Biang biang noodles
Encyclopedia
Biáng biáng noodles, also known as , are a type of noodle
popular in China
's Shaanxi
province. The noodles, touted as one of the "ten strange wonders of Shaanxi" , are described as being like a belt, due to their thickness and length. The "Noodle King" chain in Beijing
serves biáng biáng noodles.
This noodle was a poor-man's meal in the countryside, but has recently become popular in trendy restaurants due to its weird character name.
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for "biáng" is one of the most complex Chinese characters in contemporary usage, although the character is not found in modern dictionaries or even in the Kangxi dictionary
.
The character is composed of (speak) in the middle flanked by (tiny) on both sides. Below it, (horse) is similarly flanked by (grow). This central block itself is surrounded by (moon) to the left, (heart) below, (knife) on the right, and (eight) above. These in turn are surrounded by a second layer of characters, namely (roof) on the top and (walk) curving around the left and bottom.
Because the Chinese character for "biáng" cannot be entered into computers (the character has not been added to Unicode
), phonetic substitutes like ) or ) are often used.
s used by Shaanxi
residents to aid recall of how the character is written.
One version runs as follows:
Note that the first two lines probably refer to the character (roof), building it up systematically as a dot and a line (river) with two bends.
Premier Li Si
. However, since the character is not found in the Kangxi Dictionary
, it may have been created much later than the time of Li Si.
In the 2007 season of the TVB show The Web , the show's producers tried to find the origin of the character by contacting university professors, but they could not verify the Li Si story or the origin of the character. It was concluded that the character was invented by the noodle store.
One theory is that there was no such character or meaning for this word in the beginning, and the word actually came from the sound people make from chewing such delicious noodles "biang biang biang".
Noodle
The noodle is a type of food, made from any of a variety of doughs, formed into long thin ribbons, strips, curly-cues, waves, helices, pipes, tubes, strings, or other various shapes, sometimes folded. They are usually cooked in a mixture of boiling water and/or oil. Depending upon the type, noodles...
popular in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
's Shaanxi
Shaanxi
' is a province in the central part of Mainland China, and it includes portions of the Loess Plateau on the middle reaches of the Yellow River in addition to the Qinling Mountains across the southern part of this province...
province. The noodles, touted as one of the "ten strange wonders of Shaanxi" , are described as being like a belt, due to their thickness and length. The "Noodle King" chain in Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
serves biáng biáng noodles.
About the noodle
The noodle is broad and hand-made and is topped with lots of red hot peppers for the cold winter in Shaanxi.This noodle was a poor-man's meal in the countryside, but has recently become popular in trendy restaurants due to its weird character name.
The Chinese character for biáng
Phonetic substitution
Made up of 57 strokes, the Chinese characterChinese character
Chinese characters are logograms used in the writing of Chinese and Japanese , less frequently Korean , formerly Vietnamese , or other languages...
for "biáng" is one of the most complex Chinese characters in contemporary usage, although the character is not found in modern dictionaries or even in the Kangxi dictionary
Kangxi dictionary
The Kangxi Dictionary was the standard Chinese dictionary during the 18th and 19th centuries. The Kangxi Emperor of the Manchu Qing Dynasty ordered its compilation in 1710. The creator innovated greatly by reusing and confirming the new Zihui system of 596 radicals, since then known as 596 Kangxi...
.
The character is composed of (speak) in the middle flanked by (tiny) on both sides. Below it, (horse) is similarly flanked by (grow). This central block itself is surrounded by (moon) to the left, (heart) below, (knife) on the right, and (eight) above. These in turn are surrounded by a second layer of characters, namely (roof) on the top and (walk) curving around the left and bottom.
Because the Chinese character for "biáng" cannot be entered into computers (the character has not been added to Unicode
Unicode
Unicode is a computing industry standard for the consistent encoding, representation and handling of text expressed in most of the world's writing systems...
), phonetic substitutes like ) or ) are often used.
Mnemonics
There are a number of mnemonicMnemonic
A mnemonic , or mnemonic device, is any learning technique that aids memory. To improve long term memory, mnemonic systems are used to make memorization easier. Commonly encountered mnemonics are often verbal, such as a very short poem or a special word used to help a person remember something,...
s used by Shaanxi
Shaanxi
' is a province in the central part of Mainland China, and it includes portions of the Loess Plateau on the middle reaches of the Yellow River in addition to the Qinling Mountains across the southern part of this province...
residents to aid recall of how the character is written.
One version runs as follows:
| Trad. Chinese | | Simp. Chinese | | Pinyin Pinyin Pinyin is the official system to transcribe Chinese characters into the Roman alphabet in China, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan. It is also often used to teach Mandarin Chinese and spell Chinese names in foreign publications and used as an input method to enter Chinese characters into... | English translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| yì diǎn shàng le tiān | A dot rises up to heaven, | ||
| huáng hé liǎng dào wān | and the yellow river Yellow River The Yellow River or Huang He, formerly known as the Hwang Ho, is the second-longest river in China and the sixth-longest in the world at the estimated length of . Originating in the Bayan Har Mountains in Qinghai Province in western China, it flows through nine provinces of China and empties into... has two bends. |
||
| bā zì dà zhāng kǒu | The character "eight" opens its mouth, | ||
| yán zì wǎng jìn zǒu | and the character "speak" walks in. | ||
| nǐ yī niǔ, wǒ yī niǔ | You make a twist, I make a twist, ( 'tiny') | ||
| nǐ yī zhǎng, wǒ yī zhǎng | you grow, I grow , | ||
| dāng zhōng jiā ge mǎ dà wáng | and we add a horse king in between. | ||
| xīn zì dǐ | The character "heart" forms the base, | ||
| yuè zì páng | the character "moon" stands at the side, | ||
| liú ge diào dā guà má táng | a hook ( 'knife') at the right to hang sesame candies, | ||
| zuò zhe chē chē guàng xián yáng | and we ride a carriage to tour ( radical: 'walk') the streets of Xianyang Xianyang Xianyang is a former capital of China in Shaanxi province, on the Wei River, a few kilometers upstream from Xi'an. It has an area of... . |
Note that the first two lines probably refer to the character (roof), building it up systematically as a dot and a line (river) with two bends.
Origin of the character
The origins of the biang biang noodles and the character biáng are unclear. In one version of the story, the character biáng was invented by the Qin DynastyQin Dynasty
The Qin Dynasty was the first imperial dynasty of China, lasting from 221 to 207 BC. The Qin state derived its name from its heartland of Qin, in modern-day Shaanxi. The strength of the Qin state was greatly increased by the legalist reforms of Shang Yang in the 4th century BC, during the Warring...
Premier Li Si
Li Si
Li Si was the influential Prime Minister of the feudal state and later of the dynasty of Qin, between 246 BC and 208 BC. A famous Legalist, he was also a notable calligrapher. Li Si served under two rulers: Qin Shi Huang, king of Qin and later First Emperor of China—and his son, Qin Er Shi...
. However, since the character is not found in the Kangxi Dictionary
Kangxi dictionary
The Kangxi Dictionary was the standard Chinese dictionary during the 18th and 19th centuries. The Kangxi Emperor of the Manchu Qing Dynasty ordered its compilation in 1710. The creator innovated greatly by reusing and confirming the new Zihui system of 596 radicals, since then known as 596 Kangxi...
, it may have been created much later than the time of Li Si.
In the 2007 season of the TVB show The Web , the show's producers tried to find the origin of the character by contacting university professors, but they could not verify the Li Si story or the origin of the character. It was concluded that the character was invented by the noodle store.
One theory is that there was no such character or meaning for this word in the beginning, and the word actually came from the sound people make from chewing such delicious noodles "biang biang biang".
External links
CCTV Forum Discussion on Biang Character Sunny Days blog post on biang biang noodles- Blog post by Dan Washburn on biang biang noodles CCTV writeup on the ten strange wonders of Shaanxi "Origins of biang biang noodles" in the Cultural Origins Blog
- Pictures of Chinese sign with "biang" characters http://www.eatingchinese.org/photogallery/photo041/sxxa23.jpg http://theabc.typepad.com/my_weblog/2006/04/most_difficult_.html
