Who invented tofu?

Tofu was invented by Liu An, King of Huainan in the Western Han Dynasty, more than two thousand years ago.

Liu An is the grandson of Emperor Gaozu Liu Bang. His hobby is alchemy, and his ideal is immortality. Tofu is the failure of his alchemy.

According to legend, in order to live forever, Liu An invited eight alchemists to set up an alchemy furnace on Bagong Mountain to refine the "elixir". There are many kinds of materials for alchemy, including soybean milk and gypsum.

One day, Liu An accidentally spilled soybean milk on the plaster in front of the stove. After a while, the soybean milk sprinkled on the gypsum became white and tender.

Liu An felt very strange, so he put the gypsum into the whole pot of soybean milk and stirred it. As a result, the whole pot of soybean milk became the same thing. Some people dare to take a bite and think it is delicious. So, Liu An tried again and again, and finally solidified the white and tender things together.

This is tofu.

—— The above content is taken from Millay's children's book Field Natural History Class.