Hu Sihui was a court therapist and dietitian during Yuan Dynasty

Yuan Dynasty

The Yuan Dynasty , or Great Yuan Empire was a ruling dynasty founded by the Mongol leader Kublai Khan, who ruled most of present-day China, all of modern Mongolia and its surrounding areas, lasting officially from 1271 to 1368. It is considered both as a division of the Mongol Empire and as an...

 reign in China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

. He is known for his book Yinshan Zhengyao (Important Principles of Food and Drink), that became a classic in Chinese medicine and Chinese cuisine

Chinese cuisine

Chinese cuisine is any of several styles originating in the regions of China, some of which have become highly popular in other parts of the world – from Asia to the Americas, Australia, Western Europe and Southern Africa...

. He was the first to empirically discover and clearly describe deficiency diseases.

Biography

The career of Hu Sihui, as he states in preface to his book, was in the reign of Buyantu Khan in Yenyu years (1314—1320). An ethnic Mongol

Mongols

Mongols ) are a Central-East Asian ethnic group that lives mainly in the countries of Mongolia, China, and Russia. In China, ethnic Mongols can be found mainly in the central north region of China such as Inner Mongolia...

, and an official in Xuanhui Yuan (the Ministry of Court Supplies and Provisions), around 1315 Hu Sihui initially emerged as the therapist of Empress Dowager, soon also became the therapist of the acting Empress, and later received the rank of the chief Imperial therapist and became responsible for food and drinks of the numerous Emperor's family.

As tradition has it, Buyantu Khan, after several years of expeditions and irregular life, was overstrained and suffered acute pain in his kidneys. The vegetable soup prescribed by Hu Sihui cured the pains in 3 months, and one of Emperor's spouses became pregnant. The Emperor grandly awarded Hu Sihui as the cause of this "double joy".

In 1330 Hu Sihui, no longer busy with the Emperor and his harem, completed and presented to the Court his book Yinshan Zhengyao (饮膳正要), summarising the experiences of the court dietitian. The main idea of his work was that people preparing food for the Emperor are directly responsible for efficiency of the State, as a monarch may get sick from improper eating, and lose ability of managing state affairs.

Important principles

Yinshan Zhengyao states that a significant part of diseases is caused by improper eating, and a significant part of them can be cured by proper eating. The book propagated moderation, regularity and variety in food, proper hygiene and food storage, and special diets for pregnant women and for children. This book was the first to describe in detail how diseases are connected to deficiency of certain components in food. It was probably the first book in China to dwell on food poisonings.

Recipes presented show strong Han Chinese as well as Mongolian, Turkic and Persian influences. As Hu Sihui states, a large variety of foods were known in the court since Kublai Khan

Kublai Khan

Kublai Khan , born Kublai and also known by the temple name Shizu , was the fifth Great Khan of the Mongol Empire from 1260 to 1294 and the founder of the Yuan Dynasty in China...

 and this novelty needed special research as to its influence on health. Taken as a collection of recipes and ingredients alone, his book is a tremendously important description of Medieval food of Eurasia.

Legacy

Hu Sihui's book was widely accepted in Later Yuan, but won even wider influence after the fall of Yuan. Ming Dynasty

Ming Dynasty

The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...

, after occupying Beijing in 1368, started to combine Chinese cuisine from other regions with the cosmopolitan cuisine of Yuan court. Jingtai Emperor

Jingtai Emperor

The Jingtai Emperor was Emperor of China from 1449 to 1457. The second son of the Xuande Emperor, he was selected in 1449 to succeed his older brother, the Zhengtong Emperor, when the latter was captured by Mongols following the Tumu Crisis...

 of Ming (ruled 1449—1457) personally wrote a preface to an edition of Yinshan Zhengyao.

As a culinary encyclopedia, this book made some regional recipes aссepted as part of national cuisine of the whole of China. For example, it is this book that contained a recipe of a roast duck that could be a predecessor of the widely known Beijing Duck.