In the encyclopedia of Jiangxi traditional delicacies, "clear soup cake" is a unique delicacy and snack in Jingdezhen. "Clear soup", Jingdezhen locals call it "Bianshi". "Bianshi" is not considered gourmet, because the definition of gourmet food is: when using natural raw materials, in order to obtain more and richer taste aesthetics, according to certain purposes and following certain rules, food raw materials are processed and transformed. Moreover, culinary art that permeates the creator's aesthetic consciousness and can make the recipient have a sense of taste and beauty. However, "clear soup cake" is a gourmet snack. Why? Because there is a popular legend here.
In the spring and March of the 16th year of Qianlong's reign in the Qing Dynasty (1751 AD), Qianlong went to the south of the Yangtze River for the first time in Hangzhou. The governor of Hangzhou had long received a report from Beijing, saying that the Holy Emperor would be coming soon. In order to please the emperor, he flew letters from all over the country to transport famous local products to Daxing Commercial Market in Hangzhou. For a time, famous tea, silk and porcelain from all over the world gathered in Hangzhou.
Jingdezhen Royal Kiln Factory also selected various treasures and market items, and a group of 19 people led by Tao Guan Yunzhe went there. Yunzhe is a Manchu, born in the seventh grade, and has no pretensions. He has a close friendship with Li Jinchun, a scholar who runs a noodle shop. Among the entourage, Yunzhe took him with him, firstly to broaden his horizons, and secondly, Yunzhe was from the north and liked the pasta he made so much that he couldn't live without it for almost a day.
This Li Jinchun’s surname is not Li but Cao. His ancestral home is Cao Village, Fuliang Northeast Township, Jingdezhen. His ancestor was originally a relic of the Ming Dynasty. In 1621 AD, when the Qing army entered the Pass and was defeated, he was captured as a slave under Dorgon and later served as a soldier. In the first year of Shunzhi in the Qing Dynasty (1646 AD), he entered Beijing. In the eighth year of Shunzhi (1651 AD), after the death of the regent Dorgon, Li Jinchun's great-grandfather entered the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Later, when he was transferred to Jiangsu and Zhejiang as an official, he was dismissed from his post in the first year of Yongzheng's reign due to Kangxi's four southern tours, which caused a deficit in the government's bank account. In the early summer of the sixth year of Yongzheng's reign, before his death, his great-grandfather adopted Cao Xian, Li Jinchun's father, into his good friend's Li family. Soon the Li family also fell into ruin. As a last resort, Cao Xian (who had changed his name to "Li Xian") returned to Fuliang, Jiangxi Province. He was too embarrassed to return to his hometown in Cao Village because of his family's financial difficulties. Li Xian got married in Jingdezhen and gave birth to a son and a daughter. His daughter, Linchun, was betrothed to someone else since she was a child. His name is Li Meng and his courtesy name is Jinchun.
Li Jinchun has read more than ten thousand volumes since he was a child. He is good at poetry and painting, and has extraordinary talents. However, due to various reasons, he failed to win the exam. When the house leaks and it rains, the parents die, the family is in trouble, and survival becomes a big problem. His elder sister, Linchun, married to Xiuning, Anhui Province. His family was in a state of decline and could not afford a servant. He had no one to cook for him, so he did it himself. Fortunately, he was intelligent by nature, and "food is the most important thing for the people." He had nothing to do, so the scholar had no choice but to study the art of gluttony. Rice and noodles are snacks, and you can try some new ones. If you get something occasionally, you can invite friends to come and taste it. Several friends were full of praise and thought that "having fun alone is not as good as having fun together", so they lent him some money and opened a small noodle shop at the dock along the river in Jingdezhen's Mashi Lane. This Li Xiucai himself held many positions, and the boss and assistant were all responsible for them. Don't think that the snacks are insignificant. The patrons are not only the foreigners and "green house guys" who come here to work, but also people from the north who come to Jingdezhen to buy porcelain. Li Jinchun is an open-minded person by nature. He operates on a small scale and only seeks to sustain himself rather than make a fortune. He makes friends regardless of his background. The "Jin Chun Pavilion" hangs high above the store, and his own calligraphy works are all over the walls. There are many poor painters among the customers, and they can't help but give them paintings as they please. Good people have rewritten the names of various pastry foods to include the word "spring", such as: "Yangchun Noodles", "Spring Rolls", "Snow Plums to Welcome Spring", etc.