The Globalization of Chinese Food

218 Pages·2002·8.55 MB·English

by  David Y. H. Wu / Sidney C. H. Cheung

The Globalization
of Chinese Food
ANTHROPOLOGY OFASIA SERIES
Series Editor: Grant Evans, University ofHong Kong
Asia todayis one ofthe mostdynamicregions ofthe world. Thepreviously
predominant image of 'timeless peasants' has given way to the image of
fast-paced business people, mass consumerism and high-rise urban
conglomerations. Yet much discourse remains entrenched in the polarities
of 'East vs. West', 'Tradition vs. Change'. This series hopes to provide a
forum for anthropological studies which break with such polarities. It will
publish titles dealing with cosmopolitanism, cultural identity, representa
tions, arts and performance. The complexities ofurban Asia, its elites, its
political rituals, and its families will also be explored.
Dangerous Blood, Refined Souls
Death Rituals among the Chinese in Singapore
Tong Chee Kiong
Folk Art Potters ofJapan
Beyond an Anthropology ofAesthetics
Brian Moeran
Hong Kong
The Anthropology ofa Chinese Metropolis
Edited by GrantEvans andMaria Tam
Anthropology and Colonialism inAsia and Oceania
Jan van Bremen andAkitoshi Shimizu
Japanese Bosses, Chinese Workers
Power and Control in a Hong Kong Megastore
WOng Heung wah
The Legend ofthe Golden Boat
Regulation, Trade and Traders in the Borderlands ofLaos,
Thailand, China and Burma
Andrew walker
Cultural Crisis and Social Memory
Politics ofthe Past in the Thai World
Edited byShigeharu Tanabe andCharles R Keyes
The Globalization ofChinese Food
Edited by David Y. H. Wu and Sidney C. H. Cheung
The Globalization
of Chinese Food
Edited by
David Y. H. Wu and
Sidney C. H. Cheung
UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI'I PRESS
HONOLULU
Editorial Matter © 2002 David Y. H. Wu and Sidney C. H. Cheung
Published in North America by
UniversityofHawai'i Press
2840 Kolowalu Street
Honolulu, Hawai'i 96822
First published in the United Kingdom by
Curzon Press
Richmond, Surrey
England
Printed in Great Britain
Library0/Congress Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
Theglobalization ofChinese food / edited byDavid Y. H. Wu and Sidney
C. H. Cheung.
p. cm. - (Anthropology ofAsia series)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-8248-2582-9 (alk. paper)
I.Foodhabits-China.2. Cookery,Chinese-Socialaspects. 3. Chinese-Ethnic
identity. 4. Chinese-Foreign countries. I. Wu, DavidY. H. II. Cheung,
Sidney C. H. III. Series.
GT2853.C6 G56 2002
394.1'0951-dc21 2001053967
Contents
List ofContributors Vll
~if~~ ~
List ofTables IX
Acknowledgements X
Foreword: Food for Thought Xll
Sidney w,"Mintz
Introduction: The Globalization ofChinese Food and Cuisine:
Markers and Breakers ofCultural Barriers 1
David Y. H. Wu and Sidney C. H. Cheung
I Sources ofthe Globe
1 Food Culture and Overseas Trade: The Trepang Trade between
China and Southeast Asia during the Qing Dynasty 21 .
Dai Yifeng
2 Sacred Food from the Ancestors: Edible Bird Nest Harvesting
among the Idahan 43
Mohamed YusoffIsmail
3 Improvising Chinese Cuisine Overseas 56
David Y. H. Wu
II Chinese Food and Food for Chinese
4 The Development ofEthnic Cuisine in Beijing: On the
Xinjiang Road 69
Zhuang Kongshao
5 Cantonese Cuisine (Yue-cai) in Taiwan and Taiwanese Cuisine
(Tai-cai) in Hong Kong 86
David Y. H. Wu
v
THE GLOBALIZATION OFCHINESE FOOD
6 Food and Cuisine in a Changing Society: Hong Kong 100
Sidney C. H. Cheung
7 Food Consumption, Food Perception and the Search for a
Macanese Identity 113
LouisAugustin-Jean
III Globalization: Cuisine, Lifeways and Social Tastes
8 Heunggongyan Forever: Immigrant Life and Hong Kong Style
Yumcha in Australia 131
SiumiMaria Tam
9 Chinese Dietary Culture in Indonesian Urban Society 152
Mery G. Tan
10 The Invention ofDelicacy: Cantonese Food in Yokohama
Chinatown 170
Sidney C. H. Cheung
11 Chinese Food in the Philippines: Indigenization and
Transformation 183
Doreen G. Fernandez
Index 191
vi
List of Contributions
Dr. LouisAugustin-Jean, HonoraryResearch Associate, Department of
Anthropology, The Chinese University ofHong Kong, Hong Kong.
Professor Sidney C. H. Cheung, Associate Professor, Department of
Anthropology, The Chinese University ofHong Kong, Hong Kong.
Professor Dai Yifeng, Professor, Department of History, Xiamen
University, People's Republic ofChina.
Professor Doreen G. Fernandez, Professor, Department of Commu
nication, Ateneo de Manila University, Philippines.
Professor Mohamed Yusoff Ismail, Professor, Department of
Anthropology, University ofMalaya, Malaysia.
ProfessorSidneyMintz,EmeritusProfessor,DepartmentofAnthropology,
Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, U.S.A.
.Professor Siumi Maria Tam, Associate Professor, Department of
Anthropology, The Chinese University ofHong Kong, Hong Kong.
Professor Mely G. Tan, Professor, Social Research Department, Atma
Jaya Catholic University, Indonesia.
Professor David Y. H. Wu, Professor, Department of Anthropology,
The Chinese University ofHong Kong, Hong Kong.
Professor Zhuang Kongshao, Professor, Department ofAnthropology,
Central University ofNationalities, Peking, People's Republic ofChina.
vii
List of Figures
1.1 Map oftrepang trade between China and Southeast Asia 22
2.1 Map ofthe limestone caves ofSabah 48
viii
List of Tables
1.1 Imported trepang ofChina in the Qing Dynasty (1867-1900) 30
1.2 Imported trepang ofShanghai and Xiamen (1865-1900) 35
1.3 The re-export oftrepang from Shanghai and Xiamen
(1870-1900) 36
ix