Taro

It is said that yams original: 薯蕷, shǔyù grow in the summer heat but lack flavor, yet people mock the "crouching owl" original: 蹲鴟, zūnchī; an ancient literary name for the taro, so named because its shape resembles a hunched owl with similar disparagement. The poet Lu You original: 放翁, Fàngwēng once wrote: "Do not laugh at the 'crouching owl' for its lack of flavor; one relies on it to prop oneself up through years of famine." When an empty stomach rumbles like thunder, and one depends on the "jade extension" original: 玉延, yùyán; a poetic name for the Chinese yam or the "yellow solitary" original: 黃獨, huángdú; the air potato to survive, one cannot afford to be choosy.

However, Lu You was merely composing a poem about the common taro. If one considers the taro buds original: 芋奶, yùnǎi; literally 'taro milk,' referring to the small, tender secondary corms of the Sanwu region the Yangtze River Delta, they are as smooth and tender as milk. When seasoned with cane syrup and swallowed, they slide down the throat of their own accord. How could such sweetness be considered inferior to the "jade extension" yam?

Furthermore, the Complete Treatise on Agricultural Administration original: 農政全書, Nóngzhèng Quánshū states that taro juice can be used to wash greasy clothes, leaving them as white as jade. In Su Dongpo’s Miscellaneous Notes original: 東坡雜記, Dōngpō Zhájì, it is mentioned that the people of Sichuan use taro mucilage when grafting flowers and fruits. Even the "leftover" properties of the plant serve the people's needs.

Roasting taro in dry leaves is naturally a staple for mountain dwellers practicing "grain avoidance" original: 辟穀, bìgǔ; a Daoist fasting technique. Yet, the Miscellaneous Records of the Cloud Immortals original: 雲仙雜記, Yúnxiān Zhájì describes burning the finest charcoal and wrapping taro heads in "dragon brain" original: 龍腦, lóngnǎo; borneol camphor to roast them. The book Simple Sustenance for the Mountain Dweller original: 山家清供, Shānjiā Qīnggōng describes the "Big Endurance Cake" original: 大耐糕, Dànàigāo: take a large taro, remove the skin and core, blanch it with salted plum and licorice, and fill it with pine nuts and olive kernels. Such a dish surely transcends the simple "flavor of a late frost."

In the Tang dynasty, when Feng Guang was editing the Selections of Refined Literature original: 文選, Wénxuán, he explained the "crouching owl" by saying it was simply a "hairy radish." How could those who eat only meat ever recognize the products of the farm and garden? They are truly like those "facing a wall" original: 面牆, miànqiáng; a Confucian metaphor for being stuck or ignorant due to a lack of study.