The growth system comes at the age of 30

Chapter 318 Is Shanxi cuisine inferior? (4K)

After seeing their family members off by plane from Beijing back to Jiangbei, Chen Jingle and Li Beixing also prepared to leave.

They sent some of the local specialties they bought in Beijing to their parents-in-law in Jiangbei via express delivery before boarding the high-speed train to Yunzhou.

It's not far from Beijing to Yunzhou; the high-speed rail takes just over two hours.

Although Chen Jingle was stuck on the first level of the Black Monkey game, he had at least watched others play through the game and was quite interested in the real-life locations featured in the game.

The game features 36 real-world locations, 27 of which are in Shanxi province.

However, he certainly didn't have that much time to visit all the scenic spots in Shanxi, so he only chose Yunzhou.

Get a brief taste of the rich history and cultural charm of Shanxi.

Why not Jinyang?
Besides being closer to the capital and more convenient to travel to the northern deserts, Jinyang is currently the only provincial capital in the country that is not a civilized city.

Its gold content is exceptional.

Therefore, Chen Jingle preferred Yunzhou, which had a much better reputation.

Although he really wanted to experience the magnificent Jinyang Hotel, he ultimately gave up and said he would wait for another opportunity.

……

Although Yunzhou was not a particularly important stop on this trip, its cuisine, ancient architecture, and cultural customs were all good subjects for Chen Jingle to observe and study.

He himself does not like worshipping gods and Buddhas, so he does not like to visit various Buddhist temples and Taoist temples when traveling.

However, most of the ancient buildings in Yunzhou are related to Buddhism, and they are famous for their grottoes, hanging temples, and Huayan Temple.

As is well known, Buddhism flourished during the Northern and Southern Dynasties period.

In particular, the Northern Wei Dynasty carved out a large number of grottoes and built numerous Buddhist temples, which have survived to this day and serve as important references for the study of ancient history and culture.

Therefore, he focused more on the architecture, painted sculptures, and so on from the Northern Wei and Liao-Jin periods.

For Chen Jingle, the architectural objects are not the main point; the main point is the traces left by history on them.

That feeling of crossing time and space to converse with the ancients is something every history enthusiast can surely understand.

Although the Prince Dai's Mansion, a later reconstruction of an ancient-style building, is very well-built and has a large-scale immersive live-action performance, he is not interested in it.

Of course, the most important thing is to try the local delicacies of Shanxi, especially noodles.

A province rich in carbohydrates, famous for its noodles.

As for Shanxi cuisine, Chen Jingle didn't have high hopes.

Even Chu Yunfei, a native of Shanxi Province, said that Shanxi cuisine is low-class and not presentable.

However, it's already impressive that noodles are delicious; some provinces and cities don't even have their own culinary specialties.

After checking into the hotel in Yunzhou, Chen Jingle took Li Beixing out to find food.

I chose a restaurant recommended by local netizens.

Flipping through the menu, you'll find that many dishes are staple foods, such as knife-cut noodles, scallion and oat noodles, yellow millet jelly, mutton shumai, and fried cakes. It's not easy to find a local specialty that doesn't feature so many staple foods.

"Stir-fried pork is one, then...?"

Chen Jingle flipped through the menu again and again, and finally ordered a "wind-roasted chicken". But when it was served, it turned out to be a Cantonese-style hanging roasted chicken.

Impressed!

It smells delicious, after all, roast chicken is never too bad no matter how it's made, but there's no need to make a special trip to Yunzhou to eat it.

However, this restaurant offers many dishes in half portions, which is commendable as it allows customers to try a wider variety of dishes.

This is the exact opposite of what happens in Northeast China.

I don't mean to say that either side is bad, it's just that they have different styles of ordering food. In Northeast China, he really doesn't dare to order too many dishes, at most four, otherwise he can't finish them and has to take them home.

Chen Jingle specially ordered a bowl of knife-cut noodles as her main dish, and was pleasantly surprised when it was served.

The noodles here are really different from those I eat in Lingnan.

It's just magical.

They're all made from flour, yet they manage to create completely different flavors.

First of all, the toppings are very generous, both vegetarian and meat-based, covering the entire bowl, unlike some beef noodles from a certain state which only have a few thin slices.

Secondly, Chen Jingle added a piece of roast pork, also known as braised pork belly, which is called roast pork here, and the portion was also quite large.

At first, Chen Jingle thought the price was a bit expensive, nearly 30 yuan a bowl, but after it was served, he instantly felt that the 30 yuan was well spent. After actually eating it, this feeling became more and more firm.

The noodles were cooked to the perfect firmness and absorbed the broth beautifully, resulting in a rich aroma and a perfect texture.

After taking a bite, the feeling of fullness came over me, and I felt wonderful; happiness almost radiated from my face.

This feeling is something rice can't give you.

I suddenly understand why people from provinces that are used to eating noodles crave them so much when they go to other places.

"When you're starving, a bowl of noodles like this is truly blissful!"

The roasted pork was very flavorful, satisfying his craving for meaty aroma, as he is a meat lover.

Even the broth is not to be underestimated. The flavor of soy sauce and other seasonings does not overpower the aroma of the meat; the two blend together perfectly. Even someone like Chen Jingle, who doesn't like to drink soup when eating noodles, is willing to have a few sips.

A quick poke at the bottom of the bowl with chopsticks, and it became clear.

"The soup is made with lean minced meat, which is more fragrant than soup made with just diced or sliced ​​meat. The layer of oil on top of the soup soaks into every noodle, but it doesn't feel greasy when you eat it. Instead, it's very fragrant. It's a pure meaty aroma."

Chen Jingle was very surprised; this was quite interesting.

Meat tastes better than vegetables, and well-prepared meat is even more tempting.

I can only say it's amazing!
This is something I can learn!
"Let me try some!"

Teacher Li rarely saw him with such an expression, so out of curiosity, she picked up a bowl, used her chopsticks to take a bite, and tasted it.

After trying it, I was also a little surprised.

To be able to make noodles to this level is truly impressive, especially the broth, which tastes really good.

For someone from the South Dong province who enjoys drinking soup, this is already extremely high praise.

Chen Jingle searched on his phone and found that locals seem to call this soup "meat sauce," and the essence of a bowl of noodles is all in this soup.

Good, good, worth learning from.

Everyone says that Shanxi vinegar is famous, but Chen Jingle thinks that it's not suitable to add vinegar when eating this knife-cut noodles, because it will ruin the original flavor of the meat broth.

It's not that you shouldn't add vinegar to noodles; vinegar itself is very fragrant, but it doesn't really go well with this bowl of noodles, that's all.

The customers at the next table didn't add vinegar to their noodles either, so I don't know where the saying "people from Shanxi always add vinegar to their noodles" comes from.

It depends on the specific situation; some cases are indeed suitable for adding it, while others are not.

Of course, it also depends on personal taste.

In short, cook whatever tastes good!
Besides the knife-cut noodles, the yellow millet jelly was also delicious, but it was a bit too rich if you ate too much. The assorted copper hot pot was very generous; one pot alone seemed enough for two people with small appetites. And for 58 yuan, they even added sea cucumber—amazing! Although Chen Jingle felt the sea cucumber was really unnecessary and didn't suit the taste.

When I checked the bill at the end, it had only cost me less than 200 yuan.

Keep in mind that he ordered enough for four people, a total of seven dishes. Although many of them were half portions, it was still seven dishes!
It's incredibly affordable; it's both cheap and delicious.

Five-star praise!

After this incident, he no longer agreed with Chu Yunfei's words.

"How can you say that Shanxi cuisine is inferior? It's clearly quite good."

It was at least passable as a daily meal; in wartime, a meal like this would have been quite a feast.

……

After finishing my meal, I started wandering around.

On the first day, we wandered around the old town and visited several ancient temples.

The main attractions are the sculptures, painted clay sculptures, and Wei stele inscriptions.

The old town area is home to many attractions, making it very convenient to explore. It covers a wide range of ancient buildings and cultural relics from the Northern and Southern Dynasties to the Liao, Jin, Ming and Qing Dynasties. Even the Prince Dai's Mansion, which I wasn't initially keen on visiting, is located there. I also took a quick look at the Nine Dragon Wall.

The most outstanding sculptures and painted figures are found in Buddhist temples, such as the Twenty-Four Devas in Shanhua Temple. Their exquisite beauty even amazed Chen Jingle, who is knowledgeable in painting.

However, Chen Jingle himself does not know much about folk religion, so he will not comment.

However, both Buddhism and Taoism have their merits, and we can only view them dialectically.

Then there's the Wei stele calligraphy that Chen Jingle has been longing for.

Yunzhou was once the capital of the Northern Wei Dynasty. The calligraphy of the Northern and Southern Dynasties was in a transitional stage of inheriting the past and opening up the future. It can be seen from the old models of the Han and Qin Dynasties and the styles of the Sui and Tang Dynasties.

Wei stele, on the other hand, is a form of expression that is directly carved on the stone surface.

The styles vary due to different fonts, but the overall style is simple, rugged, and elegant.

This is extremely tempting for a calligrapher like Chen Jingle.

In particular, the Wei stele style has a prominent knife-carved feel, or rather, a strong metallic feel, which is very much in line with his personal style.

As is well known, the Eastern Jin Dynasty was followed by the Northern and Southern Dynasties, which led to the formation of two different schools of calligraphy.

The Northern School, now known as the Wei stele style, is more ancient and bold, excelling in large-character calligraphy. The Southern School, on the other hand, takes the calligraphy of Wang Xizhi and Wang Xianzhi as its orthodoxy, characterized by its free and elegant style, excelling in short letters.

Each has its own characteristics.

Therefore, the Wei stele holds a very high position in the history of calligraphy. Calligraphers throughout history have given it extremely high praise, considering it to be the finest among Han steles.

But then another problem arises: the mainstream of early calligraphy was the study of model books, while the study of stele inscriptions was not the mainstream. In the eyes of most calligraphers, the calligraphy of Wang Xizhi and Wang Xianzhi in the south was elegant, while the Wei stele inscriptions in the north was vulgar.

Therefore, although the Wei stele is of superior quality, after the Tang Dynasty, the Song and Yuan Dynasties all followed the path of running script and cursive script creation, and there were no works that could rival the Tang regular script.

During the Ming and Qing dynasties, the official script style became prevalent, and calligraphy became even more rigid.

Perhaps it was a rebound from rock bottom. The rise of modern epigraphy and the excavation of a large number of Wei stele artifacts, coupled with people's reflection on the official script, led to the increasing popularity of Wei stele in the calligraphy circle from the mid-to-late Qing Dynasty, bringing Wei stele back into the public eye, and it remains so to this day.

Even the current Yunzhou South Railway Station has four characters on its signboard written in the Wei stele style.

It's important to know that there's a hierarchy of disdain within the calligraphy community.

Those who write in running script or cursive script look down on those who write in seal script or clerical script; those who write in seal script or clerical script look down on those who write in regular script; those who write in regular script look down on those who write in the "slender gold" style; those who write in the "slender gold" style look down on those who write in the "street style" style; and those who write in the "street style" style look down on those who write with a pen.

Regardless, Wei stele calligraphy is now at the top of the calligraphy font pyramid.

As for the fact that some people think that Wei stele calligraphy is ugly, it's just that many people nowadays try too hard to imitate the original inscriptions in order to highlight that sense of antiquity, which makes it look less aesthetically pleasing.

Moreover, most of the imitations are of obscure folk inscriptions, pursuing a so-called rustic feel, and written crookedly.

In reality, the Wei stele calligraphy they wrote had little to do with the true Wei clerical script and Wei regular script. It was more of a continuation of the styles of the Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China, and it was weak and lacked spirit, somewhat like a poor imitation.

The Northern Wei people were so Sinicized, they weren't savages, how could they not even be good at calligraphy?
During the Northern and Southern Dynasties period, the Northern Wei Dynasty inherited the traditions of the Qin, Han, and Jin dynasties, and also had cultural exchanges with the south. So why did it become what some people consider children's calligraphy?
Ultimately, it's a human problem!

Not to mention that it is difficult for ink marks to truly achieve the unique style of stele inscriptions, it is not enough to just copy them. Instead of copying the masterpieces, they insist on focusing on those crooked and messy copies, leading the Wei stele inscriptions towards ugly calligraphy. It is truly stupid and evil!

Take a look at the "Epitaph of Zhang Xuan, the Former Prefect of Wei," and see what a masterpiece looks like!
Although both are regular script, it is more advanced than Tang Dynasty regular script. Its brushwork combines the central and side strokes, and combines strength and softness. It incorporates many elements of clerical script, possessing the maturity of Tang Dynasty regular script, the versatility of Wei stele script, and the antiquity of clerical script.

The text on the fifth set of banknotes we are currently using is in this font.

It is evident that the aesthetic sense of the ancients was not low-level.

On the contrary, modern people's aesthetic sense has deteriorated somewhat, and in pursuit of so-called individuality and innovation, they are heading in the direction of bizarre shapes.

You don't have to.

Only after actually seeing the ancient stele did I understand why everyone says that there is no better way to trace back to the ancient meaning than to directly look at the original inscription.

"No wonder so many people go to the Chang'an Stele Forest to copy the inscriptions on site."

Chen Jingle was stunned, but even more amazed.

He was able to learn something just by observing, which was truly unexpected.

I used to think that some people's claim that visiting three of the ten major steles forests was enough to qualify someone as a calligrapher was an exaggeration. But now it seems there's some truth to it.

Teacher Li may not fully understand these things, but she can understand some of them, which is better than most women at that time.

Moreover, she was willing to accompany Chen Jingle around without any complaints.

Finally, they bought two cute little cultural and creative dolls, something like "Buddha's Companion," and were very happy. Apparently, these things are quite hard to buy; they were lucky.

It can only be said that girls always like things that are cute in appearance.

However, the cultural and creative products in Yunzhou are indeed well made, with a wide variety and exquisite designs, second only to those in Beijing.

……

The next day, the two visited the famous grottoes and once again experienced the beauty of Yunzhou's thousand-year-old culture.

The third day was filled with eating and drinking, and then we prepared to leave.

Chen Jingle spent three days in Yunzhou, which was a real treat for a carb lover like him. He ate all kinds of local specialty noodles.

Even when I was about to leave, I went to eat knife-cut noodles one more time.

Looking back, Yunzhou's tourism experience was indeed better than many other cities, and its tourism industry planning was better than most ancient cities across the country.

It's commercialized, but there's not much that's offensive.

"One axis, two cities, separate development, combining the ancient and the modern, and the old and the new, it's really impressive!"

In the long run, Mr. Geng was indeed right.

It's a pity that not every local official has this vision and this kind of courage.

After leaving Yunzhou, the two headed directly to the northern desert, preparing to go to the grasslands.

Wu Hu~
Chulechuan, here I come!
(End of this chapter)