Tofu Culture In Chinese Culture

Tofu is a traditional Chinese food which is extremely popular in this country. Since Song Dynasty, it has been proved by records that tofu and its derivatives entered the mainstream. And afterwards, it spread to other countries. Nowadays, Tofu is regarded as a notorious and healthy food, and becomes popular not only in Eastern Asia but also in the western world. This research paper will focus on how tofu becomes one of the most important food in china, and how tofu is universally accepted by foreign countries. Both cultural and politic factors contributes to the tofu’s status today.

The invention of Tofu is a controversial problem. One best-known theory argues that Tofu’s history could be traced to Han Dynasty. In 167 BC, Prince Liu An of Huainan invented Tofu. Many historical sources such as Zhu Xi’s poem and Chinese compendium on medicinal herbs Bencao Gangmu adopted this theory. Furthermore, from 1959 to 1960, archaeologists excavated two tombs in Henan County tiger Pavilion. At the site, experts found the painting has the scene of producing bean curd, which greatly supports this theory. However, some scholars cast doubts on this theory. Qingyilu (An Investigation of Diverse Curiosities), written by the early Song Dynasty schoolar Tao Gu, mentions tofu for the first time. There is no records or sources refer to Tofu before Song Dynasty. Therefore they states Tofu is more likely invented After Tang Dynasty. This assumption is supported by the fact that records of Tofu