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Story 79: Qin Hui’s “Stench” and “Delicious Food”

Qin Hui’s “Stench” and “Delicious Food”

Author: Anonymous

Qin Hui, the traitorous minister of the Southern Song Dynasty, killed Yue Fei for an “unfounded” crime, and has always been hated by the people of all generations. The Yue Tomb in Hangzhou has a kneeling statue of Qin Hui and his wife made of iron. They were constantly cursed, kicked, and spat on.

There is a very “stinky” legend about the iron statue of Qin Hui and his wife. It is said that there was a Zhejiang governor named Qin. After he took office, he saw the kneeling statue of Qin Hui and his wife being humiliated. He felt “ashamed of being named Qin” and was disgraced, so he wanted to move the iron statue away.

In order to avoid arousing public anger, he ordered people to secretly remove the iron statue at night and throw it into the West Lake. Unexpectedly, the lake suddenly smelled bad the next day, and at the same time, the adulterous statue in Yue’s tomb disappeared.

The people asked the government to investigate. Soon, the iron statue floated from the bottom of the lake. The people picked up the iron statue and put it back in front of Yue’s grave. The lake water immediately stopped smelling. The people all thought that Qin Hui was so smelly that it polluted the West Lake. The governor Qin saw this situation and was helpless.

The people of the past dynasties did not feel angry because of the kneeling statue of Qin Hui. According to legend, they made flour into the shape of Qin Hui and his wife and then fried them together in oil. They called it “fried 捍” or “fried cypress” (鄍 and 槧 have the same pronunciation).

Today, in China, “fried cypress” is called “fried dough sticks”, or directly called “fried ghosts”, as if Qin Hui and his wife are evil ghosts. Regardless of the name, Qin Hui has provided a famous delicacy to the Chinese people. This “credit” should also go to him!