Text:
Dongpo Rou is a Hangzhou-style braised pork belly named after the Song dynasty poet, official, and gastronome Su Dongpo (苏东坡). It is a classic dish in Zhejiang cuisine, especially Hangzhou.

Context:
It is informant’s favorite dish as a child until they were tricked into believing it is called Dongpo Rou (Rou, meaning meat in Chinese) because it is actually Su Dongpo’s flesh and meat.
According the informant’s later research, Su Dongpo created or inspired this dish during his political exile in Huangzhou. He gifted pork to laborers who helped build a dam. Instead of boiling it, he braised it slowly, that is why it has a succulent and layered texture.

Analysis:
This origin story behind the fish mythologizes Dongpo Rou as a culinary monument to resilience, giving it folkloric and moral weight. Su Dongpo was a Confucian scholar and Daoist poet, his identity elevates the dish from rural fare to intellectual heritage.