Narrative of Diet Culture and Forging a Sense of Community for the Chinese Nation: Tracing to the Source of Guangxi Rice Noodle

He Yuankai Zhou Chao Hao Guoqiang

Abstract：This paper focuses on an investigation of the “Big Three ” of Guangxi rice noodles， namely “Nanning Old friends Noodles，” “Guilin Rice Noodles，” and “Liuzhou River Snails Rice Noodles.” The goal of this article is to explore the spacetime genes of the narrative chain of Guangxi rice noodle culture， the regional or ethnic characteristics of the allusions of the rice noodles ?and explain the cultural connotation of “harmony” contained in this particular food culture. This is not only meant to be a positive exploration of the repositioning and development direction of Guangxi rice noodle culture but also a practical study of the promotion ?of Guangxi aimed at forging a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation.

Food may reflect the customs and living habits of people in a certain place， and therefore the narrative of food has often been considered important. The description of a cuisine arguably has four main directions： First， there is the historical and cultural narration of a diet. It mainly tells about the foods origin， spreading， related stories， legends， proverbs， as well as related folk customs such as etiquette rules， beliefs， and taboos. The second one is the functional narrative of a cuisine. It mainly describes how a style of cooking can satisfy the basic physiological needs of a human body， for example appetite， energy， and nutrition， as well as the potentially pleasant taste experience or possible health benefits and medicinal effects. Third， the narrative of cooking techniques; this mainly refers to the ingredients and seasonings， material combination，kitchen equipment， preparation methods， production procedures， and the labor and attitude of the cooks. Fourth is the ecological narrative surrounding the comestibles. This mainly tells about the uniqueness and harmonious nature of the food whose ingredients are locally and naturally sourced， about climatic influences， cookery modes， lifestyles， and other aspects. These four directions are said to constitute the narrative roots of food culture.

After a long period of interaction and integration， the various ethnic groups of Guangxi seem to have been able to form and construct a narrative of Guangxis diet culture. Part of this are the rice noodles that indeed are an important representative of Guangxis popular food culture. Nanning has been gathering famous rice noodle dishes from all over Guangxi， constructing a cultural narrative of rice noodles. The communication and integration among various ethnic groups forms the regional and ethnic characteristics of the allusions to Nanning rice noodles. The “harmonious fourtaste” composed of sour， spicy， fresh， and fragrant flavors conceivably reflect the concept of “harmony” in the preparation techniques of Nanning rice noodles， displaying a multidirectional interaction between various ethnicities in Guangxi. A study of the narration of Guangxi rice noodle culture can not only enrich the cultural understanding of Guangxi rice noodles but also present a reallife example of forging a sense of community for the Chinese nation in Guangxi.

Key Words：Guangxi; rice noodle culture; narrative; a sense of community; the“ harmonious fourtaste”