Pillow cakes have a history of over four hundred years. Legend has it that they originated as a tea snack in the residence of Li Wencha, a Ming Dynasty official in the Imperial Academy. Li Wencha, courtesy name Yanmo, was a native of Houshan, Guanxi, Pinghe County (now Xilin Village, Xiaoxi Town, Pinghe County), and a renowned music theorist. Li Wencha served as the prefect of Liaozhou and Jinzhou. He gained the favor of the Jiajing Emperor for "presenting his musical treatise" and was recruited as an official in the Imperial Academy.
During the Wanli era, Li Wencha retired and returned to his hometown of Houshan. To demonstrate the grandeur of a "Beijing official," he brought back a pastry chef from the capital, requesting him to create a unique pastry for his household as a snack after drinks and tea, and as a gift for entertaining relatives and friends. The chef, skilled and ingenious, created the "pillow cake." The nobles in the palace tasted it and greatly admired it. "Xiaoxi Pillow Cakes" were designated as a tribute to the imperial court and later began to circulate among the common people.
