Chapter 7 Lu Xun and Food, Articles and Wine

2011 is the 130th anniversary of Lu Xun's birth.Mao Zedong once commented on Lu Xun: not only a great writer, but also a great thinker and revolutionist.This evaluation actually pushed Lu Xun to the altar.On the altar, it is difficult for people to associate Lu Xun with food and wine.In fact, when it comes to eating and drinking, Lu Xun is an authentic connoisseur. He can not only eat, but also cook. He has unique insights into many dishes that can be called "jargon". Beijing is the city where Lu Xun lived for a long time after returning from Japan. From 1912 to 1926, he lived for fifteen years.From Lu Xun's diary during this period alone, we find that he has visited sixty-five famous restaurants!

Lu Xun was very fond of Beijing cuisine and northern cuisine.The famous writer Xiao Jun recalled that Lu Xun was very fond of northern pasta and dishes, and he could not forget it after returning to Shanghai.Xu Guangping even wanted to invite a northern chef to Shanghai for him, but he dismissed the idea because the chef's salary was too high. The 65 Beijing restaurants recorded by Lu Xun include: Guangheju, Zhimeilou, Bianyifang, Jixianlou, Lanweizhai, Tongheju, Dongxinglou, Xinghuacun, Sichuan Restaurant, Central Restaurant, Guangfulou, Taifeng Building, Xinfeng Building, Xi'an Hotel, German Hotel, etc.This is still an incomplete statistic. Lu Xun must have visited more than a hundred restaurants.As a great writer, Lu Xun attached great importance to eating, which occupied an important space in his diary.This is a new fashion in the Republic of China, which is different from the habit of the ancient literati "a gentleman stays away from the kitchen".

There are also food records in the records of ancient literati, such as "Tokyo Menghualu" by Meng Yuanlao of the Song Dynasty, "Menglianglu" by Wu Zimu, and "Old Stories of Wulin" by Zhou Mi, etc., but the name of the restaurant is hardly mentioned.Lu Xun's diary records the list of restaurants in detail, which is very precious information. Among the many restaurants, Lu Xun went to Guangheju the most and liked it the most.Guangheju is the first of Beijing's "eight great residences". The store is located in the east of Nankou Road, the northern half of the Hutong near Caishikou outside Xuanwumen. It closed in 1932.This is the place where Beijing literati, scholars and officials often gather. It was very prosperous and famous during the Republic of China. Someone once wrote a couplet: Living in the common people, the sages forget, and the prime minister with the tripod spoon.

An important reason why Lu Xun often went to this store was the short distance.At that time, Lu Xun lived in Shanhuiyiguan (the predecessor of Shaoxing Huiguan), and the alley where he lived was diagonally opposite to the gate of Guangheju.If a guest comes to visit, Lu Xun will even directly ask Guangheju to deliver "takeaway" to his home. Guanghe Residence is a courtyard layout. The courtyard is divided into rooms of various sizes. There are rooms for one person to drink alone, three or five people to have a drink, and there are rooms for a large gathering of more than ten people.This is in line with Lu Xun's need to eat with friends. He often called friends and friends, and most of them ate with three or five people.

Of course, the most important thing is that Guangheju has Lu Xun's favorite dishes, and the dishes there are basically remodeled from court dishes.For example, pan fish, fried kidney, fried meatballs, Sichuan spicy fish noodle skin, casserole tofu, steamed scallops, hot and sour soup, etc., these are also representative dishes of the Republic of China period. Guangheju can attract so many celebrities and officials, not only because of its delicious dishes, but also because its dishes have many allusions and rich cultural connotations.For example, "Pan Yu", one of its signature dishes, was created by Pan Zuyin, a Hanlin in the late Qing Dynasty, and was previously called Pan's Steamed Fish.There is also a "Zeng Yu", which was created by Zeng Guofan.This will naturally interest officials and literati, and will also attract many arty people.

Lu Xun likes a dish in Guangheju called "Three Nonsticks", which is cooked with egg white, glutinous rice flour, sugar, and water.This dish pays attention to fast cooking, and the finished product looks like a cake but not a cake, or a soup but not a soup. When eating with a spoon, one should not stick to the spoon, two should not stick to the plate, and three should not stick to the teeth. It is refreshing and delicious, so it is called "three "Non-sticky", and it also has the function of hangover.The name of this dish was taken by Zhang Peilun, the son-in-law of Li Hongzhang, a minister of the Qing Dynasty.

Love to eat "three non-stick" probably has something to do with Lu Xun's love of drinking.Lu Xun is one of those people who must drink with every meal.According to historical records, he and Yu Dafu drank the most.Lu Xun didn't drink much, and he often got drunk, and he couldn't leave his cigarettes while drinking.Yu Dafu wrote a poem to Lu Xun in 1933, in which he wrote: "Go to the restaurant with drunk eyes, wandering and shouting for a while." The fact that Lu Xun is good at wine is often used by the enemy to attack and satirize. Someone once published a cartoon in a newspaper, drawing a large jar of Shaoxing wine, with a very small Lu Xun huddled next to him.

Lu Xun and Yu Dafu's common appetizers for drinking are fried kidney, spicy fish noodle skin, casserole tofu and so on.Guangheju’s fried kidney is quite special. It is fried in two pots at the same time: one pot is heated with lard and peanut oil, and the other pot is boiled with water. Put the cut kidneys into the hot water and blanch.When the oil temperature rises to the highest, immediately remove the kidneys from the water and put them in the oil pan to fry, then put them in a colander, leave a little base oil to fry some green garlic sprouts and fungus, then add the kidneys and quickly stir-fry to thicken the cornstarch , add ginger water, cooking wine, soy sauce, monosodium glutamate, sugar, a little vinegar and serve.Water first and then oil, so that the fried kidney flower will be golden red and remain crisp and tender, which is very suitable for drinking.

Spicy fish vermicelli was called Sichuan spicy fish vermicelli in the late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China, but this dish is actually an old Beijing dish. It is a very rare dish made with dried red pepper in Beijing cuisine. Lu Xun liked spicy food. It is said that he ate spicy food at first to relieve his sleepiness, and later became addicted. In May 1918, Lu Xun published a short story in "New Youth", which aroused great repercussions. This novel was called the "pioneering work" of modern Chinese novels by Hu Shi.For this reason, Lu Xun invited Hu Shi to Beijing Shaoxing Guild Hall for dinner. The first dish was braised pork with dried plums and chili peppers.

Hu Shi liked to eat this dish very much, but he was curious about the spicyness in the dish, so he asked Lu Xun: "As far as I know, people in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces do not like spicy food, and Mr. seems to be an exception." Lu Xun replied: "Shaoxing people are really not good at eating chili , Du Lu Xun has an addiction to chili peppers, and I use this to relieve my difficulties. In the dead of night, when the weather is cold and people are sleepy, I pick off a chili pepper, divide it into several sections, and put it in my mouth to chew. The drowsiness disappeared, so I picked up the book and read again. Mr. Shizhi can give it a try."

Hu Shi laughed out loud. This story shows that the relationship between the two was very harmonious at one time, but in the end they turned against each other, which is a later story.