A shallow long-handled pan sits on a small charcoal brazier, simmering napa cabbage, shiitake, tofu and carrot flowers, a large blue-and-white plate is fanned with thinly sliced meat, and three small bowls of dipping sauce stand beside it.
The pot at the table
Introduction
The early tradition of cooking food in a small pot at the table, from the Han ranlu to the Song bo xia gong.
The early dipping-pot tradition covers the cooking of food in a small pot over a small stove at the table, before hotpot and in its early stage. Han tombs have yielded a heatable vessel called a ranlu that is tied to the blending of the five flavours, and scholars still differ on whether it held sauce or was used for cooking. The Song book Shan Jia Qing Gong by Lin Hong records bo xia gong, in which thin slices of meat are first steeped in wine, sauce and pepper and then cooked in a small pot on a stove at the table. It is not a single dish but a way of eating across several periods; the vessel itself belongs with the objects, particular historical dishes are entries, and the hotpots that developed later in various places each form their own classes.