Why did Chairman Mao insist on adding three dishes to the luncheon in welcome of Nixon?

On the morning of February 21st, 1972, President Nixon's special plane landed at the airport in the eastern suburbs of Beijing on time. At 7 o'clock that evening, Premier Zhou Enlai hosted a state banquet in honor of Nixon and his party in the Great Hall of the People. At the thank-you dinner hosted by the US on February 27th, Nixon enthusiastically said in his toast: "We have been here for a week, which has changed the world." With the clink of glasses, the relationship between China and the United States has opened a new page.

Chairman Mao meets Nixon

At 11: 3 noon on February 21, 1972, the special plane "Air Force One" of President Nixon and his party landed at the airport in the eastern suburbs of Beijing on time. Chinese and foreign journalists have been waiting for a long time, and countless cameras are waiting for this historical moment. When the two hands were tightly held together, Zhou Enlai said meaningfully, "Your hand has reached the vastest ocean in the world!"

According to the usual practice, when foreign heads of state visit China, the line-up of the honor guards of the China People's Armed Forces usually consists of 12 to 155 people. At this time, Nixon is presented with the largest honor guards of the armed forces, navy and air force, which he has never seen before and which is unprecedented in China's diplomatic history. Nixon was very satisfied with this high-standard and high-etiquette reception from China. He praised: "The Chinese honor guard is the best one I have ever seen."

In the past, foreign heads of state usually stayed in the 18th Presidential Building of Diaoyutai State Guesthouse, and this time President Nixon and his party were no exception. At noon that day, Diaoyutai State Guesthouse prepared the first luncheon for visiting American guests. In order to welcome the President and his wife to visit, * * * personally added three dishes for them, and appointed chef Cheng Ruming of * * * to prepare them and send them to Diaoyutai.

There is a dish called "Boiled Water Skiing" at this luncheon, which is not suitable for foreign guests who don't like to eat stickleback fish, but * * * insists on adding it. In this way, the three dishes, boiled water, shark's fin chicken and steak, which were ordered by Chairman Mao, were served on the Nixon couple's table together. President Nixon and his wife were very happy to know that these three dishes were specially arranged by * *, and they were very clean.

Afterwards, Cheng Ruming realized the special significance behind this dish. "Burning water skiing" actually uses the tail of herring as the main material, which is the most powerful part of the fish, like the front rudder and propeller when the fish swims. * * * may want to use this moral to hope that China and the United States will jointly promote the development of the two countries and the world from this week.