宫保

      Mandarin

      simpl.
      trad. 宮保

      Etymology

      The archaic usage referred to one of several titles during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. However, by the end of the Qing Dynasty, the title was merely honorific and did not necessarily mean that the person had anything to do with tutoring the crown prince. According to legend, because this title was bestowed upon Ding Baozhen, the inventor of Kung Pao chicken, it later came to be used as the name for the dish itself.

      Noun

      宫保 (simplified, Pinyin gōngbǎo, traditional 宮保)

      1. Kung Pao style of cooking (ex. Kung Pao chicken)
      2. (archaic) senior tutor of the crown prince (during the Ming Dynasty, shorthand for 太子太保)
      3. (archaic) assistant to the senior tutor of the crown prince (during the Qing Dynasty, short for 太子少保)

      Derived terms

      • 宫保鸡丁

      Related terms

      • 太子太保
      • 太子少保

      References

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      Last modified on 5 June 2013, at 01:59