Ginkgo nuts, shelled and blanched, simmered in syrup with honey and lard until they're glazed and tender — a sweet from the Kong family's banquet table.
In the Analects, Confucius asks his son Kong Li whether he has studied the Odes and the Rites; the Kong family mansion at Qufu later named a hall for the lesson, the Hall of Poetry and Rites, with old ginkgo trees before it. The dish is said to have been made from their nuts, and named for the hall.
It's one of the best-known dishes of Kǒngfǔ cài, the Kong family's cooking, where names carry sayings and family history. Ginkgo nuts want a light hand: they're eaten in modest numbers, and never raw.