Chinese congee was primarily used as food about 4,000 years ago and for medicinal purposes around 2,500 years ago. The "Historical Records such as the Biography of Bianque Canggong" notes that the famous Western Han doctor Chun Yuyi (Canggong) used "fire porridge" to treat Qi Wang's illness. It is said that congee can reflect the vitality of internal organs and help dissipate heat.
In the Middle Ages, the role of congee was largely to integrate "edible" and "medicinal," and it entered the humanistic level of "health preservation." The great writer and gourmet Su Dongpo wrote a famous verse after eating congee: "I am profoundly troubled unknowingly, and I know there is a real flavor in the world."
Li Shizhen of the Ming Dynasty wrote in the Compendium of Materia Medica: "Eating a large bowl of congee every day, the stomach is weak when fasting, the congee is very delicate, suitable for the stomach and intestines, a good way to adjust the diet."
It can be seen that the relationship between congee and the Chinese is like congee itself, which is thick and dense, and clings together; as a traditional food, the status of congee in the hearts of the Chinese surpasses that of any other nation in the world.
