The Food of China

258 Pages·1990·83.754 MB·English

by  E. N. Anderson

The
Food of
China
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isitfhd.
Publishedwithassistancefrom
theLouisStemMemorialFund.
Copyright©1988byYaleUniversity.
Allrightsreserved.
Thisbookmaynotbereproduced,inwhole
orinpart,includingillustrations,inany
form(beyondthatcopyingpermitted
bySections107and108ofdieU.S.
CopyrightLawandexceptbyreviewersfor
thepublicpress),withoutwritten
permissionfromthepublishers.
DesignedbyJoAcmeandsetinGalliard
typebyEasternGraphics,Binghamton,
N.Y.PrintedintheUnitedStatesof
AmericabyTheMurrayPrintingCompany
Westford,Massachusetts.
LibraryofCongressCataJoging-in-
PubitcationData
Anderson,E.N.,1941-
ThcfoodofChina.
Bibliography:p.
Includesindex.
— —
1.Food—habits China. 2.Agriculture—
China History, —3.Cookery,Chinese
History. 4.China Sociallifeand
customs. I.Tide.
GT2853C6A53 1988 641.3*00951
87-29466
ISBN0-300-03955-7(alk.paper)
Thepaperinthisbookmeetsdieguidelines
forpermanenceanddurabilityofthe
CommitteeonProductionGuidelinesfor
BookLongevityoftheCouncilonLibrary
Resources.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Dedicatedtothehungrypeopleofthe
world,inthehopethatChina's
experienceinfeedingone-fourthof
humanitywillbemademore widely
usefulthroughthisbook
Contents
Preface Lx
Acknowledgements xiii
Chronology xv
1 7heNaturalEnviwnment /
2 PrehistoryandtheDarniofHistory 8
3 TheCrucialMillennium:Chou
throughHan 24-
4 PoodsfromtheWest:Medieval
China 4-7
5 DefinitiveShapingofthePoodSystem:
SungandtheConquestDynasties $7
6 Involution:LateImperialChina 77
7 TheClimaxof Traditional
Agriculture 101
8 ChineseFoodstuffsToday 112
^9 SomeBasicCookingStrategics 14-9
lO RegionsandLocales 159
It TraditionalMedicalValues
of Pood 187
12 PoodinSociety 199
Appendix:DinnerattheNgs 21s
Notes 22.?
Bibliography 2.?/
Index 24-5
hr
Preface
-
Inaworldwherehungerisalltoocommon,Chinamanagestofeedone
fourthofthehumanspeciesonarelativelysmallareaofcultivableland.This
successisdue,in part,toanefficientsocialistgovernment.However,italso
—dependsonChina'sag—riculturalsystem,whichisnotonlyproductivebutalso
atleastin principle sustainable.China’sagriculturedocsnotdependon
machinesandchemicalssomuchason highlyproductivecropvarieties,re-
cyclingofnutrients,efficientuseofwaterresources,andhighlyskilledinten-
sivelaborbyhundredsofmillionsofpeasantcultivators.Asmodernindustrial
agriculturechanges,duetorisingenergycostsandmassivepoisoningofsoil
andwater,theChineseoptionwillbecomemoreattractive.Thefutureof
humanityprobablydependsoncombiningChinese-typeintensiveagriculture
withthetechniquesofthe“high-tech”era.
Therefore,severalyearsago,Ibeganresearchintothedevelopmentof
agricultureintraditionalChina.Myhopeisthatmoderngovernmentsand
individualswilllearnfromtheChinesesomelessonsabouthowdevelopment
cantakeplace.
I beganwiththeplausibleassumptionthatChinadevelopeditsagriculture
tofeeditsteemingmillions.However,Ifoundthatmanyofthekeyinnova-
tionsweremadebeforeChina'spopulationbecamelargeanddense.Indeed,
itnowappearsthathigh populationdensityledtomoreintensification but
relativelylessinnovationthanChinahad knowninitslesspopulousdays
(Chao1986;Elvin1973).ThisisnottodenytheimportancetoChina'sagri-
cultureofpopulation pressure,or,moreexactly,ofhigheffectivedemandfor
food. However,theneedforfoodcanbemetseveralways:forexample,by
expansionandconquest,byout-migration,byoverdependenccononestaple
crop(asinIreland beforetheGreatFamine),orbyinfanticide.Allthesewere
triedatvarioustimesinChinesehistory.China’sbasicsolution,however,was
todevelopanintensive,highlydiversified,sustainableagriculture.Whywas
thisoptionpicked?
China’svariedecologypermitted,evenencouraged,adiversefarmingsys-
tem.Relativelyhighlevelsoftrade,eveninprehistorictimes,ledtotheriseof
a highly“rationalized”marketsystemsoonaftercivilizationbegan.This,—in
mm,causedgovernmentstobeconcernedabouttheavailabilityoffood
ix
-n
\
Preface x
not justforthecitizenry,butformilitarysecurity.Armieshadtobefed;be-
. -
siegedcitieshadtohaveprovisions Thus,bythetimeChina'simperialage
dawned,awell-developedagriculturalpolicyexisted,andthegovernmentwas
committedtogivingagricultureahighpriority.Thispolicywassuccessful.
Inagriculturalproductivity,Chinawasfaraheadofanyothercivilizationuntil
relativelymoderntimes.
Chinesefascinationwithfood,cuisine,andelaboratediningcamefromother
sources.Ritualandceremonyinstitutionalizedsocialcodessurroundingrecog-
nitionofhonorandstatus.Respectfortheoldandforeliteindividualswas
expressedinfeasts.Thegods,those“collectiverepresentations"ofthecom-
munity,alsoinsistedonthebest;theyatethesubtleessenceofthefoods
sacrificedtothem,whilethehumancommunitysharedthematerialportion.
Moreover,Chinaearlydevelopedamedicalscienceinwhichnutritionplayed
themostimportantrole.Manyfcx>dswereeatenandmanycropsgrownsolely
.
fortheirmedicalandnutritionalvalues(realoralleged)
Thesebeliefsystemsledtodemandsonthefoodproductionsystem.Even
thepoorwantedgourmetfare,atleastforNew Yearandfortheiragedpar-
ents'birthdays.Eventhehealthywantedtokeepthemselvesinshapebyeating
beansoup,chickenwithginger,orseacucumbers.Minorcropsofnutritional
valuethusremainedincultivation.
ImperialChinadisplayedtheparadoxofahighlyevolvedftxxiproduction
systemandahungrypopulace.Thiswaspartlyduetotheimportanceattached
tohavingasmanychildrenaspossible—sonsweretheonlysecurity'forone's
oldage.Theelitealsoattemptedtosqueezewhatevertheycouldfromthe
people,oftendrivingthembelowthemarginofsubsistence.Thefoodsystem
continuedtointensify,aspeasantstriedtokeepup.
NosimpledeterministexplanationcanaccountfortheChinesefoodsystem.
Itwastheproductofhumanchoice—thecountlessdecisionsofemperorsand
peasants,businessmenandhousewives,doctorsandfishermen.
InthisbookIofferageneraloverviewofChinesefoodanddiscusssome
oftheproblemsweencounterinexplaininghowitcametobewhatitistoday.
Manyquestionsremain.Westillknowverylittle,forexample,aboutyieldsin
traditionaltimes,butrecentworkbyWenandPimentel(1986a,1986b)sug-
geststhatyieldswereevenhigherthanwethought.Ifthesescholarsarecor-
rect,China'sfoodsystemwasconsiderablymoreeffectivethanwerealized.
Weneedtoknowmoreaboutdemography;recentworkbySkinner(1986)
suggeststhatChinesecensusfiguresfortheolddaysmayhavebeenquite
inflated.Wealsoneedtoknowmoreabouttaxesandlandtenureinimperial
Chinaandhowtheyaffectedproduction.Weneedtoknowmoreaboutthe
originsofthewholesystem(Keightley1983).Wemustlearnaboutinfluences.
fromwesternAsia,aboutmedicalscience,aboutaestheticsandepicureanism
tf* Preface xi
.
andaboutregionalvariationinpractices ButIrestconfidentthatthemain
outlinesofChinesefoodhistoryarenowclear.
ThisbookisnotacompletesurveyofChinesefood:thereisnoreasonto
repeattheexcellenthistoriesprovidedbyBray(1984),Chang(1977b),Young
(1984),andothers,orsurveysofthecontemporarynutritionalscenesuchas
thoseofMay(1961),Whyte(1972,1974)andCroll(198;).Idonotattempt
tosurveythechangesinagriculturesincethemodemindustrialworldcameto
Chinaintheearlynineteenthcentury:thatwouldrequireanotherbookfar
longerthanthisone.Myconcernisstrictlywiththetraditionalsystem,and
1leaveitsmoderntransformationstothosewhoarcbetterqualifiedtodiscuss
them.Myb<x>kdoesnotcontainacomprehensivebibliography;Iciteonly
easilyavailablesourcesusedforspecificpointsinthetext.Inparticular,for
betterorworse,IbarelymentiontheChineseliterature(partlyforlackofeasy
accesstolibraries).Iamcurrentlyworkingonprojectstoextendthisenterprise
.
insomeofthesedirections Thisbookisawavstation.
Acknowledgements
Thisbookowesitsexistencetohundredsofpeopleonseveralcontinents.
I takethisopportunitytothank,deeply,allthosewhoarcnotmentionedby
namehere. I havenotforgottenyou!Onlythepressuresofspacepreventme
fromnamingyouall.
Apriorandspecialdebtisowedtomyformerwifeandco-work—er,Marja
L.Anderson,and tomythreechildren—Laura,Alan,andTamar whosuf-
feredyearsoffieldworkandenjoyed thousandsofwonderfulmealswithme.
ThisbookowesmuchtoMarja'said,experience,andthought.
Ofthemanywhohavehelpedmein research,1rememberespeciallyChoi
Kwok-taiand hisfamily,especiallyCeciliaChoi Lau;WangChun-hua;Ch’ng
Teng-liang;KwokWai-tak;John Ho;andAlibin Esa.Tothemandmany
othersI amdeeplygrateful.
Ialsooweadebttomyteachers,especiallyBrentBerlin,PeterBoodbcrg,
NickColby,WolframEbcrhard,DouglasOliver,andEdwardSchafer.
Amongcolleaguesandfriendsthathelpedandsustainedmein research,my
loveandthanksgotomyparents,andtoDavidAkcrs-Jones,Stanleyand
AnneBcdlington,Francesca Bray,PaulandSallyBuell,Chi-yunChen,Alan
-
Fix,HillGates,ChesterGorman,PhilipHuang,JuditKatona Aptc(for,
amongotherthings,callingmetoactiontowardexplainingChinesefood-
ways),MichaelKearney,CarolLadcrman,VictorLippit,RobertandKatherine
Martin,SuchctaMazumdar,JamesandHelenMcGough,CaroleNagengast,
JacquelineNewman,MarjorieToplcy,BarbaraWard,ChristineWilson,Billy
Wen-chi Young,and many,manyothers.
ThanksalsotoEllenGrahamandStephanieJonesforsympatheticediting,
and myeternalgratitudetoJoycSageandamultitudeoftypistsandassistants
fordealingwithan unrulymanuscript.
ThisresearchwasRinded bytheUniversityofCalifornia,theU.S.National
InstituteofMentalHealthandthe NationalScienceFoundation,andthe
World HealthOrganization.Myhopeisthatthisbookwill—proveuse—fulin
movingustowardabetterworldfoodsystem,andthuswill inpart repay
thetaxpayerswhowere,ultimately,mysupporters.
Xtil
Chronology
6000 6*00B.C.(approx.) First knownagricultureinChina:Milletinthenorth
-
*000B.C.(approx.)Firstrice:Homu-tu,YangtzeDelta
4000B.c.Cultivationwidespreadandwellestablished;severalplantandanimal
species
;oooB.C.Agricultureuniversalineasily-cultivatedpartsofChina;socialdifferen-
tiation;largevillages,oftenwithdefensivearrangements;movestowardcivilization
2000B.C:.Civilizedsocietyin NorthChinaandManchuria;roughlythebeginning
oftheHsiaDynasty
By1500B.C.SlungDynasty(traditionallybeganca.1751;perhapsactually1500-
1600)
By1028B.C.ChouDynasty(traditionallybegan1122;nowarangeofdates,all
later,proposed)
480B.C.Chou breaksdownintotheWarringStates
221B.C.ChinunifiesChina,creatingChineseEmpire
207B.C.FallofCh'in
206B.C.Han Dynasnrtakescontrol
179-87B.C:.Chineseimperialagriculturalpolicytakesshape(emperorsWen,
ChingandWu)
220A.D.FallofHan
220-265A.D.ThreeKingdomsperiod
265-420A.D.ChinDynasty(Chinanottrulyunified)
420-589A.D.Six Dynasties
589-618A.D.SuiDynasty;Chinareunited
618-907A.D.TangDynasty;splendorandnourishingtrade,especiallywithcentral
andwestAsia
907-960A.D.FiveDynasties;Chinasplitsintowarlord-dominatedregions(actually
manymorethanfiveseparatecourts)
960-1279A.D.SungDynasty
-
937 1125A.D.LiaoDynasty;Altaicspcakingrulersoccupysomeofnorthern
China
xv