12 · CORRECTIONS
Corrections and Disputed Points
This page lifts two kinds of information out of the Changelog and the About page into tables: factual corrections already made (earlier wording, current wording, basis) and disagreements still unresolved (the competing accounts and the current assessment). It is a re-arrangement, not new source material; where it differs from the Changelog, the About page or the objects they cite, those take precedence.
PRINCIPLES
Principles
- When an error is found, the text is corrected and the Changelog states the earlier wording, the current wording and the basis, in all eight languages; nothing is changed silently.
- Accounts are set side by side only when each has support. Where a confirming document exists (born 7 December 1921, to Beijing in 1959, died 16 January 1993), other circulating versions are no longer displayed as alternatives.
- What cannot be sourced is marked “doubtful” or left out, never filled in for completeness. A “—” in the Basis column means the Changelog entry of that day does not state a basis, not that none exists.
- Claims of “only”, “first” and “the first to” are rechecked whenever new material arrives; otherwise they quietly become false.
CORRECTIONS
Factual corrections
Selected from the Changelog: corrections of fact that affect reporting and scholarly citation (layout, link and code fixes are left out), newest first. The full record is in the Changelog.
| Date | Page | Earlier wording | Current wording | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-10-02 | Life & Era, home page, News | The timeline said “aged 72”, the home page “aged 71”; the News page said 71 was “established from the obituary” | Now 71 in full years throughout, noting that the obituary’s “aged 72” is the traditional Chinese count | January 1993 workplace obituary “Comrade Chen Songru: A Life”; born 7 December 1921 |
| 2026-09-26 | Lineage (Chen Tinglong’s biography) | Born August 1948; graduated from “Chengdu No. 5 Middle School”; apprenticeship began at “Yankou Bamboo Grove Restaurant” | Born September 1948; “Chengdu Liewu Middle School”; “Yanshikou Bamboo Grove Restaurant” | — |
| 2026-09-24 | List of cities the Beijing-bound cooks were chosen from | Included “Meishan” | Corrected to “Leshan” | — |
| 2026-09-23 | Craft & Dishes (transcription of the Sihanouk banquet menu) | “喜鹤闹梅”, “宜宾糖蛋”, “口蘑奶汤豆花” | “喜鹊闹梅”, “宜宾糟蛋”, “口蘑清汤豆花” | Checked character by character against the original |
| 2026-09-11 | Digital Archive, BK-002 | Publisher “Sichuan People’s Publishing House”; title “Sichuan Restaurant Recipes” | “Sichuan Science and Technology Press”; full title “Beijing Sichuan Restaurant Recipes” | Photograph of the copyright page of the physical book |
| 2026-09-09 | News (“Famous Sichuan Chefs and Masters of Modern China (9): Chen Songru”) | Marked “publication date not given” | Published in 2025 | Confirmed by the project lead |
| 2026-09-05 | News (history stories and oral accounts) | Two WeChat links swapped: the Quanjude repost of “Sichuan Restaurant” and “A Life in Fish-Fragrant Pork” | Restored to the correct pairing | — |
| 2026-08-18 | News page, note | Chen Tinglong, Zheng Shaowu and others invited to become “members” of the committee’s organisation | “Specially invited advisory experts” of the committee | — |
| 2026-08-09 | Lineage, News | Disciple’s name written “周升平” (14 places) | “周生平” | He is named on camera in his own oral-history footage: the Sichuan Cuisine Oral History Committee’s Channels account, 4 September 2025 and 21 July 2026 |
| 2026-08-09 | 1987 Singapore footage (Zhou Shengping’s account) | Read as “the menu was set by Chen Songru” | The menu was agreed jointly by the hosts (Singapore China Restaurant), leaders of the Beijing Sichuan Restaurant and leaders of the Beijing Fragrant Hill Hotel; Chen Songru headed the kitchen side | Family’s explanation; Zhou’s own words state the fact that the menu was already fixed |
| 2026-08-09 | Lineage; accounts of the 1982 Sihanouk banquet | Name written “谢伟德”, and placed within the narrative of the 1982 Sihanouk birthday banquet | Correct form “谢怀德” (b. 1947); the page now says explicitly that the banquet’s head chef was Chen Songru and that available material cannot confirm Xie Huaide took part directly | — |
| 2026-08-09 | Craft & Dishes (Lantern Chicken in Caul Fat) | “half in five-spice white brine, half in red-chilli brine” | Two whole chickens: one in a five-spice white brine, the other in a red-chilli brine | Chen Tinglong, “A Brief Account of State-Banquet Sichuan Cuisine”, original text |
| 2026-08-08 | 1991 profile, mini-programme | “the microphone speech is the only recording in which Chen Songru’s own voice can be heard” | “one of two” | The earlier claim no longer held once the 1991 documentary was published |
| 2026-08-07 | English edition (first screen and metadata, 7 places) | “Founder of…”, “pioneer of…” | “One of the founders of state-banquet Sichuan cuisine” | Matches the Chinese original “国宴川菜奠基人之一” |
| 2026-08-07 | 1987 Singapore footage | “the whole city took notice” | Replaced by plain fact (twenty days); “national-treasure master” now marked as relayed from the biography and family material, with no original footage yet obtained | — |
| 2026-08-07 | News, Digital Archive, 1987 footage | Reporter of the 4 August 1987 article: “周玉霖” on the News page, “周玉琴” on the Archive and footage pages | Unified to “周玉琴”, following the Archive table | Archive table |
| 2026-08-07 | French and Spanish editions (1987 Singapore article) | Attributed to Nanyang Siang Pau | Nanyang-Sin Chew Evening News (联合晚报) | Nanyang Siang Pau and Sin Chew Daily merged and ceased publication on 16 March 1983 |
| 2026-08-07 | Interview video transcript | Three passages mis-transcribed; the speaker at 34:16 “not identified” | “deep feeling for the restaurant”; “everyone says I am Master Chen’s favourite disciple”; “too few, and at seventy still shining”; the speaker at 34:16 confirmed as Yang Jianmin, general manager of the Sichuan Restaurant | Family checked the audio |
| 2026-08-05 | 1959 exhibition | Text–image mismatch in the “Selection and Farewell” unit (a Du Fu Thatched Cottage group photo under a caption about the farewell party) | Replaced with PH-008, the Shengdeng Temple farewell group photo | — |
| 2026-08-05 | Digital Archive | MS-005/MS-006 numbering reversed; MS-006 missing in the seven non-Simplified-Chinese editions | Numbering corrected; MS-006 (the full 37-page manuscript) added | — |
| 2026-07-29 | Digital Archive, CE-005/CE-006 | Certificate dates (earlier values in the Changelog) | 20 January 1986; April 1989 | Verified from close-up photographs |
DISPUTED POINTS
Ledger of disputed points
The points below are still set side by side or left open on this site; the full wording is in the Honesty Boundary statement on the About page. A blank “current assessment” means the available material cannot decide the point, not an oversight.
| Question | Competing accounts | Current assessment (adopted here) |
|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 1920 (lunar) / 1921 (Gregorian conversion) / 1927 (1987 supply from the Beijing Sichuan Restaurant) | 7 December 1921: stated explicitly in the January 1993 workplace obituary and confirmed by the family |
| Date of the 1959 trial banquet at the Sichuan Restaurant | 4 August / 28 August | Both accounts stand; to be determined |
| Date of Deng Xiaoping’s banquet for Sihanouk, 1982 | Previously unclear | 5 November: confirmed by two physical documents, Chen Songru’s own handwritten draft menu and the restaurant’s booking slip; the “Sihanouk’s 60th birthday” refers to this event |
| Date of the Great Hall of the People New Year gathering | Previously unclear | 1 January 1984: confirmed by the physical booking slip |
| Wording of the 1992 World Master Chefs honour | Biography: “the first Chinese chef to receive it”; independent sources and a direct disciple: “the only Chinese recipient that year” | “The only Chinese recipient that year” is used; “first” is not written |
| Whether Shi Zhengliang was Chen Songru’s disciple | Circulating claim: yes | Disproved by the family’s oral account; not to be cited as reliable fact |
| Number of dishes he improved in his life | 3,000 / 1,000 / 600 / 200 | Different levels of counting, not a conflict of fact; this site does not adopt a single figure |
| Number of cooks assembled in the second Beijing mission, 1972–73 | “12” (autobiography) / “over thirty” / “over 60 in two waves” (Chen Tinglong’s 1988 article) | All three stand; not reconciled |
| Host of the 1965 banquet for Li Zongren’s return | Zhou Enlai / He Long and Luo Ruiqing | Both stand; not reconciled |
| Masters of his apprenticeship | Autobiography: Zhou Guangting and Chen Changming / two older family documents: Chen Changming only | Both stand; not reconciled |
| List of foreign guests received | 1987 official material: “US Secretary of State Vance”; a family-written text a year later: “George H. W. Bush” | The same source system contradicts itself; “Bush” is not treated as confirmed. “Sichuan Cuisine at State Banquets” (2017) says Chen Tinglong received Bush and Whitlam, so the father’s and son’s deeds may have been conflated in retelling; a lead only |
| Background of the North Korean “Chollima Medal” | 1962 (after tasting home-style braised sea cucumber) / 1986 (third visit) | 24 years apart; not reconciled |
| Name of the 1987 Singapore event | Chen Tinglong’s material: “State-Banquet Sichuan Cuisine Exhibition”; the banner on site and contemporary Singapore newspaper advertisements: “Taste of Sichuan · Selected State-Banquet Sichuan Dishes” | The physical evidence prevails |
| Title of “Authentic Sichuan Cuisine: 160 …” | Cover and CIP data of the first printing (December 1991) read “160 Dishes”; the electronic manuscript’s cover reads “160 Kinds” | The site says “160 Kinds” throughout and records the change; which printing changed the title has not been established, and the early “160 Dishes” copy is not denied |
| Spelling of disciples’ names | Xiao Jianming: 肖见明 / 肖建明; Luo Yuanyi: 罗远义 / 罗远意 | Kept as found; no editorial reconciliation |
QUICK REFERENCE
Quick reference
When writing copy, exhibition labels or course material, the following can be checked at a glance. The basis for each is in the two tables above.
- Dates and age: born 7 December 1921, died 16 January 1993; aged 71 in full years. The 1993 workplace obituary says “aged 72”, which is the traditional Chinese count.
- World Master Chefs honour: write “received the World Master Chefs Society’s Eastern cuisine honour of the year in 1992, the only Chinese recipient that year”, not “the first”.
- “Beijing Sichuan Restaurant Recipes”: published by Sichuan Science and Technology Press, not Sichuan People’s Publishing House.
- The 1982 Sihanouk banquet: 5 November; the head chef of that banquet was Chen Songru.
- Names: Zhou Shengping (周生平, not 周升平); Xie Huaide (谢怀德, not 谢伟德); Zhou Yuqin (周玉琴, by-line of the 4 August 1987 article).
- “The only recording of his own voice”: do not write it; the 1991 documentary also carries his voice, so it is now “one of two”.
- “George H. W. Bush”: not a confirmed guest; if mentioned, say it appears only in a family-written text that contradicts the official material.
- “Master”: an honorific used in biographies, media and oral accounts; it does not denote a currently valid certificate or recognition.
REPORT AN ERROR
Report an error
If you find a factual error, a typo or a doubtful wording, email info@chensongru.com with the page, the original text, what you think it should say and your basis. Corrections are entered in the Changelog and carried into all eight languages.