“醬藝”功夫 從堅守“兩萬步”説起
"The artistry of sauced meat-making" Kung Fu Started from Sticking to "Twenty Thousand Steps"
有一種美食，歷經數百年，口味工藝都未曾改變，這其間的“秘訣”卻蘊含在步履間。
There is a kind of delicacy, after hundreds of years, the taste and craftsmanship have not changed, however the "secret" in the process is contained in the steps.
故事要回到清朝，山東人劉鳳翔逃荒來京，靠做醬肉謀生。乾隆三年（1738年）的一天深夜，他的孫子劉抵明夜間守灶時睡著了，肘子煮過了火。恰巧宮中來採購，這煮過頭的醬肘子卻因“口味獨特”被要求每日供應，隨之名震京城。
The story goes back to the Qing Dynasty. Liu Fengxiang, a native of Shandong Province, fled to Beijing to make a living by making sauced meat. Late one night in the third year of Qianlong Dynasty(1738), his grandson Liu Diming fell asleep while guarding the stove at night, and the spiced pork shoulder was overcooked over the fire. It happened that the palace servants came to purchase, but the overcooked spiced pork shoulder with sauce was required to be supplied daily because of the "unique taste", and it became amazingly famous in Beijing.
“因禍得福”並非會相伴終生。此後，劉抵明在原祖傳技藝的基礎上，總結出一套獨特的“六步”製作工藝，僅醬制時間就長達7-8小時之久。
"Blessing in disguise" does not accompany life forever. After that, Liu Diming summed up a unique "six-step" production process based on the original ancestral skills, and the sauced meat making time alone was as long as 7-8 hours.
中國功夫，動靜開闔。醬肉技藝的精髓所在，便是老師傅每天數小時、萬步間的“看鍋”，所有醬貨都同時下鍋、出鍋，成敗在此一舉。
Chinese Kung Fu is dynamic and static alternatively. The essence of the sauced meat skill lies in the "pot watching" of the master chef for several hours a day and tens of thousands of steps. All sauced goods are put into the pot and taken out of the pot at the same time, and success or failure depends on this pot-watching action.
[傳承人採訪][Interview with the Inheritor]
宋子軍（天福號醬肘子製作技藝第九代代表性傳承人）
Song Zijun(Representative of the 9th generation inheritors of Tianfuhao sauced pork shoulder making skills)
宋子軍：燉煮三到四個小時。這幾個小時幹嘛，這師傅要不停地在這鍋邊來回來去的走動，要調這個火，這個火一定要看，哪個火衝一點哪個火慢一點，同樣的肘子不一樣大，還要同樣的時間出鍋，還都要口感好、都要入味，這個真正的精髓就在師傅“看鍋”這道工序上。眼勤、手勤、腿勤，總結一個“三勤”，這一班鍋下來以後，一定在一萬兩千步左右。這個“看鍋”的師傅，最少你得夠十年往上，有十年往上你得有這個經驗。第一就是經驗嘛，第二它主要是一個責任心。
The simmering and boiling would take 3 to 4 hours. Through the whole time, the cook keeps walking from pot to pot, to adjust the heat of each pot. Controlling the heat is really important. Some pot needs a higher temperature, some lower. The pork shoulder don’t come in the same size, but they need to be served at the same time. Meanwhile each one needs to be deliciously cooked. So the essence lies in heat controlling. In a nutshell, it’s a job that requires a cook to use his (her) eyes, hands and legs industriously. For each batch of pork shoulder , the cook could take some 12,000 steps, just among these pots. To handle the heat controlling, at least ten years of experience is required. It takes ten years of actual practice. Experience is not the only thing. It also requires the cook to be really responsible.
美味珍饈能流傳百世，得手藝真傳需要的是一顆“誠心”，做事先做人，這是樸素的中華智慧。
Delicious delicacies can be handed down for generations, and the true transmission of craftsmanship requires a "sincere heart". To be a man in advance, this is the plain Chinese wisdom.
[傳承人採訪][Interview with the Inheritor]
宋子軍（天福號醬肘子製作技藝第九代代表性傳承人）
Song Zijun(Representative of the 9th generation inheritors of Tianfuhao sauced pork shoulder making skills)
宋子軍：人品很重要。培養一個徒弟，一定要先看他人品，而且絕不是三五年就能培養出來的，一定要先看看他有沒有這個，第一要看他的個人愛好；第二看他有沒有這個耐力；還有一個要求最高的點就是，有沒有奉獻這種精神。作為傳承人來説，你的任務是什麼？你一定得把老祖宗給的東西傳下來。怎麼傳？在傳的過程中一定要每個把好關，是吧？完了以後你光傳還是不行，你還得把這事發揚，還得有創新。
Personalities matter a lot. Before cultivating an apprentice, personality is my primary consideration. It takes more than several years of training. I have to see if he (she) has proper qualities. First, if he (she) is interested in the career. Second, if there is enough patience. Third, also the toughest one:Dedication. The mission for heirs is to pass on what we inherit from our ancestors. Such inheriting is quite detail-oriented. Moreover, Merely inheriting is not enough. It’s the heirs’duty to carry forward the tradition. Innovation is also indispensable.
幾百年前，劉鳳翔的鍋裏燉煮的是人間滄桑。今天，醬肉已經成為了非物質文化遺産。從市井到帝王，再到回歸日常飲食，甚至走向世界，醬肉傳承，用兩萬步的堅守秀出美食“真功夫”。那麼，今天的你，該如何“接招”？
Hundreds of years ago, Liu Fengxiang's pot stewing were the vicissitudes of life. Today, sauced meat has become an intangible cultural heritage. From the marketplace to the emperor, and then returning to the daily diet, and even going to the world, the sauced meat inheritance, with 20,000 steps of persistence shows the "true kung fu" of food. So, nowadays，how do you take "that" ?
