Sichuan online reporter Zhang Hongxia
Chengdu cuisine has always been tempting. There are 36 cities in the world with the title of "Capital of Gastronomy" and 4 in China, chengdu is the first city to be awarded, awarded by UNESCO in 2010.
Chengdu's cuisine has a history of thousands of years, Chengdu people are delicious and will eat, since ancient times" "still taste, good spicy". Sichuan cuisine has long gone out of Sichuan and gone global, and it can be said that as long as there are Chinese people, there are Sichuan cuisine.
In the 1950s, Sichuan cuisine was identified as one of the four major cuisines in China. In the historical evolution of Sichuan cuisine for more than a hundred years, Blu-ray Jian is a glittering name, known as the "father of modern Sichuan cuisine". On April 28, the Blu-ray JianChuan Cuisine Aesthetics Exhibition Hall opened in Chengdu Tianfu New District, which is considered a landmark event by the industry.
From the Republic of China into the modern era, from the sichuan cuisine teacher Fu mouth into reality, in recent years, Blu-ray Jian has been remembered by more and more people. How important is he? Anyone who knows the history of Sichuan cuisine says: "The Sichuan cuisine we eat today is thanks to him a hundred years ago." ”
Chef: Chef Guan Zhengxing
In 1883, Blu-ray Jian was born in Chengdu, he was the eldest son in the family, and there were two brothers under him, named Lan Guangrong and Blu-ray Wall. The three Lan brothers later became the three masters of Sichuan cuisine, interpreting a legend of Sichuan cuisine.
Blu-ray (1883–1961)
Due to his family's poverty, Blu-ray Jian did not read much and had to start earning a living at the age of 13. What can be done? At that time, official banquets in Chengdu were popular, and officials from all over the qing dynasty came to Chengdu from all over the world, and each family brought a private chef.
Chengdu is rich in products, high-ranking officials and nobles feast at home, chefs compete in skills, and the catering industry has also developed.
Guan Zhengxing, a Manchu who had been a royal cook, saw the business opportunity, brought the manchus in the court into Sichuan, and opened a "mobile restaurant" Zhengxingyuan with door-to-door service. Accumulated over time and constantly changing, Zhengxing Garden gradually formed a Han version of the Full Han Table.
At that time, this emerging team of professional chefs attracted young Blu-ray Jian. Under the introduction of acquaintances, he went to see Guan Zhengxing, and his cleverness made Guan Zhengxing overjoyed. This tall thin man took the initiative to come to the Lan family and went to the door to hold a ceremony to receive disciples.
On April 28th, the Blu-ray Kanchuan Cuisine Aesthetics Exhibition Hall was opened.
Since then, Blu-ray Jian has followed Guan Zhengxing closely, and Guan Zhengxing has gone to the official residence three times to do the full Han seat, and he has a Blu-ray Jian with him. Favoritism, private teaching, Blu-ray Jian grew rapidly, at the age of 16 can be cooked alone on the stove, once for the Sichuan overseer Xiong Kewumiao to do a hundred table feast, deeply appreciated by xiong, became a close friend.
Over the years, there has been a fallacy: the Blu-ray Connoisseur is the chef of Zhengxing Garden, Guibaoshu, and the brother of Blu-ray Jian, Lan Guangrong, also worships him.
For decades, Lan's descendants never spoke. On the occasion of the opening of the Blu-ray Jian Chuan Cuisine Aesthetics Exhibition Hall, the eldest grandson of Blu-ray Jian and Lan Yutian opened his mouth for the first time to correct this statement: the Blu-ray Jian worshipper is Guan Zhengxing, and his brother Lan Guangrong is more than ten years old away from his brother, and has never entered zhengxing Garden as a kitchen. Although he later became a master of white cases, he grew up under the teachings of other masters and had nothing to do with Zhengxingyuan.
Entrepreneurship: RongYuan creates a gastronomic peak
In October 1911, the Xinhai Revolution began. In the 276th year of the Kai Dynasty, the Qing Dynasty was destroyed and decayed. In the southwest corner of Chengdu, the cold air hit people, and the business of ZhengxingYuan plummeted and was on the verge of closure.
Blu-ray Jian Fu was idle at home thinking about making a living, and Guan Zhengxing came to the door again. This man who knows talent and loves talent came to the door and persuaded Blu-ray Jian to set up another door to do it, not to live up to his own talents, and also to take the division brothers to start a business together. In order to solve the problem of funding, Guan Zhengxing persuaded the Manchu merchant Qi Lezhai to invest 300 pieces of ocean to fund the blue light.
Blu-ray Jian with Mrs. Zhang Chengru
Therefore, at the end of 1911, "Rong Paradise" was born, changed the line hall to a sitting hall, and opened in the Xinglong Nunnery in Today's Dongfeng Road, Chengdu, thus becoming the first fixed-site restaurant in Sichuan, and the 27-year-old Blu-ray Jian ushered in its own era.
Named Rong Paradise, "Rong" is named after the next generation of "Rong" in Blu-ray Jian, and "Le" is the "Le" character of Qi Lezhai to show gratitude. Guan Zhengxing and Qi Lezhai also lived in RongYuan Until the end of their pension.
"Rong zu Rongxian four seasons of color fragrant soup, Leshan Leshui eight treasures delicious yin and yang." This is the famous association of Rongyuan in New York in 1980, and it is also the interpretation of the "Rongyuan" gastronomy proposition in later generations.
The face of Rongyuan Park in New York, USA, was published on the cover of the inaugural issue of Chinese Cooking.
RongYuan thus turned the page of modern Sichuan cuisine. In 1933, Rongyuan Park moved to No. 1 Buhou Street, which is now the seat of the Sichuan Daily Newspaper Group, and now the two large ginkgo trees in the door of the newspaper are the landscape planted at that time.
The park reached its peak here – covering thousands of square meters, with courtyards and gardens in front of it, as well as parking lots. The dining building is a small two-storey Western-style building, and the ground floor hall can open 100 tables at the same time. The second floor is all private rooms, a total of 16 rooms, the same as the 1911 Chinese Sichuan Cuisine Experience Center, which opened simultaneously today, which is a tribute to a century-old journey.
1911 A corner of the Chinese Sichuan Cuisine Experience Center
At this time, Rong Paradise has been upgraded from a simple restaurant to a cultural and artistic place - in the private room, the four walls are hung with celebrity calligraphy and paintings, including Tang Bohu, Zhang Daqian and many other famous artists, and the calligraphy and paintings are changed every Monday, and they can not be repeated in January. The table utensils are exquisite, and the chopsticks are ivory chopsticks.
Behind the Rongyuan dining building is the kitchen, which occupies a wide area, with more than 200 people at the peak of the current affairs kitchen staff. Every morning, the sound of chopping meat on the pier of Rongyuan Park can be heard three streets away.
Blu-ray Jian (left) took a group photo with Well-known Journalist Che Spoke (middle) in Chengdu
In 1936, U.S. Tank Commander Apin and American Flying Tigers Chennault came to RongYuan For dinner. They dressed beautifully and drove straight in, becoming a scenery for others to stop and enjoy. The dining experience of the two was excellent, the evaluation was extremely high, and it caused a sensation among expatriates in Chengdu, and was frequented by British, American and French diplomats in Rong.
Lan Yutian revealed two true things: In 1979, Hong Kong Governor Chris Patten met with Chinese representatives and proposed to see the owner of Rongyuan Park, Blu-ray Jian, and the Lan family had received telephone inquiries from relevant departments, and learned that Blu-ray Jian had died in 1961.
Shanghai Beach Great Golden Rong also handed out an olive branch, inviting Blu-ray Jian to lead the team to open the museum in Shanghai, and only needed technology to invest in the shares without funds. Thinking of the heavy responsibility of the mountains and rivers, Blu-ray Jian politely rejected this grand intention.
From teaching: Students publish "Family Nutrition Knowledge"
Prosperity is the way home. In 1948, Blu-ray Jian decided to close Rongyuan Park, firstly because of the soaring prices, and secondly, because of the serious credit account, there were operational difficulties, and it was difficult to sustain.
The chefs of Rongyuan Were separated, and everyone reopened a "labor restaurant".
On July 26, 1953, at the Metropolitan Photo Studio in Chengdu, Blu-ray Jian and his wife Zhang Chengru (sitting in the middle) took a group photo.
After liberation, the Southwest Military and Political Committee conducted a comprehensive political review of Blu-ray Jian. Although Blu-ray Jian was very close to Sichuan politicians, Zhou Shanpei, who was then the general office of Sichuan Persuasion Road, once praised: "Chengdu Hundred Pavilions for banquet guests, Zhengxing Garden is the crown of Rong." There are thousands of people in the treatment, and Sichuan flavor is the first to promote blue light. Xiong Kewu, then the governor of Sichuan, wrote: Sichuan taste is authentic. But their friendship was limited to gastronomic culture.
Although Rongyuan employs hundreds of cooks and handymen, none of them have said that Blu-ray Jian is not, because he is an upright and kind person. Every year Chinese New Year's Eve night, he would go out with 300 silver dollars to see which families would fund it if they could not afford it.
In 1955, the Southwest Military and Political Committee issued a letter of appointment, appointing Blu-ray Jian as a teacher of nutrition at Sichuan Medical College. At that time, Blu-ray Jian was already a 71-year-old man, and this appointment was a great responsibility for his ability and character.
In 1961, Blu-ray Jian died of illness at the age of 77. During his 6 years as a teacher at Sichuan Medicine (now West China Hospital), he led colleagues and students to comb and cook 75 Sichuan home-cooked dishes from the perspective of nutrition, and also considered the combination of calories from the perspective of dietary balance. In 1984, it was included in "Family Nutrition Knowledge" and became a textbook for nutrition.
Family Nutrition Knowledge, published in 1984
After Blu-ray Jian, Blue Glory, and Blu-ray Bi, no one from Lan's descendants has been engaged in the catering industry. Today, the Lan family has five generations of descendants, some overseas and some outside the province, no matter what kind of profession they are engaged in, the Lan family has not mentioned the past of their ancestors. When preparing for the Blu-ray JianChuan Cuisine Aesthetics Exhibition Hall, Lan Yutian and others inspected investors many times to consider whether their intention to revitalize Rongpai was pure and whether it could play a role in promoting the development of Sichuan cuisine.
In the more than 70 years since the farewell of Rong Park, the relevant parties have repeatedly tried to restore Rong Park, but they have failed due to the lack of technical inheritance. This time, under the leadership of the third generation of Rongyuan, Rongpai Sichuan cuisine has reappeared in an all-round way. Lan's descendants met many times to discuss, and finally decided to fully support without mentioning any requirements, so that his grandfather's food concept would benefit the present, so that Sichuan cuisine would continue to become Sichuan's business card.
Contributions: Five major influences on modern Sichuan cuisine
For the resurgence of Rongpai Sichuan cuisine, 2021 is a year full of coincidences. This year is the 110th anniversary of the establishment of RongYuan Park, and it is also the 60th anniversary of the death of Blu-ray Jian. In the more than 40 years of glory of Rongyuan, the Blu-ray Jian team has created more than 300 Sichuan dishes, creating a new situation of Sichuan cuisine.
Traditional and classic Sichuan cuisine that inherits the style of Rongyuan
Lan Yutian recalled a dish made by his grandfather - "Back stirring han".
It's a very interesting "dish within a dish" – the usual recipe is to stir-fry pheasant red + pork, and pheasant red is celery and carrot shredded stir-fry.
The method of blue light is: pheasant red + pork + beef, pork fiber is fine and soft, less connective tissue, stir-fry fast, the meat is tender; beef fiber is coarser, the meat is solid.
One pot and one stir-fry, both kinds of meat must be just right, very skilled, hot and time are very exquisite. Blu-ray Jian has mastered the cooking of "stir-up han" very well, and in the era when there was no tender meat powder, it was amazing.
Love to learn, good at absorbing, good at giving one example and three, Blu-ray Jian is known as "a culinary genius that is rare in a hundred years". The Blu-ray JianChuan Cuisine Aesthetics Exhibition Hall commented on him as the innovator and builder of the modern Sichuan cuisine system, and the grandmaster of the modern Sichuan cuisine founding sect.
Based on the opinions of many parties, the Blu-ray Jianchuan Cuisine Aesthetics Exhibition Hall believes that he has left five major legacies for modern Sichuan cuisine:
First, the "Rongyuan Paradise System" was established, which deeply affected the modern Sichuan cuisine system;
The second is to combine court cuisine with folk cuisine, so that modern Sichuan cuisine can move towards the public and into the future;
The third is to reform the old feast system, simplify the complex, save dining time, and save expenses;
The fourth is to pay attention to "food, beautiful utensils, beautiful scenery", and upgrade the simple meal gathering into culture and art;
Fifth, it has cultivated a large number of famous chefs, and its inheritance has supported most of sichuan cuisine and has influenced it for decades.
It has been hidden in the jianghu for a long time, and the jianghu still has his legend - for more than half a century, the name of Blu-ray Jian has often been mentioned by future generations, full of respect. Today, the Blu-ray JianChuan Cuisine Aesthetics Exhibition Hall has been completed, and a generation of masters has blessed Sichuan cuisine from the past to a better future in a special way.
(Note: The old photo of this article is provided by the Blu-ray Sichuan Cuisine Aesthetics Exhibition Hall, thanks to Mr. Liu Deyue)