Chapter 21 Danqing transforms the environment into food

Zhang Daqian pursued cooking as an art all his life. In his eyes, a real chef is an artist just like a painter. He truly regarded the cooking skills as an art.Zhang Daqian once taught his disciples: If a person does not know how to appreciate delicious food, how can he learn art well?Therefore, Zhang Daqian often discusses food with painting, and painting with food. Once, when Zhang Daqian returned to his hometown of Sichuan, his friend Mei Xiaochu hosted a banquet for him at Yuanji Restaurant.During the banquet, when Zhang Daqian ate Neijiang Chicken Chaoshou and Egg Shredded Pancake, he said: These snacks are by no means able to reach such a state of proficiency in a short period of time.Just like painting, even if the paper, brush and ink are all the same, it will be superb in the hands of capable people.He applied the layout of painting, the use of color, and the metaphorical meaning of the painting to cooking.

More than ten years ago, I also hosted a "Chinese Calligraphy Banquet".At the banquet, I corresponded the frying spoon with the pen, the pot and utensils with the rice paper, the seasoning with the ink, the ingredients with the theme, the cooking method with the technique, the plate with the mounting, and the heat with the composition.Therefore, Chinese cooking is interlinked with calligraphy, and it is also interlinked with Chinese painting art. Today, the menus of Zhang Daqian’s banquets are widely circulated as pieces of art. At that time, it was a great fortune to be able to eat at Zhang Daqian’s house and get the menu written by him himself. In 1981, Zhang Daqian hosted the food list for Zhang Xueliang and his wife in Taipei. Zhang Xueliang took it back and meticulously framed it as a handkerchief, leaving a blank space at the back. The next year, Zhang Daqian was invited to write an inscription on it as a souvenir.So Zhang Daqian drew cabbage, radish, and spinach on it, nominated "auspicious light and beauty", and wrote a poem: "The radish has children and must have grandchildren. Stepping into the vegetable garden." Zhang Qun, who was present at the time, was also invited to write an inscription on this page: "My brother Daqian's love of writing, Su Dongpo's love of brewing, the first shines first, and the stories are repeated frequently. His hand-made menu and complementary pictures of cabbage and radish are also related to Dongpo Poe's "Ode on Pine Mash" has the same tune but the same effect. Although it is a game article, it has deep meaning, and it has the rest of his genius and uniqueness, and it also contains the taste of health-preserving games." The ordinary family banquet menu recorded by several celebrities has become a rare art treasure shared by the culinary and painting circles.When this treasure was exhibited in Washington, USA in 1992, it caused a sensation in the local calligraphy, painting and culinary circles.

In addition to painting and cooking, Zhang Daqian also loves the art of Peking Opera. He believes that the art of Peking Opera is also connected with the art of painting and food. In May 1929, Zhang Daqian met Yu Shuyan, the master of Peking opera, the master of the famous actress Meng Xiaodong, through a friend's introduction in Beijing.Yu Shuyan also likes poetry, calligraphy, painting and food, so the two hit it off and became close friends.They often go to Chunhualou, Zhang Daqian's favorite place, and every time they go to Chunhualou, the owner and chef Bai Yongji almost arranges the order.Zhang Daqian has a soft spot for Bai Yongji's dishes, and Yu Shuyan also likes the food here.Therefore, there was a saying in Beijing at that time: "You can't sing Yu Shuyan, you can't paint Zhang Daqian, you can't eat Bai Yongji."

Zhang Daqian also had a very deep relationship with Meng Xiaodong. In September 1967, Meng Xiaodong went to Taiwan from Hong Kong to settle down, and lived in seclusion.Meng's personality is lonely and arrogant, and he stopped singing operas after living in Hong Kong and Taiwan, but in the end he sang a cappella for Zhang Daqian in Hong Kong, which shows the deep friendship between the two.Meng Xiaodong was actually Mei Lanfang's concubine, who eventually married Shanghai tycoon Du Yuesheng.After her death, the inscription on the tombstone reads "Tomb of Mrs. Du Mu and Meng Tai", which was inscribed by Zhang Daqian.

Speaking of Mei Lanfang, Zhang Daqian also had an interesting exchange with him.Once Zhang Daqian was about to return from Shanghai to his hometown in Sichuan, his disciple Mi Gengyun hosted a banquet for him to practice, and invited celebrities such as Mei Lanfang.Zhang Daqian and Mei Lanfang are both masters in their respective fields, and Zhang Daqian himself is a fan of Peking Opera, so during the banquet, Zhang Daqian came to Mei Lanfang with a smile on his face, raised his glass and said: "Mr. Gentleman, I am a villain, so let me offer you a toast first." As soon as the words came out, everyone was shocked, and Mei Lanfang couldn't understand for a while, so he asked what was the explanation for the words, and Zhang Daqian replied with a smile: "You are a gentleman who uses your mouth , I'm a villain doing it."

Zhang Daqian settled in Taipei in his later years, and formed a long-term friendship with Guo Xiaozhuang, a famous Taiwanese Peking Opera actress. In 1979, with the strong support of Zhang Daqian himself, the 29-year-old Guo Xiaozhuang organized the Yayin Xiaoji Theater Troupe, playing the banner of the new Peking Opera, which caused a great sensation in Taiwan.The name Yayin Xiaoji was created by Zhang Daqian.Zhang Daqian also wrote a poem and presented it to Guo Xiaozhuang: "At the dawn of the moon, the wind is clear and the dew is still cold, and Luo Yi is timidly leaning on the railing. Compared with the maidservant of the Zheng family, Yanji has never been so sour."

Once Zhang Daqian invited Guo Xiaozhuang and others to eat beef noodles at Maya Jingshe in Taipei.Zhang Daqian's beef noodles are very well done.There are two types of beef noodles he makes, one is braised beef noodles and the other is stewed beef noodles.The noodles are wide or thin, you can choose as you like, and there are many seasonings, such as green onion, pepper, soy sauce, salt, etc., to meet the needs of different tastes.Guo Xiaozhuang usually eats very little in order to maintain his figure, but he couldn't resist the temptation when faced with beef noodles, so he ate three bowls in one go.

There are many famous beef noodles in this place in Taiwan. The late Taiwanese food culture master Lu Yaodong once wrote a series of articles such as "Also on Beef Noodles", "Revisiting Beef Noodles", "Revisiting Beef Noodles" and so on, explaining the uniqueness of Taipei. The beef noodles are very well developed.I visited Taipei not long ago, and I got up early in the morning to queue up for a beef noodle restaurant, which really deserves its reputation. The most important reason why Zhang Daqian makes beef noodles is delicious because Huadiao wine is added to the soup. In addition, frying bean paste is also a key step when braised in soy sauce, and the last step is to simmer for four hours.In my hometown, Yuzhong District, Chongqing, there is a "Glasses Beef Noodles", which is the best beef noodles I have ever eaten in my life. The soup is boiled with beef bones, and the large pieces of beef melt into slag.Compared with Taiwanese beef noodles, it has its own strengths. As a Sichuanese, of course I prefer the spicy one, and its soup is also available.

When Zhang Daqian made the stewed beef noodles, he used medium heat, and kept it on medium heat from the beginning to the end, and constantly skimmed the oil and foam to make the soup clear to the bottom.