The Legend
The legend goes that the first emperor of ancient China, Qin Shihuang of the Qin Dynasty (221–207 B.C.), preferred sweet and sour dishes, and even held a cooking competition to select the best cook from the commoners to satisfy his taste for food. An old woman, serving sweet and sour pork, stood head and shoulders above the other competitors, and, therefore, she was selected as an imperial cook.
Emperor Qin Shihuang loved her sweet and sour pork so much that he promised to reward the old woman. To his surprise, the old woman wanted neither gold nor silver, but instead she asked a promotion for her son in the army. Emperor Qin Shihuang promoted her son as he promised. And since then sweet and sour pork has been famous among the Han people, passed down from one generation to another.