To Learn About China Through a Dish

Diet takes a lot of learning. Every aspect of a diet can provide a glimpse into the true reasons behind the bizarre and complicated social phenomena. The author writes this book in prose， takes on such extensive exploration on history and Chinese civilization， and describes in subtle and striking detail as a journalist what to eat， how to eat， and the skills， mentalities and conditions of eating， bringing the audience a brand-new reading experience.

Bai Wei

Bai Wei， who writes under the pseudonym of Fei Yu， is a senior media expert， cultural scholar， and poet. He once worked for Beijing Evening News for many years and wrote many books such as Sorrow of the Darkness， We Were Shining， Chinese Cuisine Philosophy， and Chinese Cuisine Geography. He also serves as the chief writer and cultural consultant for many CCTV documentaries.

The Taste Buds of Civilization: the Roots of Chinese Dietary Culture

Written by Bai Wei

Edited by An Yuxia

Research Press

July 2022

68.00 (CNY)

A dish over the table is not simply used to satisfy the tongue and the stomach. It involves extensive and profound Chinese civilization. However， such civilization has been buried in the vast sea of historical books and behind the gorgeous Chinese cuisines. In the past， we had been attracted and fond of only the prosperity and fragrance of Chinese delicacies at the material level while ignoring the exploration and construction of Chinese traditional dietary culture at the higher level of Chinese civilization.

As early as in Shang Dynasty， Yi Yin， a former chef， extended from the harmony of the five flavors in daily cooking to the ideas of governing a country while discussing state affairs with Shang Tang. As he expounded， “The seasoning of dishes should include five flavors， sweet， sour， bitter， spicy and salty. Their sequence and amounts will make a difference. Besides， the amounts of the five flavors should be little based on a set of rules.” After explaining the harmony in cooking， he extended from the ideas of seasoning to the emperor’s ideas of governing the country: “The emperor cannot force others to do something. He must first act up to moral principles himself. If he does things in line with moral principles， he will do well in acting as the emperor. Thus， the country will achieve the harmony of the five flavors.”

Governing a country is the same as seasoning. When he does well in acting as the emperor， everything will succeed naturally， just like a dish that has its due flavors. Lao Tzu， the founder of Taoism， also had such a dietary proposition. He said， “Governing a country is like cooking.” He connected such a great thing as governing a country with a trivial thing like cooking.

Apart from Lao Tzu， Confucius， the founder of Confucianism， extended such an idea. In the past， as Confucius advocated in The Analects of Confucius: Hometown， we have paid attention only to the theory that food should be cooked delicately， and based on this theory， we consider that Confucius is also a gourmet. Confucius’s real thoughts on diet are reflected in his ideas of “rites.” In The Book of Rites: Implementation， Confucius once said， “The earliest rites of human beings started with food.” The earliest rites started with the diet. As the core thought of Confucianism， rites refer to the “principles” advocated by Confucius. In other words， rites are the moral norm， legal system， and social order that Confucianism wants to establish.

Confucianism connects diet not only with the governance of a country but also with a set of secular social norms. After Confucianism was acknowledged as the idea of governing a country by the country， such ideas have constituted the core values of the Chinese diet civilization for two thousand years permeating our daily dietary life.

Chinese people do not perceive food as simply something to eat. In the long history of people’s livelihood， the perception of food has involved the opinions and understandings of various schools of thought， such as Huang-Lao Taoism， Confucianism， Legalism， Yin-Yang School， and Five-Element School. At the same time， due to the “homology of medicine and food，” it also incorporates the dietary opinions of traditional Chinese medicine practitioners， health practitioners， and alchemists. Later， because of the introduction of Buddhism， various food tastes and ideas were incorporated into Chinese people’s perception of food.

These complicated dietary mentalities are combined with the dietary customs of ethnic groups in different regions， forming a vast and complex system of Chinese dietary civilization.