Hunan Military Water Margin Feast

Hunan Military Water Margin Feast

　　The unique geographical environment of Hunan, its long-standing local customs, and the southward spread of Confucian thought from the Central Plains gradually merged and evolved, giving rise to the distinctive Xiang (Hunan) culture that has influenced not only the development of Hunan but also Chinese society as a whole. However, the rise of the Xiang Army during the late Qing Dynasty propelled Xiang culture to new heights, and its culinary expression — the Water Margin Feast — was thus created as a military banquet to unite Xiang Army soldiers and enhance their physical strength.

　　I. The Origins of the Water Margin Feast

　　Legend has it that in the late Northern Song Dynasty, when the court was corrupt and the nation faced both internal strife and external threats, the people suffered greatly. Song Jiang gathered righteous men at Liangshan Marsh, and leaders such as Song Jiang often used a fixed menu of ten dishes — watermelon seeds, fried pork ribs, mixed vegetables, large chunks of fatty meat, rice flour balls, pork liver soup, wood ear and red date lean meat soup, radish and lotus seed fish, tofu bamboo shoots, and cabbage — to reward returning soldiers. This banquet became highly popular both inside and outside Liangshan and eventually spread to Hunan.

　　In the third year of the Xianfeng era (1852), while Zeng Guofan was observing mourning at home after his mother’s death, he was ordered to organize local militias and establish the Xiang Army in Hunan. To unite the soldiers and improve their physical condition, he instructed his logistics personnel to study the Liangshan Marsh banquet, draw inspiration from it, and adapt it according to Hunan’s dietary habits, the bold and resolute character of the soldiers, and the southern geographic and climatic conditions. The result was a unique banquet consisting of melon seeds and fried pork ribs as appetizers, and ten main dishes for the main course: mixed vegetables (hecai), flag meat (qizi meat), lean meat soup, sautéed pork liver with daylily, spicy and sour intestine soup, sweet potato noodles (nanfen), stir-fried chicken cubes, meatballs, braised whole fish, and flag meat (qizi meat) again, followed by a vegetable soup to end the meal. This feast was named the Water Margin Feast and served as the official banquet of the Xiang Army.

　　II. Preparation Methods of the Water Margin Feast

　　1. Fried Pork Ribs: Crush pork ribs and deep-fry until crispy.

　　2. Mixed Vegetables (Hecai): Stir-fry sweet potato noodles (nanfen), dried daylily, and dried bamboo shoot tips together.

　　3. Flag Meat (Qizi Meat): First, add a generous amount of white sugar to the pan, boil over high heat, then simmer over low heat until a honey-like, yellow, sticky syrup forms. Then add diced skin-on pork cut into cube shapes and stir-fry until evenly coated.

　　4. Spicy and Sour Intestine Soup: Boil water, add sour soup from a vinegar jar, chili powder, sugar, and chopped pig small intestines, then simmer. This dish is also known to provide warmth in winter.

　　5. Lean Meat Soup: Cut lean meat into small slices and boil them in hot water.

　　6. Sautéed Pork Liver with Daylily: Soak dried daylily in boiling water to rehydrate, then stir-fry with pork liver.

　　7. Sweet Potato Noodles (Nanfen): Deep-fry locally made sweet potato noodles and then boil them in water.

　　8. Stir-Fried Chicken Cubes: Dice chicken into small cubes and stir-fry with oil and red chilies.

　　9. Meatballs: Mince seven-layer pork into a paste, mix with starch to form balls, then steam them.

　　10. Braised Whole Fish: Heat oil in a pan, add the fish once the oil is hot, then alternately pan-fry over low and medium heat until the entire fish turns golden brown, add seasonings and serve.

　　III. Characteristics of the Water Margin Feast

　　1. Inclusiveness of Flavors

　　The Water Margin Feast draws on characteristics of Shandong-Qilu cuisine, featuring hearty and unpretentious dishes. Ingredients mainly include animal offal, poultry, and vegetables, especially showcasing advanced preparation techniques for offal. The flavor profile tends to be rich, with an emphasis on the color and presentation of dishes. At the same time, it incorporates the Hunan cuisine principle that “no feast is complete without chili,” leaning toward sour and spicy flavors. These regional characteristics blend fully in the Spicy and Sour Intestine Soup.

　　2. Simplicity of Ingredients

　　Ingredients for Water Margin dishes all come from nature. Animal-based ingredients like pork, chicken, and fish are all from farm-raised sources, and vegetables are picked the same day they’re cooked, ensuring the dishes remain authentic, fresh, and natural.

　　3. Economy of Dishes

　　The people of central Hunan value frugality in dining and look down upon waste — a custom that is widely observed. Even during celebrations, banquets are prepared based on the number of guests, with a slight surplus as the guiding principle. This is well reflected in the Water Margin Feast. Typically, a table seats eight people and features ten main dishes. In terms of variety, all dishes are common home-style ones, produced and sold locally, and priced affordably, aligning with the consumption capacity of ordinary people and ensuring broad appeal. For example, whether teaching his children or his staff, Zeng Guofan emphasized the importance of "rising early," believing it reflected diligence and practicality. He listed “early rising,” along with books, vegetables, fish, pigs, sweeping, study, and family values, as the eight principles for building a successful household. In the army, Zeng Guofan always had breakfast with his staff at dawn and would not eat until everyone was present, and nothing was left over.

　　IV. Cultural Significance of the Water Margin Feast

　　1. Fried Pork Ribs: The act of crushing pork ribs symbolizes the fragmented state of the late Qing government and the weakness of the Eight Banners and Green Standard Army. The Xiang Army soldiers, as peripheral forces, took on heavy responsibilities, dared to tackle difficult challenges, and gradually grew into a backbone force that helped maintain the Qing dynasty’s rule.

　　2. Mixed Vegetables (Hecai / Harmony Dish): Symbolizes the unity, cooperation, and solidarity of Xiang Army soldiers, who worked together as one to fight against the Taiping rebels.

　　3. Flag Meat (Qizi Meat): Senior Xiang Army commanders all had their own flags for unified command. For instance, in July of the third year of Xianfeng (1853), when Zeng Guofan initiated the formation of the Xiang Army, Li Xubin, Liu Tenghong, and others led 1,100 militia troops to gather in Changsha. Units such as the "Yuzi Central Battalion," "Xiang Right Battalion," "Xiang Left Battalion," "Xiang Rear Battalion," and "Guo Rear Battalion" were established in Lianyuan’s Yangjiatan — the birthplace of the Xiang Army and a key force in the eastern campaigns to capture Wuchang, Jiujiang, and Nanjing. Tenghong, leading the Xiang Rear Battalion, raised a black flag, which struck terror into the hearts of Taiping troops who fled at the sight. From this foundation, the Xiang Army grew into a force that influenced Chinese society for over a century. It also metaphorically represents a game of Go, where territory is contested and cities are captured.

　　4. Lean Meat Soup: Symbolizes the unity, dedication, and efficiency of the Xiang Army soldiers.

　　5. Stir-fried Pork Liver with Daylilies: Symbolizes the selfless and loyal spirit of the Xiang Army soldiers, who were as pure-hearted as daylilies and shared a bond of trust and camaraderie.

　　6. Spicy and Sour Intestine Soup: Reflects the hardships endured by the Xiang Army, who were considered auxiliary forces and looked down upon by the Qing Eight Banners and Green Standard Army. They were equipped with outdated gear, making their urban assaults incredibly difficult. After capturing cities, they were rewarded with promotions and titles, symbolizing the full range of emotions—bitterness, sweetness, sourness, and spiciness—they experienced.

　　7. Tough Potato Starch Noodles: Known colloquially as "hard noodles" due to the complex process of making sweet potato starch noodles, this dish symbolizes the arduous battles and struggles the Xiang Army faced while fighting the Taiping Army and conquering cities.

　　8. Stir-fried Diced Chicken: Represents the Xiang Army’s swift and decisive attacks on cities, akin to the rapid and overwhelming defeat of the Taiping Army, as if cooking diced chicken until thoroughly done.

　　9. Meatballs: Symbolizes the Xiang Army crushing the Taiping Army into minced meat and forming it into round balls.

　　10. Braised Whole Fish: Signifies the Xiang Army’s determination from beginning to end—burning captured cities to the ground until achieving complete victory.

　　V. The Embodiment of the Xiang Army Spirit in the Water Margin Banquet

　　The Xiang Army spirit—"enduring hardship, tolerating annoyance, being bold and unyielding, and willing to die"—has influenced generations of people in Hunan. Its defining traits are a sense of responsibility for the nation, practical governance, and the courage to pioneer. These values have been highly esteemed, driving and shaping the development of both Hunan and Chinese society.

　　The advocacy of the Xiang Army spirit by figures like Zeng Guofan is reflected not only in their inheritance and promotion of the pragmatic characteristics of Hunan scholarship but also in their transition from traditional pragmatism to learning from the West. This gave the Xiang Army spirit new meaning under the conditions of modern society and history. Figures such as Luo Zenan, Li Xubin, Liu Tenghong, Zuo Zongtang, and Peng Yulin, who co-founded the Xiang Army with Zeng Guofan, were all individuals with grand ambitions for practical governance from a young age. Although Zuo Zongtang was not particularly successful in the imperial examinations, he focused on practical studies and set the lofty goal of "studying for the sake of practical governance." He cared about current affairs and developed a comprehensive body of knowledge for statecraft. This enabled him to play a crucial role during the rise of the Taiping Rebellion, serving as an advisor to Zhang Liangji and Luo Bingzhang, where he contributed significantly and earned the high praise: "China cannot do without Hunan for a single day, and Hunan cannot do without Zongtang for a single day." Eventually, he led troops himself and became a pivotal regional governor in the late Qing Dynasty. Before joining the Xiang Army, Luo Zenan worked as a rural teacher in Yangjiatan, Lianyuan. He harbored ambitions for practical governance and possessed the talent to implement it, lamenting that he had "no means to help the world." He was a visionary figure dedicated to practical governance and was the first to organize local militias. He actively persuaded Zeng Guofan to come out of retirement, who later praised him as the "mother of the Xiang Army." When Zeng Guofan founded the Xiang Army, Luo not only joined but also brought a group of disciples with him. Unfortunately, he died young during the Yang Hong incident, and his potential achievements remain immeasurable. This shows how the spirit of practical governance among the Xiang Army was embraced and advanced by its members, leading to their accomplishments.

　　Luo Zenan fought fiercely under the walls of Wuchang, taking a musket ball to the left temple. Blood poured down, staining his clothes red, yet he remained seated, commanding the battle. On his deathbed, he held Hu Linyi’s hand and said, "Wuchang has not been taken, Jiangxi is in danger again, I can’t manage both. Death is nothing to regret, but my mission remains unfinished." Liu Tenghong personally led assaults during the attack on Ruizhou, Jiangxi, and was shot five times, unable to rise from his bed. The next day, he bandaged his wounds and returned to battle. As the city was about to fall, he was shot again, the bullet piercing his left rib, and he died shortly after at the age of 38. He told his brother Tenghe, "Don’t bury me until the city is taken!" Their situations mirrored each other—their minds focused solely on their unfulfilled missions.

　　Liu Yuezhao, Governor-General of Yunnan and Guizhou, fought on the western front for over a decade and reclaimed Yunnan and Guizhou. The Sichuan Road is famously treacherous, "harder to climb than ascending to the heavens." It begins south of Chengdu, passes through Guanghan, Deyang, and Zitong, crosses the Greater and Lesser Sword Mountains, exits Sichuan via Guangyuan, turns left through Shaanxi’s Baocheng, follows the Baoshui River past Shimen, crosses the Qinling Mountains, exits the Xiagu Valley, and leads straight into the vast Guanzhong Plain. Yuezhao commanded troops for over ten years, campaigning across Sichuan, Shaanxi, Yunnan, and Guizhou. The challenges of the mission, the length of the frontlines, the difficulties of supply lines, and the complexities of coordination were all beyond imagination.

　　During the Battle of Sanhe, Li Xubin’s forces were swiftly encircled by Li Xiucheng’s troops and the defenders of Sanhe City, with all seven of his camps breached. Though Xubin fought bravely, charging ahead on horseback and battling relentlessly, he could not break free. He lamented to his men, "Our army has fought for ten years, through hundreds of battles. We never expected to return alive from any sortie. Today, I will surely die. Those who wish to live, make your own plans." After speaking, he bowed northward, charged into the fray on horseback, and died in battle at the age of 41. Later, Zeng Guofan reported: "Xubin campaigned tirelessly, governed the army strictly, and endured immense hardship. In battle, he focused on rescuing the beleaguered. When facing the enemy, he had others hold off the weaker forces while he took on the strongest. When dividing troops, he gave the stronger ones to others and kept the weaker ones with himself. Among military leaders, those willing to carry weaker soldiers and rescue comrades in battle were unmatched before Tashibu and after Li Xubin. Xubin was worthy of being called a commander of elite troops, a general of great character, and a man of benevolence and virtue."