At 5 a.m. in Tai'an's ancient city, the misty air carries the rich aroma of bone broth. In a century-old shop deep within the old streets, Master Wang, the fifth-generation inheritor, stirs a 1.2-meter-wide cast iron pot. As his wooden spoon moves rhythmically, golden wheat kernels blend with milky-white bone broth—a 300-year culinary ritual preparing Mount Tai's most iconic breakfast: Sang Tang.

Culinary Codes in a Millennia-Old Culture

A Ming Dynasty manuscript from the Dai Temple achives records "eating *Sang* at dawn," linking this dish to Mount Tai's sacrificial traditions. When ancient emperors held mountain worship ceremonies, their chefs accidentally created this sacred-yet-earthly dish by simmering ritual cattle bones with millet. Pottery fragments from the Dawenkou archaeological site, bearing carbonized millet grains chemically identical to modern *Sang Tang* ingredients, trace its origins back to the Neolithic era.

Traditional  shops still follow the "three-night simmering" custom: cattle bones simmer from midnight, secret spices add depth at 2 a.m., and premium wheat kernels join at 4 a.m. This ancient method creates an amber-hued broth where grains remain distinct yet melt on the tongue—a signature "whole-yet-dissolved" texture.

The Artistry of Flavor

The dish demands obsessive ingredient selection. Bones from Luxi yellow cattle soak in mountain spring water for seven hours to remove gaminess. Wheat kernels grow on Mount Tai's northern slopes at 800-meter altitudes, their gluten perfected by drastic temperature shifts. Even the fragrant toon sprouts used as garnish must be picked between Qingming and Guyu solar terms. Such seasonal and geographical rigor creates an irreplicable flavor profile.

At the Mount Tai Folk Museum, Qing-era woodblock prints depict near-lost techniques like "18 rhythmic stirs" and "nine vinegar swirls." The most intricate method, "yin-yang fire control," alternates pine and jujube wood fuels to balance heat, perfectly merging bone collagen with grain starch.

 A Living Cultural Emblem

Each year on the 28th day of the third lunar month, the 600-year-old Dongyue Temple Fair sees thousands sharing *Sang Tang*. Originating in the Ming Dynasty, this tradition—now a national intangible cultural heritage—embodies Mount Tai's egalitarian spirit. During the fair, shop thresholds vanish: officials and laborers alike sip from clay bowls on the streets, united under the philosophy of "harmony between heaven and humanity."

Modern innovations breathe new life into this ancient dish. Local universities developed flash-frozen *Sang Tang* using ultra-low temperature preservation, allowing distant wanderers to taste home. Remarkably, its craftsmanship now stands on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage tentative list, poised to share China's culinary wisdom globally.

As dawn light touches Mount Tai's summit, patrons in old shops measure time through each sip. Rising steam carries not just grain and meat aromas, but a nation's reverence for nature and tradition. This timeless bowl of *Sang Tang* remains the warmest footnote to Mount Tai's culture, rewriting a 1,000-year culinary legend with every sunrise.