Four dishes and one soup" as the name suggests: a meal of four dishes and a bowl of soup, then, how did the saying "four dishes and one soup" come about, according to legend, it was first proposed by Zhu Yuanzhang, the ancestor of the Ming Dynasty.
When the Ming Dynasty was established, the people's lives were difficult. However, the heroes were extremely poor and extravagant, living a life of spending time and wine, and producing some arrogance. And Zhu Yuanzhang, who came from the lowest level of society, deeply knew the suffering of the people. In this way, the Ming Dynasty will also destroy the country, determined to rectify this extravagant atmosphere.
One day, he ordered a banquet for Wen wu and his courtiers to wish the empress a happy birthday. The courtiers were very happy, thinking that they could relive the happy times of the war years when they drank from a big bowl, ate a large piece of meat, guessed the fist order, and got drunk! But what they couldn't dream of was that this banquet was something special - the first dish was fried radish; the second dish was fried leeks; the third course was two large bowls of green vegetables; and the last course was green onion tofu soup. Zhu Yuanzhang praised the benefits of each dish one by one: "The radish is on the street, and there is no trade in the pharmacy"; "The leeks are green and green, and the long-term rule has calmed people's hearts"; "Two bowls of green vegetables are as fragrant as the two sleeves, and the two sleeves are fresh and happy"; "The shallots and tofu are green and white, and the justice and incorruptibility are as good as the sun and the moon". The group of ministers listened and suddenly realized.
Zhu Yuanzhang also announced in public: "In the future, the secretaries of state can only invite guests with 'four dishes and one soup' at most, and this time the empress's birthday feast is an example, and if anyone violates it, he will be severely punished." Since then, the rule of "four dishes and one soup" has been passed from the court to the people.
Not only that, after the founding of New China, the four dishes and one soup finalized by Premier Zhou Enlai also became the standard for official receptions, especially state banquets. For the next half century, foreign banquets today have basically maintained the standard of four dishes and one soup. Nowadays, ordinary people can also eat four dishes and one soup every day, and living in such a beautiful era is indeed worthy of our gratitude.