Heshun Brain Soup

Heshun Brain Soup

　　Legend has it that after the fall of the Ming Dynasty, the renowned physician Fu Shan went into seclusion in his hometown. He created a “Eight-Treasure Soup” for his frail and frequently ill mother, which proved highly effective—her health quickly improved. When the owner of a restaurant in Taiyuan, Shanxi, learned of this, he went to seek the recipe. After some deliberation, Fu Shan agreed to share it, but on the condition that the restaurant be renamed “Qingheyuan” and that the soup be called “Brain Soup” instead of “Eight-Treasure Soup.” Later, whenever Fu Shan treated patients who were weak or ill, he would suggest they go to Qingheyuan to have the “Brain Soup,” implying they were consuming the “brains” of the rulers of the Qing and Yuan dynasties. This tale carries the narrow-minded sentiments of some Han Chinese from that era who sought to overthrow the Yuan or Qing dynasties and restore the Song or Ming. Now, let’s set aside the nationalist undertones associated with this dish and focus on its nutritional benefits.

As this dish was created by a famous physician, it is a classic example of medicinal cuisine, integrating principles of traditional Chinese medicine, giving it extremely strong tonic properties. So, what does this dish actually “look” like? Let me describe it for those who haven’t tried it: it consists of a bowl of thick porridge-like batter, mixed with three large chunks of sheep’s flank meat, a piece of fresh lotus root, and a piece of yam. Additionally, when eating, you sprinkle about 3 centimeters of chopped leeks on top. So much for its roots in Shanxi—later, the dish made its way to Tengchong through various routes. With the addition of local cultural elements, it evolved into “Heshun Brain Soup” with strong Tengchong characteristics. The political undertones and notions of revenge originally associated with it gradually faded over the dynastic changes until they disappeared without a trace.

Nowadays, in Heshun, a hometown of overseas Chinese in Tengchong, every year on the second day of the first lunar month, when sons-in-law visit their mothers-in-law to celebrate the New Year, the mother-in-law will specially prepare a bowl of Brain Soup for her son-in-law. It symbolizes that in the new year, he will be sharp-minded, dignified, intelligent, and that the couple will enjoy good fortune and a sweet life together.