The Creator of General Tso's Chicken Has Died

Contrary to popular belief, General Tso's chicken was not invented by 19th-century Qing dynasty military leader Zuo Zongtang, who is commonly referred to as General Tso.

The iconic dish was, by most accounts, actually invented by Chef Peng Chang-kuei, who passed away at the ripe old age of 98 last week, according to Taiwan News. And to say he lived a storied life would be an understatement.

Peng was born in the Chinese province of Hunan and came up through the ranks of state kitchens, eventually becoming the Chinese government's banquet chef. During that gig, Peng improvised a fried chicken dish coated in a thick sauce for US Seventh Fleet commander Admiral Arthur W. Radford, who loved it.

According to Peng, Radford was so enamored of the freestyled chicken creation that he demanded to know its name, whereupon Peng blurted out, "General Tso," in honor of Zuo, who was also from Hunan.

Eventually, Peng would flee to Taiwan during the Chinese civil war and then to New York, where he would up the sugar content and introduce his fiery, sweet, sticky concoction to mini malls and late-night drinkers and stoners across America. Peng finally returned to Taiwan and founded a famous Hunan-style restaurant chain called Peng's Garden.

And while the origin story of General Tso's chicken still remains somewhat contested, Peng's name will forever be associated with the dish.

Today, we celebrate the 98 inspirational years of Big Mac inventor, Michael "Jim" Delligatti. Jim, we thank and will forever remember you. pic.twitter.com/wmEFrmazdn

— McDonald's (@McDonalds) November 30, 2016

But Peng wasn't the only inventor of an iconic dish to die at 98 last week. Michael "Jim" Delligatti, inventor of the Big Mac, also passed away a few days ago at the ripe old age of 98, proving that eating a bunch of Big Macs and battered fried chicken could be the secret to a long life… right?

Either way: 2016, kindly fuck off.