysteries of Chinese kings obsessed with fnding an elixir for immortality.

Huainan isn't much of a secondtier city； whilst it has p leasant central avenues lined with trees， there isn't much that couldn't be found in any other central Chinese city of sim ilar size. Located in the northeast of Anhui Province， it can be reached via fast train and isn't too far from Nanjing.

Huainan itself， however， isn't the destination； it is the geography park of Bagongshan （八公山Eight Gentlemen Mountain） that holds the keys to the history of tofu.

The park is named after the eight super-friends of the Han Dynasty （206 BCE - 220 CE） prince Liu An （劉安）， and the location is dotted w ith statues of these buddies， the “Eight immortals of Huainan” （淮南八仙）. Seeing as how they're all dead， we can assume they weren't actually immortal—other Chinese fgures with “immortal” status were often deifed as part of a religion， but that is not the case for these mere mortals， for whom the term “immortal” was a metaphorical reference to their talent.

Together this league of extraordinary gentlemen wrote the “Huainanzi” which became an infuential work of Daoist philosophy and included a fair amount of mathematics to boot. In addition to mathematics， they also dabbled in alchemy in an attempt to create an elixir of eternal life， though this was something of a frequent hobby for Chinese emperors. Q in Shi Huang （246 BCE - 221 BCE）， indisputably the Rolls Royce of conquering warlord Chinese emperors， was one of a number of emperors who eagerly listened to court alchem ists who told him what he wanted to hear—that immortality was possible. Alas， as one story goes， in Q in Shi Huang's case it led him to consume copious quantities of mercury， resulting in his death at just 49 years of age after surviving two known assassination attem p ts. He wasn't the f rst， nor was he the last， Chinese em peror to die in this futile pursuit.

A TRIP TO BAGONGSHAN

So， what does Eight Gentlemen M ountain have for visitors？

Getting to the park is tough. From Huainan's train stations visitors will need to get a cab， w ith the fare expected to reach up to 100 RMB depending on which station visitors are com ing from. Once there， things aren't necessarily much easier. Chinese visitors often tour the park by car though the north gate at the end of a winding road， and it has plenty of parking for those wanting to go on foot. Foreign tourists are more likely to get dropped off and wander around on foot； though foreigners are enoughof a rarity here to earn plenty of stares. Just outside the north gate， in warmer months it is common to fnd a small market of sorts. The powerful stench of stinky tofu permeates the air and a w ide variety of foods are on offer， a stone's throw from dancing grannies and less-than-breathtaking albeit expansive views of the ad jacent canyon.

From time to time Bagongshan does pull out all the stops though， so if you can time your visit for one of the tofu festivals， you'll fnd a lot more going on. In the most recent “Bagong Mountain Tourism Festival” （in September of 2015）， revelers roamed the streets pelting each other with tofu in what was labeled a “Tofu-throw ing competition”. And proving that sometimes it's quantity， not quality， that matters， cooks created a giant wad of tofu—at 3.6 meters long， 3.6 meters wide， and 40 centimeters high， it weighed eight tons and required 50 workers to make.

Once inside， aside from key map locations， the signage is often pretty poor， with only vague indications as to which of the many， many sites visitors are actually approaching. Pay close attention to those maps， ideally taking some pictures. because you w ill fnd yourself referring back to them when you are uncertain as to whether you have taken any wrong turns on the many sign-less w inding roads. Packing food is a wise idea， though for the lessprepared traveler there are occasional wooden huts w ith shopkeepers selling the basic road-sustenance expected at such p laces. Once inside the park， don't expect many （if any） chances to actually eat fresh tofu.

Maps of the park show that there is a particularly dense collection of sites at the “Huainan Sub-Cultural Park” though there is no sign telling visitors that they have actually arrived at this area. Look for the statue of the Eight Gentlemen （and Liu An） pontifcating. Down a few stone steps and beyond the proverbial garden path， you'll fnd a series of statues and carvings on stone blocks that show the tofu-making process. There aren't any p laques or guides offering any information on the process， so basically one has to guess. While these may shed some light on the tofu-making process， for an actual in-depth look at the history （as is the case with many historical sites， it is exp lained as indisputable factrather than as a narrative affected by the vagaries of history）， head over to the Palace of the K ing of Huainan. There， in b lack stone tab lets dotted around the tem ple， those who can read Chinese can see tales of Liu An and his eight gentlemen friends， including some details on the creation of tofu.

A g ian t， eight-ton p iece of to fu is unveiled at the Bagong Moun tain Tourism Festival in Sep tem ber, 2015

Prince Liu An is said to have come up w ith soy m ilk when his sick mother was unable to bite down on soybeans， so he ground it up into paste thus creating a precursor to tofu. The tale is written down in a number of sources， most notably in the work of famed scholar and all-round genius Li Shizhen during the M ing Dynasty （1368-1644）， in what may well be the most comprehensive traditional Chinese medicine book， the Bencao Gangmu， or Materia M edica.

However， it's worth keeping in m ind that royalty often gets the credit for the inventions of any given era， seeing as how they're the ones in charge. It's worth noting that this legend is disputed by plenty of critics， not the least of which are the dastard ly killjoys at the Japan Tofu Association who point out that while China is acknow ledged as probably where tofu originated， the simp le process of grinding up soybeans is likely to have happened in a number of p laces across China by various hungry peop le. O r， it might have been imported from Mongolians or East Indians who were more fam iliar w ith the curdling process， having used it w ith m ilk products. The word used for tofu in English， “tofu”， is believed to have come from Japan， rather than China， its use largely driven by popularization from Western voices much more intimate with Japanese culture rather than the Chinese word， doufu （豆腐）. Certainly， “bean curd” hard ly seemed like an attractive option at the time.

Besides， the Bencao Gangmu was w ritten over a thousand years after Liu An died and even if he was d rawing upon other historical documents， those most likely came at least several centuries after his death—so you may want to take descriptions of his discoveries with a grain of salt.

In order to get to the Palace of the K ing of Huainan， most visitors will pass by the “Lava Stone Forest”， arguably the most interesting natural feature the park has to offer. This “forest” is a two square-kilometer patch of limestone pillars believed to be around 550 to 600 m illion years old， some reaching up to three meters in height. The forest is believed to have been created due to tectonic stress， and this kind of geological formation is relatively rare in northern China.

W hilst Baidu maps does indicate that there is a museum dedicated to the tofu industry a few kilometers from Bagongshan which can be reachedvia black taxi （it is wise to arrange transport away from Bagongshan before you arrive—the taxi that takes you there is likely to be amenable to receiving another fare for picking you up） the facility itself seem s to be in a near-defunct industrial park and the dusty windows and brittle padlocked door indicate that it hasn't seen use in quite some time.

TOFU TASTE TEST

Some online research reveals that one of the top， if not the top， tofu restaurant in Huainan is “Huaishang Doufu”， meaning “Riverside Tofu Place”. The location of this particular store at Guoqing East Road and Shuichang Road was notable for not being beside any river at all， so one assumes a certain amount of poetic license has been taken with the name. It is far from both Bagongshan and the central area of Huainan so be prepared for a wait and don't be surprised to fnd yourself driving through nondescript sem i-urban， sem i-rural areas of half-constructed buildings and empty plots.

The "Lava Stone Fores t" is around 550 m illion years o ld

The restaurant is something of a history lesson in itself， with a section behind the foyer dedicated to crafting tofu. There， in front of counters where chefs prepare steam ing pots of what one presumes is tofu， visitors can see a number of stone and bamboo implements that were once used to create large quantities of tofu. Waitresses in ornate red dresses guide patrons to their tables and the menu is full of， you guessed it， tofu.

Tofu and fsh， tofu and meat， tofu and vegetables， you name it. It is common for diners to order a bow l of tofu， and the waitress w ill pour out what appears to be hot m ilk. Within fve m inutes， the m ilk congeals into a harder tofu substance， ready for eating. The taste by itself is bland， though additional sauces and herbs are provided to spice things up a little.

Easily the most attentiongrabbing dish on the impressively expansive menu， visually at least， is a representation of the iconic Yingkesong pine tree， from Anhui's much more famous tourist destination， the Yellow Mountain. What at f rst glance could be m istaken for the white of the plate， behind the broccoli leaves and mushroom trunk， is in fact an unusual， slightly salty mélange of fsh and tofu w ith a faintly rubbery texture.

While the food is good， it's not all that different to the fancier restaurants that can be found in more cosmopolitan parts of the country. Indeed， while the history of Liu An and the Eight Gentlemen may be of interest to those with a particular interest in tofu or Han Dynasty history， Huainan as a tourist destination is unlikely to be much of a draw， particularly when it is compared against its far more stunning Anhui counterpart， the Yellow Mountain.

Still， for travelers looking for something off the beaten track， Bagongshan certainly provides fodder （and more importantly tofu） for anecdotes.