In Shanxi Province you may be offered brains to eat. Frightened? You shouldn't be ,because these brains are only a food, which is famous for its unusual name and rich nutrition (营养).
Brains as a food were invented more than 300 years ago by Fu Shan, an artist whose mother had been ill for a long time. To help her become well again, he studied medicine and invented a kind of soup (汤) made of meat, vegetables and a number of Chinese medicines. Rice wine was also used in the soup to help illnesses caused by old age. After taking the soup his mother got better little by little and lived a long life.
