Bone Eater

When Chen Mo, a modern gourmet, was filming a documentary about the ancient town's food, he fell into a well in an attempt to take a picture of the freshly baked cured bone soup, and woke up on the streets of Yangzhou during the Daye period of the Sui Dynasty. With a silver spoon in his hand, he embarked on a supernatural journey of food spanning six generations. In the Yangzhou night market in the Sui Dynasty, he met an old woman selling "money crab cakes" - the fragrance of the cake haunted the ghost of a young girl. In order to save her brother from famine, the woman melted her dowry into gold foil and wrapped the cake, but was killed by evil officials. The cake buyer could see the golden glow in the core of the cake; in the pastry of the mute boy who shopped the "Cloud Pie Cake", the sugar threads were the unfinished instructions of the mother's soul. The "fish bream" contains the resentment of the fishermen, and the "hu cake" contains the homesickness of the garrison soldiers. Every bite of delicious food is linked to the love of yin and yang. After that, he traveled to various places: Chang'an in the prosperous Tang Dynasty, the remnant soul of Hu Shang floated in the soup pot of "mutton steamed buns", asking him to return the treasure in the steamed buns; Lin'an in the Song Dynasty, "crab powder soup dumplings" made the scholar resentful, and the crab roe was his rich knowledge after being changed into examination papers; Dadu in the Yuan Dynasty "roast lamb leg" had a samurai soul and asked him to pass on the leg bone totem; Suzhou in the Ming Dynasty "squirrel mandarin fish" The soul of the painter is hidden in the bones, which can be seen in the Jiangnan water town when carving; in the Qing Dynasty capital's "Peking Roast Duck", the fire in the furnace locked the soul of the cook, and the golden skin of the duck showed his guilt. Chen Mo used a spoon as a matchmaker to fulfill his soul's wish, and gradually became bound to the world's fireworks. He found the ancient well in the palace kitchen of the Qing Dynasty, which was a clue to returning to modern times, but he was delayed in helping the old cook make "Laba porridge". The old cook's soul dispersed in the aroma of porridge, and the ancient well closed. Chen Mo touched the warm spoon in his arms and stayed in the Qing Dynasty. The last chapter of the recipe handed down by him reads: "The best taste in the world has always hidden the concerns of the world. If it can stay here, it will not be a kind of perfection." Concept: 1. Food as "soul": the narrative of life in the smoke. This work breaks the material attribute of food as just "food" and sublimates it into a spiritual carrier that carries soul and memory. From the redemptive gold foil hidden in the "Money Crab Cake" in Yangzhou in the Sui Dynasty to the imperial chef's guilt locked in the fire of the "Peking Roast Duck" in the Qing Dynasty, every delicacy is a microcosm of an unfinished life. They are no longer simple taste symbols, but "containers" for the love, hate, anger and obsession of civilians, soldiers, craftsmen and other people of all kinds - the fisherman's resentment is condensed in "fish bream", the garrison's homesickness is hidden in "Hu Cake", and the painter's obsession is contained in "Huang Gui Persimmon Cake". This setting actually reveals the symbiosis between food and life: food is created by people, and in turn seals people's emotions and destiny. Behind the fireworks, there is always a living trajectory of life. 2. Time and space are "mirrors": the eternity of human nature in the changes of six generations. The story is based on the flow of time and space in the Sui, Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, but it breaks away from pure historical curiosity and instead reflects the "ever-changing era" with "unchanged human nature". Whether it is the obsession of Hu Shang in the prosperous Tang Dynasty for his homeland, the desire for justice among scholars in the Song Dynasty, or the nostalgia for the warmth of the world among the butchers in the Ming Dynasty, these "heart knots" of the soul are essentially the common emotions of human beings - care, regret, perseverance, and longing. As dynasties change, the ingredients and techniques may be updated, but the human nature hidden in the food has never changed: the protection of family ties, the hope for justice, and the attachment to the homeland, forming a spiritual resonance that spans thousands of years. This setting makes history perceptible and tangible, and also allows the warmth of humanity to be preserved in the gaps in time and space. 3. Bonds as "roots": the perfection of existence in the connection of taste. The protagonist Chen Mo uses a silver spoon as a medium to untie the heart knot of the soul. The essence is a journey of "awakening memory with taste and completing redemption with understanding". From an initial bystander, he gradually became a participant and guardian of the world's fireworks. Finally, in order to fulfill the old cook's wish, he gave up returning to his hometown and chose to stay in the time and space that carries countless bonds. The note at the end of the recipe, "The most delicious food in the world always hides the concerns of the world," points out the ultimate intention of the work: the real "most delicious food" has nothing to do with delicacies, but lies in the emotions and concerns associated with food. Chen Mo's choice is not only a response to individual emotions, but also a recognition of the collective memory of "Human Fireworks" - staying in the present full of care is far closer to the perfection of life than returning to the unfettered past.