Yu Sheng / Lo Hei

Went from innovation to "ancient tradition" in one generation.

Every CNY, we'd gather around the table for lo hei.

Everyone shouting. Tossing the salad as high as possible. The higher you toss, the more prosperity.

I always thought it was ancient.

Here's what I didn't know:

It was invented in 1964.

60 years ago. By four restaurant chefs in Singapore.

Tham Yu Kai. Lau Yoke Pui. Hooi Kok Wai. Sin Leong. The "Four Heavenly Kings."

In 1950, they were apprentices together, training under Master Chef Luo Chen at Cathay Restaurant.

1960. The master died.

The apprentices scattered, opened their own restaurants. Lai Wah. Dragon-Phoenix. Sin Leong.

Competitors now.

But in 1964, they did something unusual. They collaborated.

Yusheng already existed. Simple raw fish salad from the 1800s. Plain. Raw fish, cucumber, radish, coriander. Vinegar, oil, sugar.

The four chefs made it colorful. Shredded radish in different colors. Carrots. Peanuts. Flour crisps.

Called it "qicai yusheng." Seven-colour fish salad.

Chinese New Year 1964. Debuted at Lai Wah and Dragon-Phoenix.

Here's where it gets interesting.

The chefs didn't invent the tossing.

In 2012, Chris Hooi, son of one of the chefs, clarified something. They didn't create the ritual.

Customers did.

The chefs made the dish colorful, piled it high, made it beautiful. Customers saw it and started tossing. Spontaneous. Shouting greetings. Making it higher. Turning dinner into theatre.

Nobody planned it.

It didn't even catch on at first. Only in the 1970s when younger diners embraced it.

Fast forward to today.

Walk into any Chinese restaurant during CNY and every table is doing lo hei. Families. Corporate dinners. Everyone.

Ask where it comes from. Most will say ancient Chinese tradition.

Nobody says "1964."

Think about that.

1964: New colorful dish.

2026: Ancient tradition.

That's one generation.

Most traditions take centuries.

This one took 60 years.

And now nobody questions it.

That's the insight.

By the time I came around, it was just fact. "This is what you do during CNY." My parents did it. Their parents did it. Ancient.

Except their parents didn't do it. Because it didn't exist yet.

Now Singapore, Malaysia, Chinese communities worldwide practice it like it's been around forever. Restaurants prep for weeks. Families plan reunion dinners around it.

An innovation that feels like heritage.

And it worked because the chefs didn't force it. They just made something worth celebrating.

Customers made it their own. Passed it down. Made it ritual.

Most brands spend millions trying to manufacture "traditions."

Usually fails.

The Four Heavenly Kings made delicious food, let people react naturally, stepped back.

60 years later, everyone thinks it's been around forever.

Most traditions take centuries.

This one took 60 years.

And now nobody questions it.

What's your family's lo hei this year—organized chaos or complete chaos?