Mural guide
Cubes of soft tofu soak in clear water in a clay basin, golden fried tofu and a block of firm tofu cut into slices lie on the board beside a knife, and a bamboo tray holds a stack of thin pressed tofu sheets.
Tofu set from soy milk, in soft, firm, dried, fried and frozen forms.
In the tofu entry of the fourth grain section of Li Shizhen's Bencao Gangmu (published in 1596), the collected-explanations note reads: "The method of making tofu began with Liu An, Prince of Huainan of the Han." It adds that black, yellow and white beans, and other kinds such as peas and mung beans, can all be used. Tracing tofu to Liu An is the book's own statement, so this entry treats it as legend and not as established history.