Abstract: Many books, such as Sichuan Cooking Encyclopedia, Sichuan Cuisine-the Country Is All Red, and some university courses, such as Sichuan Food Culture of Yangzhou University, all hold the idea that Xing Yuan Lu had enormous effect on Sichuan cuisine. This view is far from factual, argues the author, on the ground that this book, which is in fact only a tiny part of the voluminous Han Hai, had little influence on the Sichuan cuisine. Firstly, in the Qing Dynasty (1644–1911), less than 1% of the people in Sichuan were literate, meaning that Xing Yuan Lu was narrowly read. Secondly, an analysis of the influence of Li Hua’nan and his family in Mianzhou (modern Mianyang) and the publication of Han Hai indicates that Xing Yuan Lu only influenced a small area geographically. To sum up, it is reasonable to conclude that Xing Yuan Lu of Han Hai had only limited effect on the Sichuan cuisine.

Key words: Han Hai, Xing Yuan Lu, Sichuan cuisine, influence