A Tang meal revolves around fàn, the cooked grain that satisfies (millet, rice, porridge), surrounded by small cài, savory side dishes—salted, marinated, or stewed—that add flavor and color. For a poor scholar like Du Fu, fàn dominates and cài are scarce; on feast days, a river fish or cloudy wine honors the table.

An indigenous Chinese berry, numbing and citrusy, it was the queen spice of Sichuan long before chili peppers arrived from the Americas (after 1492). In Chengdu, where Du Fu built his thatched cottage, it flavored fish and marinades: a taste that "numbs the tongue" and defines his exile cuisine.