In the towns and villages of Zhejiang province, there is a famous dish known to every household, associated with the great Song Dynasty literary master Su Shi. Called "Dongpo Pork," it has been passed down for nearly a thousand years, and its story is quite fascinating.
Su Shi (1037–1101), a renowned Northern Song Dynasty literary figure, whose given name was Zizhan and literary name was Dongpo Jushi, is commonly known as Su Dongpo. Having served twice as a local official in Hangzhou and performed many concrete good deeds for the local populace, Su Dongpo's legacy is widely celebrated in Zhejiang folklore. To this day, people still refer to the causeway in West Lake as the "Su Causeway," and legend holds that the origin of "Dongpo Pork" is connected to the construction of this causeway.
Early in his career, Su Dongpo served as an official in the Northern Song capital. Due to differing political views from the reformist Wang Anshi, he voluntarily requested a transfer to local posts. In 1071, he was assigned as a vice-prefect in Hangzhou, and later served as prefect in Mizhou, Xuzhou, and Huzhou. In 1079, he was impeached over the so-called "Crow Terrace Poetry Case," arrested, and imprisoned. Several months later, he was demoted and exiled to Huangzhou (modern-day Huanggang, Hubei), where he held the nominal position of "Deputy Commander of Regional Militia"—a post in name only, effectively amounting to banishment. During this period, Su Dongpo's melancholy state of mind, social isolation, and impoverished lifestyle were self-evident. However, pork was relatively cheap in the Huangzhou region, and Su often personally cooked pork to share with friends. He even composed a poem describing his method of cooking pork: "Huangzhou pork is excellent, cheap as dung; the rich won't eat it, the poor don't know how to cook it well. Cook it slowly with low heat, use little water; when the timing is right, its flavor will naturally be superb." This indicates that the development of "Dongpo Pork" began during his exile in Huangzhou.
In 1085, Emperor Zhezong of Song ascended the throne, and Sima Guang's faction regained power. The following year, Su Dongpo was recalled to serve in the capital, Bianjing (modern-day Kaifeng). However, he soon clashed with the conservative faction over the positive aspects of Wang Anshi's new policies, leading to another demotion to a local post. In 1090, he once again took office as a local official in Hangzhou. At that time, Su Dongpo mobilized tens of thousands of Hangzhou laborers to dredge West Lake, build a causeway, and construct water conservancy projects. Grateful locals presented Su Dongpo with pork and Shaoxing wine (a type of yellow rice wine). Su instructed his family to cook the pork and send it along with the wine to the construction site to treat the laborers. By mistake, his family misunderstood the instructions and cooked the pork together with the yellow wine, resulting in an unexpected outcome: the stewed meat turned out exceptionally rich, flavorful, and uniquely delicious! This incident quickly became a celebrated tale, spreading far and wide. People enthusiastically praised Su Dongpo's merits and began imitating his cooking method. Thus, "Dongpo Pork" became a traditional Hangzhou delicacy, renowned throughout the world.