Litterateur’s
Fuxi

A Sichuan-born poet and official of the Song dynasty, Su Dongpo endured repeated exile. He does not attend the memorial feast, but appears in the film’s recollected scenes. His life emerges through foods, memories and the voices of those who knew him, rather than in chronological order.

He is admired, yet not treated as a flawless monument. The guests at his memorial feast question him as readily as they celebrate him.

Su Dongpo’s former young attendant now hosts a banquet in his memory. His ghost cooks the dishes and gathers the scattered flavours of a life spent travelling in exile.

The familiar pairing of scholar and servant gains a new balance: this time, the book boy tells the story.

A guide to the dead, the Harvester knows the roads and routines of the underworld. Far from being terrifying, he is worldly, patient and almost professionally weary.

Together with Yaksha, he makes a comic double act in the spirit of traditional theatre.

A boisterous spirit of the rivers, Yaksha has witnessed Su Dongpo’s journeys by water. Where the Harvester is seasoned and orderly, Yaksha is impulsive, hungry and quick to anger.

During exile, Su Dongpo is said to have met an old woman who reminded him that his former glory was only a spring dream. He gave her the name Granny Spring Dream.

Her teasing, everyday wisdom helps loosen his attachment to fame and fortune, making room for life to be enjoyed again.

The fox spirit is a young artistic idealist, devoted to poetry and moral perfection. He admires Su Dongpo, yet remains willing to criticise the poet he loves.

In the tradition of strange tales, an outsider can take human ideals more seriously than humans themselves.

In 1079, Su Shi was arrested and questioned over writings accused of criticising the authorities. After his release, he was sent into exile in Huangzhou.

In the world of Fuxi, those years of difficulty also opened a new chapter of cooking, writing and everyday invention.

In the film, Su Dongpo’s meals and inventive cooking are remembered alongside his poems and years of exile. The book boy’s feast gathers those flavours into a single evening. For dishes and recipes, return to What Is Served.