But called Tianluo, we never refer to loofah as loofah
During the peak of summer, my mother loves to stir fry loofah. Stir fry the sliced luffa with camellia oil or rapeseed oil, and then scoop mountain spring water to make soup. The luffa soup is extremely delicious, and can be served with two bowls of rice per meal. But we never call loofah loofah, but Tianluo. Tianluo is a general term for loofah in the western Zhejiang region. There are various opinions on where this term first came from. Luffa is a daily labor in the mountains. In early summer, the graceful silk gourd vines climbed all over the courtyard along the shelves, and the small green snake like fruits were adorned with small yellow flowers hanging on one end, expanding day by day. When it grows to the thickness of your 6-year-old arm, your grandmother or mother will hold a ladder, take a pair of scissors that have been used for years, climb up high, and carefully pick them down. Mothers, as well as many others, often wash and float this emerald color in the kitchen sink. Our water pool is square, and the top half is covered with a thin cedar board. Because it is located in a corner, the water in the pool is always deep and bottomless, as black as an inexhaustible pool of water, and as if hiding another world. The pool is a pitch black passage leading to other places. The spoon for scooping water is usually red, and the mother holds it to open the water surface. The loofah floats back and forth in these small waves, as if sailing on the sea, against the backdrop of the red spoon. This is usually a noon scene where the mother starts cooking. The incoming spring water helps keep the loofah fresh. Tianluo is suitable for water. In addition to loofah, it is also known as water melon, sheng melon, cai gua, bu gua, man gua, and yu gui. I think the name "Fish Man" is also very interesting. Literally, it resembles a fish, like a fish swimming in water. It's wonderful. The specific meaning is to be verified by the readers themselves. The world is endless, and there must also be many unknown names for loofah. Many names come from Li Shizhen's "Compendium of Materia Medica". In addition, the book records: "This melon is woven with silk threads when it is old, hence the name Silo. In the past, people called it Yuxi, or Yunyu Ci. It originated from the south, so it is called Mangua." It is said that this melon is woven with silk threads when it is old, so it is named Silk Melon, Tianlugua, Tianluo, Bugua, etc. It started from the south, so it is also called a wild melon. Some people believe that luffa originated in southern Europe and was introduced to China through the Silk Road during the Tang Dynasty. It is also known as "Egyptian luffa" or "Bangchui luffa" in the north. In the Ming Dynasty's "Xuepu Zashu", it is recorded that "luffa is best grown in the north.". However, some people also believe that loofah originated in Southeast Asia and was brought back by Zheng He during the Ming Dynasty's voyages to the West - this is the origin of "wild gourd". Li Shizhen also recorded the efficacy of loofah: the roots, vines, leaves, fruits, and seeds of loofah can be used as medicine, with cooling, diuretic, blood activating, meridian unblocking, and detoxifying effects. I learned about this when I was very young. My mother often said, "Luffa, cool, eat more to treat my often sore teeth.". The name "Tianluo" is more inherent in the essence of loofah. Tendon silk woven, it looks like the old silk gourd. The green skin has peeled off, revealing the internal meridians. This kind of loofah is not delicious anymore. We let it hang on the vine. The loofah vine is very beautiful, winding and winding, with a slight tip on the top, delicate and tender, slightly drooping. This fragile looking plant keeps jumping upwards. The fruit, however, fell vertically down, falling on the high rammed earth wall and among the branches and leaves of osmanthus. If it grows too high, it is too lazy to pick it and let it live freely for a lifetime. The old loofah has peeled off its outer skin, leaving only the rice yellow loofah roe. At home, she uses it t
