Biang biang noodles

"Biáng biáng" noodles (zh-cp|c= ( _zh. 梆梆麵北京連鎖店) serves "biáng biáng" noodles.

About the noodle

The Chinese character "biáng"

Phonetic substitution

Made up of 57 strokes, the Chinese character "biáng" is one of the most complex Chinese characters in contemporary usage, although the character is not found in modern dictionaries or even in the Kangxi dictionary. Because the Chinese character for "biáng" cannot be entered into computers, phonetic substitutes like _zh. 棒棒麵 ("bàng bàng miàn") or _zh. 梆梆麵 ("bāng bāng miàn") are often used.

Mnemonics

There are a number of familiar to Shaanxi residents used as mnemonics to aid recall of how the character is written.

One version runs as follows:

Origin of the character

The origins of the biang biang noodles and the character "biáng" are unclear. In one version of the story, the character "biáng" was invented by the Qin Dynasty Premier Li Si. However, since the character is not found in the Kangxi Dictionary, it may have been created much later than the time of Li Si.

In the 2007 season of the TVB show "The Web" (一網打盡), the show's producers tried to find the origin of the character by contacting university professors, but they could not verify the Li Si story or the origin of the character. It was concluded that the character was invented by the noodle store.

External links

* [http://bbs.cctv.com.cn/forumthread.jsp?id=6834081 CCTV Forum Discussion on Biang Character]
* [http://oldblog.blogchina.com/article_159667.851364.html Sunny Days blog post on biang biang noodles]
* [http://www.shanghaidiaries.com/archives/2004/08/17/chewing_the_fat_in_xian/index.php Blog post by Dan Washburn on biang biang noodles]
* [http://www.cctv.com/geography/20030604/100283.shtml CCTV writeup on the ten strange wonders of Shaanxi]
* [http://www1.blog.163.com/article/-KQqc-jeZ9B3.html "Origins of biang biang noodles" in the Cultural Origins Blog]
* Pictures of Chinese sign with "biang" characters [http://www.eatingchinese.org/photogallery/photo041/sxxa23.jpg] [http://theabc.typepad.com/my_weblog/2006/04/most_difficult_.html]