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Home , A Bite of China, Chenpi, Huaihua, Huaiyang cuisine, Momo (food)

© Kamla-Raj 2019 J Sociology Soc Anth, 10(1-3): 42-60 (2019) PRINT: ISSN 0976-6634 ONLINE: ISSN 2456-6764 DOI: 10.31901/24566764.2019/10-1-3.288 Anthropological Thoughts on the Chinese Culinary Culture

Jiang Youchun and Robert G. Tian

Huaihua University, Huaihua, ,

KEYWORDS A Bite of China. Anthropological Film. . Chinese Culinary Culture. Documentary. Ethnic Groups

ABSTRACT Taking the documentary film ‘A Bite of China’ as the subject, this paper reviews the major contents of the film and probe the cultural phenomenon behind it as an anthropological film by the methodology of content-based analysis. The documentary introduces a variety of Chinese culinary cultures in seven episodes mainly including the acquisition of various kinds of food and the culinary techniques of food. The anthropological significance of the Chinese culinary culture is explained. It in-depth discusses why ‘A Bite of China’ became the most popular documentary film in China at that time from the perspective of film and television shooting technology and post-production.

INTRODUCTION Objectives

In 2012, a documentary titled ‘A Bite of Chi- The Chinese culinary culture in ‘A Bite of na’ became popular in China, allowing the Chi- China’ is involved in the ways to acquire origi- nese people to understand the rich and colorful nal materials and cook delicious foods, with a diets among different ethnic groups in various detailed description of the humanities, history regions and natural environments in an all-round and ecosystem of regional cuisines. The docu- and multi-angle way for the first time. The docu- mentary not only presents the culinary cultures mentary shows the impact of food on Chinese in various parts of China in an all-round way, people’s life and behavior in various respects, but also gives a summary of regional and ethnic especially in the acquisition of original materials cuisines in China. This paper does not intend to and the culinary arts of delicacies. In addition, carry out the traditional research on the ethnog- the documentary delicately depicts the unique raphy of food, which refers to the relationship charm of Chinese cuisine, as well as the rituals, between a single commodity or substance, food ethical awareness, customs and habits involved. and social changes, food non-safety, diet and As is known to all, has a rituals, diet and identity, diet and society and so long history and has a long tradition of culinary on. From the shooting techniques and narrative culture (Tian et al. 2018). It is very particular skills of ‘A Bite of China’, this documentary un- about diet. It requires excellent materials, exquis- doubtedly has the nature of “cultural record” in ite cutting skills, unique duration of cooking, anthropological films, especially in the introduc- diverse skills, harmony between five flavors and tion of rituals, ethnic groups, customs and other elegant appeal. China has a vast territory with aspects involving the objectives of the tradi- abundant resources, and various regions, na- tional anthropological studies. Therefore, it is tionalities and climates lead to a variety of culi- completely logical and reasonable to regard it as nary cultures with diverse styles, which provides an anthropological film concerning the Chinese abundant material for the shooting of ‘A Bite of culinary culture. China’ (Zhang 2012: 62). On this basis, ‘A Bite of The purpose of this paper is to deconstruct China’ narrates various cuisines in all parts of the documentary in depth from the perspective China from different angles. It is a summary of of generalized anthropology, to re-examine the the Chinese culinary culture with a long history, response of the traditional Chinese culinary cul- and a collective presentation of the culinary cul- ture, which has been accumulated a lot in the tures of all ethnic groups living in different en- long history, to the modern fast food culture, vironments in China. concerning whether it adheres to its original style Address for correspondence: or choose to change, and the impact it poses to Robert G. Tian the urban and rural cultural groups. Moreover, E-mail: [email protected] this paper examines why ‘A Bite of China’ can ANTHROPOLOGICAL THOUGHTS ON THE CHINESE CULINARY CULTURE 43 outplay the documentaries on the Chinese culi- ceptual understanding of culinary cultures of nary culture in recent years based on visual an- ethnic groups in different regions. thropology and cultural criticism, as well as con- ducts academic discussions on the presenta- Interpretation of ‘A Bite of China’ tion and shooting ethics of the culinary culture in ‘A Bite of China’. In Episode 1 “Gifts from Nature”, it includes the from Shangri-la, ( Prov- METHODOLOGY ince) Grilled Matsutake; winter shoots from Suichang, Province (Youmen Since the beginning of twenty-first century, Dongsun (Stewed Bamboo Shoots) and Xuecai plenty of new ways have emerged to process, Dongsun Doufu Tang (Soup of , Winter store, distribute and accesses audiovisual in- Bamboo Shoots and Potherb ); well formation. Multimedia communication establish- from Dali, Yunnan Province (Nuodeng Huotui) es new forms of communication between peo- Nuodeng Ham from Yunlong County, Lawei Pi- ple, between people and environment. Intelli- aoxiang Yan Du Xian (Smoked with Pickled gent media interfaces are becoming increasing- Winter Bamboo Shoots), lotus roots from Jiayu ly important, and machine assistance in access- County, Province, Paigu Lianou Tang ing media, in acquiring, organizing, distributing, (Soup of Lotus Roots and Pork Ribs), Jiaoyan manipulating and consuming audiovisual infor- Oujia (Lotus Roots with Spicy Salt and Force- mation has become vital (Ohm 2016). Content ) and Suanla Ouding (Hot and Sour Lotus Roots); fish from Chagan Lake, Province, based analysis as a research method has been Jingcai Jianmen Yutou Paobing ( cuisine: widely applied by social scientists to study cul- Bread Soaked in Fish Head Soup), Jianju Ma- tural and social phenomena. Content analysis jiaoyu (Pan-fired Mackerel), Suancai Yu (Boiled classifies textural material, reducing it to more Fish with Pickled and Chili), Songshu relevant, manageable bits of data, which uses a Guiyu ( Mandarin Fish), and Kua set of procedures to make valid inferences from Dun Yu (Stewed Fish). This part mainly chooses text (Weber 1990). There is no simple right way different foods as gifts from nature where the to do content analysis, instead researchers must eco-geographical environment is greatly varied judge what methods are more appropriate for between North and south, East and West in their unique studies. In this study, the current China with the changes in the four seasons to researchers applying the content-based analy- show the Chinese ecological wisdom that re- sis by continuously taking notes and repeating mains unchanged for thousands of years and watching the films under reviewing, then pro- passes on from mouth to mouth. cess the reviewing notes in each episode to gen- In Episode 2 “The Story of Staple Foods”, it erate the discussing topics and theories. includes Huang Momo (Yellow Steamed Buns made of broom corn millet), the staple food of OBSERVATIONS AND DISCUSSION people in Northern ; rice noodles of the Dong people in Liping, Province; ‘A Bite of China’ describes the culinary cul- Changshou Mian (Longevity Noodles on the birthday); Niurou (Hand-Pulled Noodles tures of all ethnic groups in China in seven epi- with Beef in ); Yangrou Paomo (Pita sodes, including “Gifts from Nature”, “The Sto- Bread Soaked in Lamb Soup); Qishan Saozi Mian ry of Staple Foods”, and “Inspiration for (Qishan Noodles with Minced Pork) in Xi’an, Change”, “The Taste of Time”, and “Secrets of Shaanxi; Ronzong (Glutinous Rice the Kitchen “,” A Perfect Blend of Five Flavors Filled with Meat) in , Zhejiang Province; and Our Farm”. Through these seven episodes, Niangao (Rice Cake) in , Zhejiang Prov- it displays the categories of cuisines of various ince; (dumplings), the staple food for Chi- ethnic groups in China and their detailed cook- nese people in the Spring Festival, and other ing techniques, so that people will have a per- staple foods. Through the introduction of these

J Sociology Soc Anth, 10(1-3): 42-60 (2019) 44 JIANG YOUCHUN AND ROBERT G. TIAN staple foods, it traces back to the agricultural bacon from Province; Ham from pattern formed in China for thousands of years, Zhejiang Province; mullet roe from Taiwan; and as the dry farming areas of wheat and corn along from . Time plays a crucial the Yellow River in the north and the rice farm- role in the transformation of taste in food. The ing areas along the River in the south clever grasp of time (duration of heating, cook- with sufficient sunshine, and the staple food ing time, curing time, etc.) has become the most pattern formed by the people limited by them, important way to transform the materials in the namely, Rice in South and Noodles in North. Chinese culinary culture. In Episode 3 “Inspiration for Change”, it In Episode 5 “Secrets of the Kitchen”, start- starts with the fermentation of the original mate- ing from the artistic characteristics of Chinese rials of food, together with the ancestors’ wise cuisines, it illustrates that Chinese cuisines not use of jars, pots and other utensils, as well as only brings wonderful enjoyment to people’s the view of time based on experience accumula- taste buds. Visually, every Chinese cuisine is an tion, so that the original materials can be trans- exquisite work of art with perfect color, fragrance, formed into delicacies because of the fermenta- taste, look and utensils. The essence of the three tion of microorganisms. The key point is to elab- stages of cooking, and stir-frying ex- orate how the Chinese people make ingenious perienced by the Chinese people is to control use of cooking techniques in the transformation and grasp the relationship between water and of materials and how they get the right time in fire in food, and to integrate and neutralize all the process of transformation. The cuisines kinds of , as well as to develop a roughly include tofu from the Old Jianshui Town trinity of perception of taste, smell and vision in Honghe Hani and Yi , through the processing and repair of cooks. It is Nai Dou Fu (Dried Milk Cake) in the Ujumchin mainly related to the cuisine boiled and stewed Steppe, Rushan (a dairy product in the shape of by the people in Nixi Village with black pottery; fan) in Bai nationality in Yunnan Province; and Qiguoji (steamed chicken soup, Yunnan style); Maodoufu (Hairy Tofu covered with white hy- Shizitou (Lion’s Head: Steamed Fish Head with pha) in southern Anhui Province; Hua- Diced Hot Red Peppers); Wensi Tofu; Jianzhen ngjiu (Rice Wine in Shaoxing) and in Suya (Jianzhen Vegetarian Duck, made with skin Northeast China. The charm of “change” lies in of tofu, black fungus, water , coprinus the addition of human factors, which makes food comatus, and carrots); steamed itself increase its taste that has not had flavor- pig, a cuisine in the Cantonese village banquet; type transformants (mostly presented by fun- the request of Huaiyang cuisine for cooks in gi), thus increasing the delicacy of the material cutting skills; the use of oil and hot pepper in itself. ; Xihu Cuyu (Steamed Grass Carp in Vinegar Gravy), a cuisine and the In Episode 4 “The Taste of Time”, starting secrets of the kitchen among ordinary people. from the relationship between time and food, it In Episode 6 “A Perfect Blend of Five Fla- describes the cuisines formed after the baptism vors”, based on the importance of “taste” in of time. It roughly includes salting, sugaring, oil cuisines, it introduces various condiments, orig- immersion, saucing, airing, , freezing inal materials, and cooking methods, and vari- and other methods for preserving food. During ous tastes, such as salty and fresh, sweet and time, the materials will become tasty with the salty, sour and sweet, sour and hot, spicy and help of various condiments. Finally, several com- hot, bitter and fragrant, fresh and fragrant, are binations of flavors arise from the neutralization shown by various masters of seasoning. It is of “time and flavorings” “in food, coupled with involved in sugar, pepper, hot pepper, salt, dried the nature of the material itself. The cuisines orange peel, vinegar and other condiments. The involved include Paocai (pickled ) of cuisines include Jiangpaigu (Braised the Chaoxian nationality; Lawei (preserved meat) in Brown Sauce) in ; Tangcong Bobing in ; Larou and Yanyu (cured meat (Spring Flatbread) in ; Chenpi and salted fish) of the Miao nationality in Hunan Ya (Fried Duck Tongues with Peel) in Province; Xiangxi Xunrou (Xiangxi Bacon); Macao; Yaorou (Cured Pork) in ; Yux- Nan’an Laya (Nan’an Preserved Duck); ham and iang Rousi (Shredded Pork with Sauce),

J Sociology Soc Anth, 10(1-3): 42-60 (2019) ANTHROPOLOGICAL THOUGHTS ON THE CHINESE CULINARY CULTURE 45

Mapo Tofu (Stewed Tofu with Minced Pork in ical ethnography describes the history of ethnic Pepper Sauce) and Tengjiao Yu (Rattan Pepper groups, the geographical environment in which Fish) in cuisine; (Thick they live, the patterns of kinship systems, sym- Broad-bean Sauce) in Sichuan; Yuwan Zicai Bao bols, politics, economic systems, educational or (Soup of and Seaweed); Qingzheng Yu social systems, and the connection between the (Steamed Fish) and Baiqieji (Boiled Chicken with target culture and the mainstream culture (Fetteman Sauce) in cuisine. The sweet, sour, 2007: 10). bitter, pungent, and salty flavors and their vari- Through the analysis of ethnography, Wol- ant flavors make Chinese cuisine ever-chang- cott has found that the central elements of eth- ing. When cooking dishes, seasoners do not nography are as follows: First, the author uses use a single flavor, but pay attention to blend- descriptions with high-level details; Second, the ing and balancing the flavors in a dish, so that author tells the story informally, just like a story- the taste of dishes can perfectly agree with peo- teller; Third, the author explores the cultural ple’s taste buds. events of the roles and the behaviors of the In Episode 7 “Our Farm”, starting from the groups; Fourth, the author describes the daily dishes on the table, it then focuses on the vast life of everyone; Fifth, the overall format is de- fields that produce various materials of the dish- scriptive, analytical and explanatory; Sixth, the es, explores the sources of delicacies and the article contains questions (Wolcott 1997: 328). ways how they are cultivated by human beings Thus, the holistic and global “cultural de- in numerous ways, and highlights the ecologi- scription” has become one of the basic elements cal and environmentally friendly way of agricul- of traditional ethnic groups. ‘A Bite of China’ tural production. Specifically, it includes gluti- takes the form of “anti-tradition” to show culi- nous rice in terraced fields in Congjiang County, nary culture in China. Its production process is Guizhou Province, where Dong, Miao and Zhua- contrary to the inherent mode of traditional eth- ng people live together; sea cucumbers, abalo- nography, and what is presented to us in the nes and sea urchins in Zhangzi Island, in the seven episodes is the fragmented culinary cul- northern Yellow Sea; taro in Duotian, Xinghua, ture involving complex groups. Through exten- , the Yangtze River Delta; barley in Shi- sive searches for materials concerning food in gatse Prefecture, of Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau; various regions and the editing by video camer- vegetables in roof gardens of the hutongs in as and recorders, many fragmented landscapes Beijing. This part mainly presents the diversity of culinary culture as montage have been pro- of cuisines and agriculture in China, and the duced. It’s certain that such a presentation of variations in cuisines and materials between re- culinary culture is also the concrete expression gions. Farming nations in various regions make of narration – transformation - meaning in the ingenious use of the gifts of nature, create deli- semiotics of post-modernism. The following is a cious food, nurture culture, as well as adapt to detailed analysis of the documentary. and transform the history of natural ecological environment. Examples of Traditional Anthropological Research in ‘A Bite of China’ Anthropological Deconstruction in ‘A Bite of China’ Episode 1 is titled “Gifts from Nature”. It chooses the ethnic groups living in distinct geo- From the traditional anthropological point of graphical and ecological environments in China view, ethnography refers to a textual monograph and the culinary cultures arising from people developed in the field work involving observa- living in vastly different natural environments, tion and description towards a community for a and shuttles people’s attitudes towards cuisines long time (usually more than a year). The theo- to reflect how nature gives Chinese people cui- retical support extracted from the monograph is sines as gifts and how do the Chinese people mainly the primary materials collected by indi- live in harmony with nature. Gifts from nature viduals in observation, which are usually a pan- involved in this episode mainly include mat- oramic description of the whole community. Typ- sutake in Shangri-la, Yunnan, Nuodeng Ham in

J Sociology Soc Anth, 10(1-3): 42-60 (2019) 46 JIANG YOUCHUN AND ROBERT G. TIAN the north of Dali, Yunnan Province, and bamboo long time. Even when the market economy has shoots in , Province (winter invaded such a marginal area in history as bamboo shoots in Suichang, Zhejiang Province), Shangri-la, the original ecological view of cul- fishing in the Xisha Islands, in , Hainan ture spread among the mountain people still plays (stilt fishing, a custom in Wanwei Village of the a role in guiding people to live in harmony with Jing nationality in Hainan), lotus roots in Hubei nature from generation to generation. and Hunan Provinces along the Yangtze River, The regional transformation from the south- and winter fishing in Chagan Lake, Jilin Prov- west frontier to the northeast frontier to the ince and so on. From a spatial point of view, the southeast coast demonstrates the way that var- gifts from nature are arranged from south to north. ious ethnic groups get food from nature in terms From the perspective of time, it mainly concen- of space and climate. The regional transforma- trates on autumn and winter. From the climatic tion between the land and the ocean demon- point of view, except for the plateau climate in strates the route that people get food from the Yunnan, the warm and hot climate in Southern source. In the process of interaction with na- China has gradually transited to the cold climate ture, each ethnic group has developed its own in Northern China. To sum up, this episode main- “ecological rules”, which have evolved into a ly summarizes the dietary and living conditions unique ecological culture and regulated the be- of people benefiting from gifts of nature on the havior of each member in the ethnic group. On east of the Mohe-Tengchong line in China, when the other hand, nature regards her generosity as there is a small-time gap. a reward for human beings.

Cultural Ecology Research Salt, the Intermediate of Cultural Exchange At present, the most famous works about The documentary starts with the “mat- condiments in academic circles take the micro sutake” in Shangri-la area of Diqing, Yunnan part of culinary culture, namely, original materi- Province, which is an elf-like food growing in als and condiments as elements of cooking and primitive forests and becoming the favorite on cultural exchanges to carry out special studies, the dining table in cities because of its rich nu- to emphasize how the trade and dissemination tritional value and great difficulty in picking. of certain edible element changed the pattern of Matsutake grows in mingled forests of pine and world trade from various aspects, changed the oak, and is extremely sparsely distributed, so growth and decline of the geographic pattern of that people must pick it in the forest after rain- ancient empires, and the dietary preferences and ing. Tibetans in Shangri-la have a chance to pick tastes of human beings. The gift of nature con- up matsutake after the rainy season every year, tinuing in ‘A Bite of China’, mainly the gift of and it has not been a long time since matsutake land, is salt, the most crucial element in the pro- became a dish on people’s dining table. Due to cess of making Nuodeng Ham. the growing market demand, matsutake in Salt, an important in Nuodeng Shangri-la County is regarded as a rare wild fun- Ham, is also an extension of such research. Salt, gus, which is divided into 48 grades. The pur- as the most important commodity in the area chasing price of matsutake is 80 Yuan per piece inhabited by ethnic groups in Nuodeng in his- in its origin, but it will be sold at 700 Yuan per tory, has a history of nearly a thousand years. piece where it is sold, obviously showing the The technique of boiling salt with salt water used excellent value of matsutake. After picking up to be one of the aspects that Chinese anthropol- matsutake, every dweller in the mountains will ogists are interested in. The description of Nuodeng Ham begins with the boiling of consciously cover up the fungus pit with pine Nuodeng salt, in which several symbolic expres- needles on the ground so that the hyphae will sions of anthropology are used. Starting with not be destroyed. While getting the gifts from the construction of the “earth stove” for boiling nature, the mountain people will also abide by salt in winter, the “brine” was transported from the rules of the forests out of habit, which is a the salt well with a history of thousands of years cultural habit for obtaining gifts of nature s for a and then boiled on the stove. About 4 hours

J Sociology Soc Anth, 10(1-3): 42-60 (2019) ANTHROPOLOGICAL THOUGHTS ON THE CHINESE CULINARY CULTURE 47 later, the brine was gradually crystallized into and fish. Because of the involvement of tourism salt. Then, the weight of salt was fixed by elements (tourists and business), the ceremony “mould”, and the specifications of Nuodeng salt itself has changed. With the development of flowing into the market were determined by such government tourism projects, the sacrificial cer- a precise mode of measurement to facilitate the emony and the symbols of the ceremony, such pricing, which fully showed the importance of as “mask”, “sacrificial costume”, “chief fisher- salt in Nuodeng. Then the pork for ham was man”, “flag of head” and “sacrificial music”, are selected, and the salt was evenly applied to the also changing. Traditional rituals exist only in surface of pork and knead repeatedly when the the “historical memory” of older fishermen like weather was sunny, and the temperature was the chief fisherman. Fishermen in Chagan Lake low between the Winter Solstice (22nd solar term) use the fish net with the mesh that is 20cm in and the Great Cold (24th solar term). After a month diameter so that it can only trap fish over five of deep fermentation, the pork was hung out- years old and the young fish are deliberately doors to be blown by warm air. After 2-3 years, missed by fishermen. Nuodeng Ham was successfully salted. In the As the Gorlos Mongol saying goes, al- process of salting Nuodeng Ham, Nuodeng salt ways leave something for the next hunt, and it joined in the process as the most important aux- is a strict rule among the fishermen that has iliary symbol. The ham made by Nuodeng peo- been passed on for generations, and an agree- ple with Nuodeng salt is the creation of the na- ment between fishermen and lakes and oceans. tional culinary culture based on gifts of nature, Stilt fishing, a traditional fishing method, still while its function cannot be underestimated. exists in Wanwei Village on the three islands of Nuodeng salt, which used to be the most Hainan inhabited by Jing ethnic groups. In the important commodity in the -Yi Corridor on summer morning or evening along the coast, fish- ermen, by casting the fish net while standing on the border of the Chinese Empire, became a me- stilts, can catch fish and shrimp in the shallow dium for the interaction between Sichuan, Yun- sea. However, such traditional fishing method has nan and Tibet. It has formed a commodity trade been gradually replaced by modern ocean fish- circle with tea in eastern Sichuan, horses in south- ing and can be only seen in folklore performanc- eastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and northwestern es. And the fishing skills are also likely to fail to Sichuan and the from India, so that its be handed down from past generations. Ocean anthropological significance is self-evident. fishing is common in Sanya, Hainan. Before de- parture, the fishing crew will first seek divination Research on Rituals to choose a lucky day, and prepare ocean-going food, fresh water, diesel, medicine, fishing tools From land to sea, human beings are also re- and other items. The fishing crew is generally ceiving gifts from the sea. The gift of the sea composed of 20 young and middle-aged people also starts and ends up with a series of “sym- aboard, while the fishing lasts twenty to thirty bolic” rituals and actions. On the Chagan Lake days. They also offer sacrifices to the sea gods of Jilin Province, the Mongolians in the Gorlos on board. Whether the crew can harvest in the Grassland, armed with cotton socks, boots and ocean fishing also depends entirely on the for- hats made of dog skin, break ice at the previous- tune and the judgment of the captain. ly chosen fishing spot. They choose to fish in Rituals such as “stilt fishing”, “sacrifice for sunny days, as oxygen in the water increase the lake and fish” and “seeking divination” orig- and the fish crowd together, which is easier for inally belong to the topics of traditional anthro- fishing. They throw a fish net to the lake under pological studies. Here we consider the rituals the ice, while the amount of fishing depends themselves and explain the functional signifi- entirely on the judgment of Shi Baozhu, the ex- cance behind them. Thus it can be concluded perienced chief fisherman. The capstan is set on that these rituals originated from the animism the ice with a rope wound around the capstan to and myths and legends, that is, the evolution of relate to horses. Then, the horses are driven to the worship of “sea god” and “lake god” that pull the fish net under the ice. has been passed so far. People can interact with When Spring Festival is approaching every gods through these rituals and pray for the year, there will be a grand sacrifice for the lake “gods” to bless them to get a bumper harvest

J Sociology Soc Anth, 10(1-3): 42-60 (2019) 48 JIANG YOUCHUN AND ROBERT G. TIAN from nature. From the development of fishing in diameter so that it can only trap fish over five rituals mentioned above, as the fishing industry years old and the young fish are deliberately develops, whether people can get gifts from na- missed. The strict regulation in the forest and ture is completely based on the relationship be- the rule among the fishermen, which has been tween man and nature, rather than the god mak- passed down for generations, have become the ing a trouble. On this basis, the “stilt fishing” ecological rules for farmers to continuously get has gradually become an item in folklore tour- gifts from nature. Only by strictly observing them ism, while the sacrifice for the lake and fish and can human beings benefit from nature for a long the awareness of seeking divination itself is also time and live in harmony with nature. changing. The sacred rituals have gradually be- come performances, while the nature of rituals Binary Opposition between Urban and themselves has switched from the originally re- Rural Areas ligious event to a social event. By understand- ing rituals from the perspective of performing behavior and process, it enables us to realize The binary opposition between urban and that cultural changes are intense and profound rural areas has deeply influenced the develop- in the process of modern social changes. Cul- ment of contemporary Chinese society. In the tural changes from the angle of rituals have fully same way, when the Chinese culinary culture is illustrated this aspect. introduced in ‘A Bite of China’, it also reflects the diet and lifestyle of the two communities Fragmented Binary Opposition Combination from the urban and rural perspectives. The bina- ry opposition between urban and rural areas in Cross-space Binary Opposition this documentary is reflected in many aspects. For example, when Zhuoma and her mother pick In Episode 1 “Gifts from Nature”, the editors matsutake in Shangri-la, Yunnan Province, they clearly used the cross-space binary opposition will earn a total of 5,000 Yuan after the challeng- combination to represent the gifts from nature ing work for two months, as matsutake is divid- in two directions. Zhuoma and her mother pick ed into 48 grades and is very cheap in its origin. up matsutake, a natural fungus in the primary However, when the packaged matsutake is de- forest of Shangri-la, Yunnan Province, which is livered to the restaurant in a big city, a dish of a gift from the forest. In the winter fishing of Grilled Mutsutake can be sold at as high as 1,600 Chagan Lake of Jilin Province, Shi Baozhu, chief Yuan, becoming a dish for the people with cer- fisherman, leads the fishing crew to fish in the tain consumption capacity. In the process of ice lake, which is a gift from the lake. The binary modernization and urbanization, luxury con- opposition combination between the southwest sumption in cities drives demand, which makes and the northeast, between the forest and the such matsutake collectors as Zhuoma and her lake and the matsutake () and fish mother lie on the top link in the production rela- (meat), as a cross-spatial and regional manifes- tions. Because of the constraints of transporta- tation, enables the spectators to experience dif- tion, information and so on, the top groups are ferent materials of food as gifts from nature un- unable to decide the price independently, so they der strong environmental differences, and sigh are still at the edge of the market economy, and at the rich and colorful culinary cultures arising they are unable to have a say in the price of from the diversity of geographical and ecologi- diner goods, which refer to materials of food cal environments in the vast territory of China. here, in cities. In addition, in Episode 2 “The However, within such binary opposition combi- Story of Staple Foods”, there is a binary eco- nation, there is a very high “ecological tacit un- nomic opposition between urban and rural ar- derstanding” between man and nature, which is eas, between the individual business model of manifested in a harmonious ecological view. That “Yellow Steamed Buns” represented by Huang is, after picking up matsutake, people fill the pit Guosheng, an old man in Northern Shaanxi, and with silver needles to ensure that the hyphae the production of (a traditional Chinese are not destroyed. The winter fishing of Chagan made of glutinous rice wrapped in Lake uses a net with the meshes which are 20cm bamboo or reed leaves) on the modern assem-

J Sociology Soc Anth, 10(1-3): 42-60 (2019) ANTHROPOLOGICAL THOUGHTS ON THE CHINESE CULINARY CULTURE 49 bly line. Therefore, there is also a huge contra- ing role in the performance, but the major cere- diction between urban and rural interaction with mony has been far from that in the memory of “people” as the intermediary in culinary culture, the elderly, which has become the compromise- which is not only reflected in economic struc- based adaptation when the traditional culture ture, but also in culture, especially in culinary encounters the impact of modern tourism. In culture. Episode 6 “A Perfect Blend of Five Flavors”, the villagers along the coast of Eastern Binary Opposition between Refined and followed the tradition of making a living by evap- Popular Tastes orating brine in the sun to make salt in history. However, because of their low income, most of We usually use the phrase of suiting both the villagers choose to go out to work and large refined and popular taste to describe that the areas of salt fields have been abandoned, but literary and artistic works are beautiful and pop- Liu Yingwu still chooses to make a living by ular which can be appreciated by highbrows and making salt. As Liu said, “Salt distillation is a lowbrows alike. Although it is the result of com- legacy. So, after all, I am protecting this history.” mon appreciation in the end, the artificial divi- Thus under the influence of market economy, sion of refined and popular has become an in- there are still individuals who stick to the tradi- disputable fact in traditional Chinese culture. In tion, instead of being attracted by the tempta- ‘A Bite of China’, there are also the boundaries tion of market economy. between refined and popular culinary cultures. For example, in Episode 5 “Secrets of the Kitch- Cultural Phenomena in ‘A Bite of China’ en”, international chefs like Juchanglong and Liang Zigeng serve five-star hotels or higher, After the release of ‘A Bite of China’ on and their target customers are upper-class dig- CCTV, it has attracted wide attention on the In- nitaries with solid economic foundation. Tashi, ternet and has been broadcasted in Chinese com- a Tibetan black potter, and Ouyang Guangye, a munities, such as Taiwan, Hong Kong and Sin- village cook, represent the cultures of family gapore. As a result, a strong cultural phenome- cuisine and village banquet and the culinary non has emerged in the Chinese community. The culture at the village level. These two groups, awakening of tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon to which have obvious boundaries in cuisine, have the taste bud memory of overseas Chinese of become the representatives of refined culinary the same origin has become one of its main fac- culture in urban China and popular culinary cul- tors. In mainland China, a “fever of ‘A Bite of ture in rural China. Similarly, the refined and pop- China’” has come into being rapidly, and the ular culinary cultures also represent the sub- audience could hardly wait to watch the second culinary cultures of the highbrow urban style ‘A Bite of China’ With the afterheat of the first and the lowbrow rural style, as well as cater to ‘A Bite of China’, it is necessary for us to ana- the needs of the urbanized and village-oriented lyze some cultural phenomena hidden behind it target groups. from an anthropological point of view.

Binary Opposition between Tradition Linkage Effect of “Cultural Products+ and Modernity By-products”

The contradiction between tradition and In addition to the main products, there will modernity has become a serious problem in the be additional products for a good cultural and process of inheritance of Chinese culture, while creative commodity. Besides the documentary change has become its main means. Similarly, it as a main product, ‘A Bite of China’ is sold to TV is also embodied in ‘A Bite of China’. In Episode stations through copyright sales and some 1 “Gifts from Nature”, Chief Shi in Chagan Lake books are published. It also includes many ad- of Jilin Province will take part in the sacrifice for ditional products, such as time-honored food the lake and fish every year. To cater to the tour- brands and brand promotion of food materials ism industry, Chief Shi himself will play a lead- (Guang Ming Daily Reporter 2012). The “cultur-

J Sociology Soc Anth, 10(1-3): 42-60 (2019) 50 JIANG YOUCHUN AND ROBERT G. TIAN al phenomenon of A Bite of China” is so popular (introduction and promotion): All Foods and that it can be seen from a case. Entering ‘A Bite Delicacy (BTV), The Chef’s Choice (CCTV), Our of China’ on the book website Amazon, 97 imag- Kitchen (Hebei TV), Fortune Food (SETV), World es and books about the culinary culture will come of Delicious Food (ZJTV), etc. (2) V programs out, all of which were published around July (Game relay): Cooking Contest, Sino-French 2012. All of them are the linkage effect of the hot Food Contest, National Cooking Arena Contest, documentary ‘A Bite of China’ on CCTV. etc. (3) Documentaries: Tasting Treasures of In addition, the dissemination on the Inter- China, Food on the Silk Road, Chinese Cooking, net also allows ‘A Bite of China’ to attract a high- etc. er recognition among the audience. Lu Didi, The above three categories of gourmet pro- owner of an online store on Taobao, said that on grams (or documentaries) have been operated the night when the Nuodeng Ham from Yunnan on TV stations for many years as star programs, Province was introduced on the first episode, but they are still not as popular as ‘A Bite of her store had 32 new orders. Since the launch of China’, which arouses a fever of culinary cul- ‘A Bite of China’ on May 14, there have been ture in the whole Chinese cultural circle. There more than 4 million searches for snacks and spe- are many reasons. Maybe they attach impor- cialties on Taobao, an increase of 13.54 percent tance to the production process of gourmet food, on a month-on-month basis. More than 5 million the popularization of skills in the cooking pro- items have been traded, while several online sell- cess, but ignore the significance of cooking as a ers have benefited from the documentary. The culture. Maybe the holistic record of cooking style of A Bite has also been spread far and wide food makes the people living at a fast pace in on the Internet, such as A Bite of Tsinghua Uni- cities feel lengthy and dilatory. Or in the process versity, A Bite of Peking University and A Bite of of introducing gourmet foods, they are mixed Communication University of China and so on with something about tourism and recreation, (Niu and Li 2012). leading to the deviation of the content of the Some people, according to the introduction program, so that the audience will naturally on ‘A Bite of China’, found the “Mongolian yurt” switch their focus from food to others. On the restaurant to have a taste of Mongolian food. contrary, ‘A Bite of China’ has an extremely ac- Based on the introduction in ‘A Bite of China’, curate positioning. Nowadays, the fast food some audience made a food map on the regions culture is extremely flourishing, but it grasps the and categories of the cuisines and posted it on fast-paced life in modern cities, deeply excavates Weibo. It can be seen from this that the adver- the mentality, pursuit and preferences of people tising effect arising from the cultural products in the civilized society, shoots the scenes across of ‘A Bite of China’ and their secondary by-prod- the space and time in a glittering way to present ucts has become a cultural product. With the a number of small buy exquisite dishes to the help of modern new media (such as Weibo and audience in a fragmented manner, while aban- WeChat), such highly influential cultural prod- doning the detailed exhibition process of each ucts not only play a role in satisfying the sensor dish. Then the “fragmented” landscapes of culi- experience in eyes, ears, noses and body and nary culture are pieced together in a montage the emotional and spiritual feelings of the indi- form and connected in series by the structure of vidual audiences, but also exert a profound im- the contents and themes, thus producing the pact on the culture, relationship and economy seven-episode culinary documentary with cul- in the fields of social life. tural implications. Crossing the Traditional Presentation Model The Expressed Other Cultures and Lost Urban of Culinary Culture Groups Today, with the development of modern me- In anthropology, “other” is relative to “we- dia, food has become one of the most important group”, while they refer to two groups with di- topics, which can be roughly divided into the verse cultural characteristics. ‘A Bite of China’ following three categories: (1) TV programs shows the rural life as “other”. The content is

J Sociology Soc Anth, 10(1-3): 42-60 (2019) ANTHROPOLOGICAL THOUGHTS ON THE CHINESE CULINARY CULTURE 51 based on the psychological filter of urban peo- got rid of the general mode of documentary ple’s inherent imagination of rural life. To be more shooting. That is to say, the description of a precise, rural people must be expressed by ur- material or a cuisine is to introduce the living ban people when they are unable to express them- conditions of the characters, customs and hab- selves (He and Fan 2013). ‘A Bite of China’ is an its, natural environment, social environment and attempt to present the real rural culture from the other aspects in the introduction to such food, perspective of a group of urban people. Because rather than to describe it as a whole, so that the of the regional differences in culture, “urban dull culinary documentary itself will become a people” and “rural people” are a pair of unbal- cultural landscape to show the ceremonies and anced groups in the eyes of the public in China, ethics that food brings to the Chinese people. and the cultures that they represent are also However, as a cultural phenomenon, it involves analyzed corresponding to “civilization” and “in- many misunderstandings in public perception. civilization”. The following is an analysis of these misunder- ‘A Bite of China’ is mainly concerned with standings. the process of farmers acquiring food materials, and it is certain that there are some scenes con- Does Nature Merely Give Gifts? cerning how to cook food, mechanized produc- tion and elites in the food world. After all, they ‘A Bite of China’ was originally created ac- account for a small proportion. However, from a cording to the internationally prevailing produc- holistic point of view, the film mainly focuses on tion model. The crew spanned 60 regions in Chi- showing other’s rural life, for panoramically de- na, and employed three pre-investigators, eight picting rural culture from the perspective of cui- directors and 15 photographers, and three edi- sine. Through the shooting, editing and syn- tors. It covered all parts of China, including thesis of materials, the abstract rural culture in Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, and took 13 the minds of editors and directors is concretely months to complete. The documentary is divid- presented in the form of documentary. When a ed into seven episodes, and one episode uses group of urban people manipulate and shoot a as many as 1,300 shots. With a fast pace and a culinary documentary based on the simple out- large amount of information, it tells a story al- look on life and ecology of rural people, most of most every eight minutes. With such a large the audience attracted is those in cities. The rea- amount of manpower and material input, it must son is that the audiences represented by urban have taken various materials, while it is indeed residents have some psychological deficiencies, difficult to present the seven episodes of the and ‘A Bite of China’ just fills the psychological edited documentary to the audience. Here the black hole and awakens some gene of culinary authors do not intend to examine the abilities of culture hidden in the body of the audience, the editors of this documentary, but to take into which is different from the economic activities account whether these scenes presented to the that people purchased commodities according audience are the true reflection of the rural life of to their needs in the pre-capitalist period. ‘A Bite the farmers or the ritual show made in the bene- of China’ is both a product of post-modernism fit of collectors and editors, what the criteria are and a cultural product, which has become a when the editors are editing the documentary, good remedy for the cultural deficiency of ur- whether it is logical fluency or fragmentary nar- ban groups. Throughout the process, it can be ration of the story, and whether some negative regarded as a practice that the group, dominat- economic, cultural and political effects are de- ed by urban people, seeks for their spiritual home liberately avoided in the editing process. that has long been lost based on the charm of The stilt fishing described in Episode 1 “Gifts local culture. from Nature” has become a folk tourism item, and the memory of fishing which has been on Myth of Culinary Culture the verge of loss is mastered by five old people of Wanwei Village inhabited by the Jing ethnic One of the main reasons why ‘A Bite of Chi- group. What does the director shoot such mate- na’ has become popular is that the editors have rials for? Is he propagandizing the skills that are

J Sociology Soc Anth, 10(1-3): 42-60 (2019) 52 JIANG YOUCHUN AND ROBERT G. TIAN about to disappear, or is he laying a foundation en is that there is no secret, because the land is for describing the following ocean fishing in selfless to humans and because humans all have Sanya? And is the purpose of the filmmakers, deep love for delicious food. just as Robert Flahadi’s classic anthropological However, the secrets outside the kitchen film Nanook of the North about the hunting of have gradually become the focus of attention in polar bears in Nanuk, solely to describe the tra- recent years. Many people began to reflect on ditional fishing skill? It is also in “Gifts from their attitude towards problem food from the Nature” that there was originally a story of Badu documentary. Especially in the past decade, Bamboo Shoots in Tianlin County, Guangxi. Be- there have been toxic milk powder, problematic cause of the overall drought in Tianlin County, milk, swill-cooked dirty oil, genetically modified the bamboo shoots were badly harvested, and rice, and viral meat and vegetables. The reason the hero of the story could only collect bamboo is that industrialization and marketization make shoots in the lower humid areas of the forest. the transformation from original materials to food But the story was finally deleted by the director simplified by diners subjectively. Compared with because it was not glamorous when it came to other important matters in life, food is reduced drought (Nanfang Metropolis Daily 2012). It was to a position like “consumables”. As a result, a natural disaster, but in ‘A Bite of China’, it was the manufacturers in the food production and deliberately concealed because it was not in line supply links have abandoned the quality as a with the national arid climate at that time. It is premise of operation but taken “profit-seeking” like a beautiful flower, while the filmmakers just as the sole purpose (Wang 2012: 32). keep sticking beautiful petals close to the audi- So, when ‘A Bite of China’ was hot on the air, ence, dazzling their eyes. But the leaves, stems the restaurants in the society did not offer as and roots of the flower are inadvertently con- natural, healthy and pollution-free food as dis- cealed, which may make the audience subcon- played in the documentary. On contrast, when sciously think that we only get gifts from na- having a dinner, we always avoid these prob- ture, rather than disasters. So, the value of such lems because of the banquet or the need for cultural product in guiding the audience to rec- entertaining guests, so the culinary culture rep- ognize reality deserves our doubts. resented by ‘A Bite of China’ shows the images that are artificially processed. After viewing the Secrets Outside the Kitchen visual feast and taste experience it brings, the audience is more concerned about reflecting on ‘A Bite of China’ devotes a special episode the logic of eating. That is, when the harmoni- to the secrets hidden in the kitchen of the Chi- ous ecological view advocated by the Chinese nese culinary culture. The episode is mainly to culture encounters the market economy, why do compare with the western culinary style of raw businessmen choose to focus on their interests, food and individual serving. Chinese cuisine resulting in the proliferation of toxic food? As pays more attention to color, fragrance, taste, for the reasons for the problems, Wang Si, a look and utensils, and has experienced three scholar, argues that it is mainly because of the important leaps in boiling, steaming and stir-fry- serious lack of food education (Shi 2009). The ing through the long-term accumulation in his- association “food education” was first proposed tory. It also evolves into the ways of frying in by Sagen Ishizuka, a Japanese health scientist, deep oil, stewing, braising, frying in shallow oil, in his work Ways to Preserve Health by Food in and roasting, while it also attaches importance 1897. He believes that “Physical education, in- to the matching of duration of heating, materials tellectual education and talent education are food and seasoning, which leads to a variety of Chi- education.” In 2005, the Japanese Parliament nese culinary cultures. And all these secrets are adopted the Basic Law on Food Education, which hidden in the kitchen of China. As the film says, implements food education as a national policy “Secrets of the Kitchen, on the surface, is the art and popularizes it in families, schools and even of water and fire. To put it bluntly, it is nothing the whole society. Therefore, the definition of more than a harmonious relationship between food education involves two aspects. On the man and nature. The ultimate secret of the kitch- one hand, it is the foundation of survival, in-

J Sociology Soc Anth, 10(1-3): 42-60 (2019) ANTHROPOLOGICAL THOUGHTS ON THE CHINESE CULINARY CULTURE 53 tellectual education, moral education and phys- age make it possible to carry on the exchange of ical education. On the other hand, through a culinary cultures among various regions. For variety of experiences, people can acquire knowl- example, today we can find, for example, today edge about “food” and the ability to choose we can see seafood, shark fins and abalone in “food” and cultivate people who can live a life high-end restaurants in Tibet. Beijing, with a healthy diet.) It is obviously difficult to and Guangzhou are also a collection of famous promote and publicize food education in China. snacks from all over the country, traditional dish- We can only regulate the behavior of traders in es of all nationalities, all the major styles of cook- society by means of moral restraint and legal sanc- ing in China and even the themed restaurants tion. After reaching a certain stage, the Chinese with foreign styles of cooking. people will no longer worry about the secrets out- As is known to all, the banquet form of these side the kitchen with the help of food education high-end restaurants is either a business ban- quet or a government reception, while few sala- but continue to inherit the secrets in the kitchen. ried persons are likely to have dinner there. Now- adays, culinary cultures are exchanged in vari- Misunderstandings in Culinary Culture ous regions, but the local people still inherit the local culinary culture that has been passed down As the production crew of ‘A Bite of China’ for hundreds or even thousands of years in Chi- introduced, “Many of the concepts we have been na and even in most countries of the world. The accustomed to are deduced only when we really meaning of such cultural form is consistent with get to the field (Nanfang Metropolis Daily that of the human behavior in filling the stom- 2012).” For example, when filming the episode ach based on the local resources in the primitive “Secrets of the Kitchen”, we subconsciously stage, which agrees with the cultural significance assumed that the Roast Whole Lamb tasted best, in the traditional saying in China that “Those while we never considered steaming or boiling living on a mountain live off the mountain, those it. The people in the grassland, living near the water live off the water-make use selected by the production crew usually boil the of local resources.” mutton in clear water and then add a little salt, which is known as boiled mutton or hand-to- Anthropological Deconstruction of chase mutton. In the authors’ view, the Roast ‘A Bite of China’ Whole Lamb is the main method of mutton cook- ing in pastoral areas, while we ignore the lack of Deconstruction refers to the creation of impure wood resources on grasslands and the difficul- structural forms through destruction, to enrich the ty of lighting up a bonfire. It is concluded that deconstructed object. The possible sign is that in the whole sheep roasted by bonfire is deduced the confrontation with global integration and in- by the Han people themselves, rather than the ternational standards, the cultures of the region, way that the Mongolian people eat the lamb. the nationality, the history and the individual are made meaningful in today’s world, even if it is only The broadcasting of ‘A Bite of China’, in reflected in fragments. After the 1980s, it seemed addition to describing the acquisition of food that there was not such a major theoretical school materials and the way food is cooked, has ac- as structuralism, functionalism and cultural psy- cordingly popularized some culinary misunder- chological school emerging in the circles of an- standings to the public. Regional culinary cul- thropological studies. From this period onwards, ture must be consistent with the local ecological the anthropological theoretical research has grad- environment, history, humanities, society and ually reflected, criticized, questioned and inherited economy, which is true in history at least. In the the existing theoretical schools. primitive stage of human beings, the cultural transformation from raw food to cooked food is Field in ‘A Bite of China’ due to the accidental use of fire by human be- ings, so that people paid attention to collecting The field in the eyes of Bourdieu and Wac- and storing the kindling after that to cook the quant (1992), can first be conceived as a rela- raw local food (animals and plants). It is sure tively independent social space defined by some that modern means of transportation and stor- specific principles, while each field has its own

J Sociology Soc Anth, 10(1-3): 42-60 (2019) 54 JIANG YOUCHUN AND ROBERT G. TIAN unique values and regulatory principles. These ing, harvesting, fishing and so on, or in steam- principles define a space constructed by the ing, boiling, stewing, roasting, frying in shallow society. Second, field is an active space full of oil, frying in deep oil and other ways of cooking, conflict and competition. Third, field is a rela- so that the audience can deeply understand the tional system consisting of a series of objective clear context of narration. In addition, such a and historical relations between various posi- description process also achieves the purpose tions attached to a certain form of power (or of displaying the local culture where the cuisine capital) (Bourdieu and Wacquant 1992: 138 - 145). is quite popular. Regardless of the regional flow Here we still take Zhuoma and her mother who of food materials or cuisine, the gathering of collected matsutake from Episode 1 “Gifts from snack culture to cities has formed a new sort of Nature” as an example. They live in Shangri-la local culinary knowledge in the exchange and County inhabited by the Tibetan ethnic group, integration of cultures among various regions. where they inherit the ecological view of harmo- For example, a story goes for the formation of nious coexistence between and Huaiyang cuisine in ‘A Bite of China’. Many nature, so that they can get gifts from nature. merchants moved to to earn a fortune There is also competition among farmers who by trading salt, and they brought from their home collect matsutake, which comes from the “gen- towns local cooks, foods and flavour, which erous” returns brought by matsutake. In addi- created the neutral taste of Huayang dishes, mild tion, the operation of the local market has made and pleasant, acceptable to both the northerners matsutake a valuable food incorporated into the and southerners. Compared with similar documen- global economic system, as it is exported to Ja- taries on culinary culture on CCTV and the large- pan within three days as mentioned in the film. scale cooking reality shows like Chinese Cook- The substantial number of matsutake collectors ing, the gap is that they focus on individuals but in Shangri-la County, represented by Zhuoma neglect the cultural and social significance be- and her mother, live in the cultural circles within hind the cuisines. At the same time, Chinese Cook- the field of the Tibetan people, but are involun- ing is a live reality show, involving certain per- tarily involved in the world economy. And the formances, which is known as ritual performance reason for this is that the highly valuable mat- in anthropology. sutake functions as the intermediary. Cuisine and Ethnic Boundaries In-depth Description of Knowledge concerning Local Culinary Culture It is generally believed that, to determine an ethnic group, clothing, language and food are Clifford James Geertz believes that cultural all one of the cultural representations, but food analysis is an explanatory subject of exploring is not the most important. In addition, the bound- the significance, rather than an experimental sci- aries of ethnic groups are very vague and inter- ence of exploring the law. He believes that cul- mingled, so that several factors are required to ture is neither a force nor a cause of social events, determine the boundaries (Xu et al. 2005: 85). actions, institutions or processes, but a social Taking the description of Lanzhou Hand-pulled phenomenon that can be clearly described in it, Noodles in ‘A Bite of China’ as an example, it which is a deeply described context, while its has triggered some reflections on the relation- purpose is to explain the seemingly mysterious ship between Muslim cuisine and their identity. social expressions (Geertz 1999: 5-16). On the For example, Hui, the primary ethnic group of surface, ‘A Bite of China’ displays the descrip- Chinese Muslims, is also a highly sinicized eth- tion of food materials and cuisines, but in fact, it nic group, and she has no national language of is to describe the social culture, historical cul- her own, and her dress and lifestyle have been ture and ecological culture hidden behind the gradually sinicized, while the Hui people are wide- cuisine in depth. Although its presentation is a ly distributed in China. As far as today’s Hui patchwork of fragmented shots, it is really de- people in China are concerned, because of the scribed as a process or an event, whether in the limitations of their work and study, most of them way to acquire food materials by picking, plant- have not been engaged in any religious affairs,

J Sociology Soc Anth, 10(1-3): 42-60 (2019) ANTHROPOLOGICAL THOUGHTS ON THE CHINESE CULINARY CULTURE 55 such as going to church or chanting scriptures. Visual anthropology is a discipline that ex- The only feature hidden in their own hearts that presses the principles of anthropology, records, distinguishes them from the Han people is the and exhibits and interprets the culture of a group Muslim cuisine that the Hui nationality has al- or attempts to establish cross-cultural compari- ways adhered to. Muslim cuisine refers to the sons by means of images and videos (Zhuang beef and mutton slaughtered by hand after the 2008). As early as the late 1980s, Dr. Tian Guang, Amani chants scriptures, and it has become the an expert in applied anthropology of the Hui last baseline for Hui people to distinguish them- nationality in China, and his wife, Wang Hong, selves from non-Muslim people. However, in the translated and introduced Visual Ethnology, the popular Muslim cuisine, Hui Muslims do not monograph by Professor Karl G.Heider of the show their ethnic identity in this way. United States, to the academic circles in China, Instead, for the Hui people, when having a which was the first work to introduce the visual dinner in restaurants, many of them show their ethnology of the United States in mainland Chi- ethnic identity and feel assured to see a sign na. Professor Heider’s monograph is a success- writing Muslim, bottles, and the Shahada that ful work with both theoretical and practical sig- there is no God, but Allah and Mohammed nificance. The book focuses on how to fully ex- are his messenger, the huge photos of the pil- press the connotation of ethnology by means grimage to Mecca and other Muslim symbols. of film and television to make the films more eth- As for whether the restaurant chefs are Mus- nological, while discussing various theoretical lims or whether cattle and sheep have been and practical issues put forward in the process slaughtered, they do not intentionally care about of the development of visual ethnology in an that. Muslim cuisine is the only significant na- all-round way and elaborating on the ways to tional characteristic of modern Hui Muslims in produce ethnological films (Li 1990: 57). China. Therefore, the case of Hui Muslims seems Subsequently, many anthropologists in to illustrate from another aspect that culinary mainland China, including Zhuang Kongshao culture plays an extremely significant role in pro- (2008) and Li Dejun (1990), have studied and viding references for the definition of ethnic filmed several anthropological films. The major boundaries. of visual anthropology was set up Peking Uni- versity, Yunnan University and Lanzhou Uni- An Interpretation of Visual Anthropology versity, so that there have been a considerable in ‘A Bite of China’ number of studies on visual anthropology and academic groups in mainland China. The documentary ‘A Bite of China’, through Unlike the traditional textual culinary ethnog- various aspects of Chinese cuisine, fully dem- raphies, ‘A Bite of China’ is based on culinary onstrates the traditions and realities from the culture to display and disseminate the Chinese cultural aspects that food brings to the Chinese culinary culture by means of shooting ethno- people, such as rituals of life, national customs graphical films to present a culture constructed and ethics. It has witnessed several special food under the camera. It is a way to express culinary materials in China and a series of cultural ele- culture between textbook discussion and on-site ments that are related to food and constitute the observation, which not only transcends the tra- characteristics of Chinese cuisine. While lead- ditional textual presentation in the form of text- ing the audience to understand the beauty and book but is also inferior to the audience’s expe- long history of Chinese culinary culture, it has rience on the site. It is displayed in the form of created a model for large-scale culinary documen- images between these two modes of expression, taries. The culinary documentary has not only which not only achieves the goal of populariz- become a model for people to experience the Chi- ing the Chinese cuisine culture, but also allows nese culinary culture visually, but also a film and the audience to lose their minds in visual and television work in the way that the content is sensory aspects. presented, which naturally makes it possible for ‘A Bite of China’, a documentary on culinary us to interpret the Chinese culinary culture from culture, shows China’s rich and colorful food the perspective of visual anthropology. materials in an all-round way, from the aspects

J Sociology Soc Anth, 10(1-3): 42-60 (2019) 56 JIANG YOUCHUN AND ROBERT G. TIAN of spatial geography, climate differences, time episodes are devoted to the elaboration of culi- changes, growth environment and so on. It con- nary culture in various regions of China and are sists of seven episodes with the themes of “Gifts all based on the key words in the theme, such as from Nature”, “The Story of Staple Foods”, “In- highlighting “gifts” in Episode 1 Gifts from Na- spiration for Change”, “The Taste of Time”, and ture. The key points are also depicted in proper “Secrets of the Kitchen”, “A Perfect Blend of balance, as it just highlights the diverse dietary Five Flavors”, and “Our Farm”. Focusing on the patterns in China despite a large span in time key words of “gifts”, “staple foods”, “change”, and space. Lens mostly focuses on the way to and “time”, “kitchen”, “blend” and “farm”, it viv- obtain materials and the process how the mate- idly depicts the dazzling Chinese cuisines in the rials turn into dishes by chefs. Close-up and form of montage. Next, the play scripts of the telephoto lenses are combined. Some, from first two episodes will be presented in the form close-up lens, display the meticulous skills of of text, and then it will be analyzed from the per- the chef when materials are cooked into dishes spective of visual anthropology. to visually stimulate the customers’ multiple as- China is the earliest country to cultivate rice sociations on the transformation and formation in the world, with a history of about 7,000 years. of the delicious food contained in the materials, Rice is mainly grown in the south of the Yangtze to stimulate people’s taste buds through nerves, River Basin and the Northeast China Plain in thus stimulating their appetite. Some show the China, and a small amount of rice is also grown difficulty of obtaining food materials from the in Plain, Ningxia. It has become the telephoto lens, such as the process of collect- staple food for more than 65 percent of Chinese ing matsutake in the primary forests and the people. The fine species of wheat, which origi- workers digging a large area of lotus roots out in nated in West Asia, were introduced from Hexi Jiayu, Hubei Province. In the acquisition and Corridor to Central Plains. During the localiza- production of food materials or a dish that is tion for about 4,000 years, it has become the influential in some region, it takes the civilian most widely planted crop in Northern China and class, either families or individuals, and starts become the primary staple food for the north- with a simple story, leading the audience to seek erners. Planting traditions in the South and North for delicious food. have led to the culinary pattern of staple food in When displaying the materials or cooking the south and north of China today. dishes, the documentary also attaches impor- The directors of ‘A Bite of China’ show us a tance to depicting the living environment, life- gluttonous feast in vision. The brilliant Chinese style and spiritual pursuit of the grass-roots culinary culture is bred by the changeable natu- class. The scenes are cut and edited very clear- ral geographical environment in China. While ly, rather than the messy scenes in other docu- benefiting from nature, the Chinese people strict- mentaries, and the scene is so real that can drive ly abide by the conventions with nature, so that the taste resonance of diners in an image record the Chinese culinary culture can have such a of food. The process of making each dish is more long history. Therefore, the documentary deto- like calling the taste memory of the diners nated the documentary market in China in 2012, through the image-based culinary ethnography. became a rare fine work in the mainland docu- Such memory may exist in a specific stage of mentary market, and won the title of Wild China each diner in life, and thus the call of the specific on the Tongue Tip in the BBC edition. More- dish for the diner’s specific life memory has tran- over, the authors believe that this documentary scended the food itself and become the true is also a rare masterpiece in visual anthropology portrayal and resonance of personal feelings and in China recently, especially in the visual eth- memory. Human beings learn to cook raw food, nography of food. For the reasons, it can be to be good at cooperating with each other, to be concretely analyzed as follows from the perspec- delighted to share food, and to express their feel- tive of visual anthropology. ings and identities with food. These above are First, each episode has its own theme, prom- the wisdom of human beings living with nature, inent focus, meticulous scenes, skillful cutting, and that of getting along with each other in the vivid characters and complete narrative. Seven group. People inherit the dietary civilization

J Sociology Soc Anth, 10(1-3): 42-60 (2019) ANTHROPOLOGICAL THOUGHTS ON THE CHINESE CULINARY CULTURE 57 generation after generation, with the gratitude and festival culture, and the ecological tacit un- to gifts from nature and the respect to the wis- derstanding between ethnic groups and nature dom of human beings (Wang 2012: 31-32). from multiple dimensions of culture. As a result, Second, with the rapid development of ca- to a certain extent, ‘A Bite of China’ shows Chi- tering industry, there are diversified needs for na’s agricultural culture, ecological culture and food and drinks. Problems in food safety fre- food culture from the perspective of cuisine. quently occur, and the public is eager for the Third, literary voice-overs are simple but sin- original and non-toxic food. Cuisine is slowly cere, with the narrative style of foiling the grand publicized as a culture. Since the reform and culinary culture from the perspective of the grass- opening up, the market economy has acquired roots class. The voice-overs in ‘A Bite of China’ the reallocation of resources. In the past, the have great force of emotional penetration, from dishes that were exclusive to the privileged be- which the viewer can be touched with the deep- gan to be shared by the public, such as the pal- est emotions. As in the episode “The Taste of ace banquets entering the streets in cities from Time”, the voice-over goes that “It’s the taste of the tables of the nobles to accept the public. salt, mountain, wind and cloud and the taste of Moreover, many civilian dishes have begun to time and love. In a long time, it has incorporated become special snacks or become brands in cit- people’s affection for homeland and folks as well ies, such as (Marinated Meat in Baked as human’s virtue of thrift and perseverance. Bun), Lanzhou Hand-pulled Noodles and Yan- After passing by the tip of the tongue, the com- grou Paomo. Regardless of the privileged and bined taste reaches deep in heart.” The dub- the civilians, the dishes in both aspects have bing, combined with the smiles of the represen- flowed to the communities in cities. Finally, tative characters of cuisines in this episode, streets in cities become where there are all the makes people feel the beauty and hope of life cuisines, the dishes from various regions, and and the success and joy of harvest. The second all kinds of snacks, thereby developing a plural- half of the sentence matches the magnificence istic culinary culture in the city. of the natural landscape in the picture. The voice- As for the frequent problems in food safety, over helps the narration of the picture very well, toxic milk powder, swill-cooked dirty oil, lean meat sublimates the subject of the picture, promotes powder, genetically modified rice and other prob- the ideological significance of the picture, and lems have been frequently disclosed, thus be- achieves the unity of the voice-over and the coming the greatest worries of the public in food. picture (Xiong and Chen 2012: 87-88). ‘A Bite of China’ strives to become originally ‘A Bite of China’ presents the acquisition ecological on the way to acquire materials and process of each kind of food or the cooking pro- cook dishes, so that the audience may subcon- cess of each dish through a separate story, such sciously think that it is true, while the non-toxic as Zhuoma and her mother who collect mat- food becomes the most desired among the pub- sutake, Maorong and Shengwu who dig lotus lic. The Chinese culinary culture has a long his- roots out in late autumn, and Huang Guosheng, tory, but there is hardly any image in the form of an old man in Northern Shaanxi who sells the documentary that displays culinary ethnogra- Yellow Steamed Buns, and so on. The daily life phy of the Chinese culinary culture from a pan- of these people living at the grass-roots level is oramic view and the anthropological study of their creation of delicious food. Through the sto- Chinese cuisines is still in its infancy. The pub- ries of these amiable characters, they are organ- lic’s understanding of cuisine almost rests on ically connected with the delicious food as the the taste, seldom understanding the Chinese media. With the switch between close-up lenses culinary culture in an all-round way. In such a and telephoto lenses, their living conditions are social and cultural context, the well-made docu- displayed in a panoramic perspective. With the mentary ‘A Bite of China’, with the key words help of the plain civilian language, the docu- focusing on culinary culture, introduces the cu- mentary mostly focuses on the sources of food linary cultures of various ethnic groups, as well and the stories of the people who make food, as reflects the food-making ceremony of ethnic while introducing local customs, practices and groups, the folk customs of residential culture habits, ritual behavior, folk festivals and ethnic

J Sociology Soc Anth, 10(1-3): 42-60 (2019) 58 JIANG YOUCHUN AND ROBERT G. TIAN differences that are reflected through these culi- culinary culture and the political and economic nary differences from one aspect of food. outlook of China and the traditional view of eco- ‘A Bite of China’ pursues the natural and logical civilization in China from the perspective inherent aspects of life and pays attention to of culinary culture. ‘A Bite of China’ consists of the ordinary roles in life to reflect the times from seven episodes, which are almost related to all a micro point of view (Xiong and Chen 2012: 88). kinds of food for the ethnic groups living in It is especially manifested in the ending of each China. There are both Han and other ethnic mi- episode, where there are the simple and honest norities, the groups living on the grassland and smiles of the workers who harvest food and cook on the coastal areas, and those living on the food in the episode, and the lens goes from near plateau and on the plain, and both the review of to afar and slows down, showing the most natu- history and the innovation of the current cui- ral and sincere smiles. Such form of manifesta- sines, thereby becoming a living culinary visual tion makes it possible for the relevant cuisine ethnography of contemporary China. Diverse and the regional culinary culture that it repre- dishes in the documentary are either a mature sents to express itself in the normal culture of way of livelihood, or a fine art and commodity, each ethnic group, and to become an alien cul- or just a meal to satisfy the taste buds of the ture highly recognized among the public. The diners. Of course, it is based on its ultimate viewers also take their inherent culinary culture results. (or culinary food), which is known as we-group In the process of cooking food, we can find culture here. When presenting the culinary cul- the relationship between man, external factors ture in ‘A Bite of China’, it also includes eating (condiments, fire, cooking utensils, etc.), food habits, eating rituals, and lifestyle, geographical materials and dishes. There may be some con- and ecological environment, which is known as nection between man and the outside world in they-group culture here. the process of cooking the materials into dish- When watching the documentary, the view- es. Such connection may be either entangled in ers will unconsciously compare we-group cul- the above-mentioned modes and embodied in ture with they-group culture to a certain degree. the value of food, cooking skills, food memory, There may be two situations. One is that their or separated from the above-mentioned modes culinary culture highly accords with that of they- and embodied in the pursuit of economic inter- group from some angle, which is embodied in ests, the inheritance of culinary culture of the the awakening of the viewer’s “culinary memo- groups, and the distinction of ethnic boundaries. ry”, becoming an important aspect to capture In addition, when introducing how to acquire the viewer’s enthusiasm for watching the docu- the food materials, the visual ethnography un- mentary. The other is that there is no intersec- consciously shows the traditional ecological tion between their culinary culture and that of concept of the Chinese people concerning the they-group, which also satisfies the public’s harmony between man and nature. For example, curiosity-seeking mentality. At the same time, it in Episode 1, after Zhuoma collects matsutake, is also the purpose of the traditional anthropo- she will cover up the fungus pit with pine nee- logical research on satisfying people’s curiosity dles so that the hyphae will be free from being about alien cultures, which is reflected in the destroyed. In addition, the chief fisherman in film of culinary visual ethnography. When the Chagan Lake of Jilin Province fishes with the public’s novelty-seeking psychology is satisfied, net that has meshes of 20 cm in diameter, and the documentary takes the narrative skills of small only traps the fish over five years old. In these stories and common characters, together with the two cases, the rules in the forests and the strict tension of the language and voice on the image rule that has been passed down for generations to sublimate the content to be expressed in the show why the Chinese people can obtain gifts documentary itself. Instead, it presents us a rich from nature for a long time, which depends en- and colorful culinary culture from the perspec- tirely on the ancient and profound ecological tive of culinary visual ethnography. wisdom of the Chinese people, an ecological Fourth, the content is accurate and compre- view concerning the harmony between man and hensive, panoramically presenting the Chinese nature.

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Fifth, it uses modern shooting techniques, Huaiyang cuisine has enabled the audience to and the perfect switch between close-up lenses have a deeper understanding of the profound and telephoto lenses, between theme and historical and cultural integration of Huaiyang groundwork, and the tiny but exquisite recom- cuisine, coupled with a distance view of the old mendations in the form of direct cinema on the walls and old streets in Yangzhou and the full- culinary cultures with prominent regional differ- length shot of China Huaiyang Cuisine Culture ences in China. Museum. ‘A Bite of China’ sent a director team to col- Cinema verite is also called direct cinema. lect materials in more than 70 shooting sites Such movies guarantee the enhancement of the throughout the country at the beginning of realistic effect by capturing the unmodified shooting and got fully prepared for the shoot- events in the daily life of specific characters and ing. In shooting, in addition to the use of more their direct and frank influence (Li 2007: 33). ‘A advanced international cameras, montage-style Bite of China’ is in conformity with the narrative picture editing and image composition put the form of direct cinema. For example, when the rice images on the acquisition of food materials and noodles from , Guizhou Province the cooking of dishes into an integrated whole are introduced in the episode “The Story of Sta- by juxtaposing or superimposing, which allows ple Foods”, the daily life of Yang Xiuxia, an ordi- the viewers to perceive culinary cultures in dif- nary woman, is recorded in a panoramic way ferent regions from various angles. Besides, ‘A without any processing. When making rice noo- Bite of China’ describes the process of food ac- dles, Yang Xiuxia and her husband first grind quisition and cooking by means of close-up lens the dipped fresh rice into rice milk, scoop out in a unified manner, such as the shooting of the the milk and steam it on the boiling water, air dry cutting skills and the scene that the tofu is cut it and store it. After the series of processes, rice into filaments and drifted in water in the intro- noodles are made. Most of the food production duction to Wensi Tofu. The telephoto lens is in ‘A Bite of China’ relies on the daily life of the used to depict the local humanities, historical ordinary people. Even when filming the world- and social environment in the introduction to famous chefs abroad, it also uses the approach- local culinary culture. The switch between tele- able shooting techniques to close the distance photo lenses and close-up lenses is processed with the audience, to grasp the audience’s psy- in a smooth and tactful manner. chological convergence and awareness, so that In terms of theme and groundwork, in the the influence of the film is further strengthened. episode “Secrets of the Kitchen”, for example, From another point of view, the documentary the social and cultural background of develop- relies on gratitude, yearning, nostalgia, memory, ing Huaiyang cuisine is explained in detail be- intolerance, diligence, thrift and other feelings fore its introduction. “Yangzhou was once the to present the lives of all ordinary people, and it most important stop on the Beijing-Hangzhou is recognized by the public based on the tradi- Grand Canal which brought the city a cultural tional and memorable symbols. charm integrating the north with the south. Hun- dreds of years ago, when Yangzhou was the hub CONCLUSION of the salt trade in China, many merchants moved here to earn a fortune by trading salt. They The production of ‘A Bite of China’ subverts brought from their hometowns local cooks, foods the views of the traditional visual ethnological and flavor, which created the neutral taste of films or visual anthropological films. Ethnologi- Huaiyang dishes, mild and pleasant, acceptable cal films must follow the basic spirit of the com- to both the northerners and southerners. Salt pleteness criteria of complete body, complete traders were rich, but they never had a place in behavior (or complete event) and complete char- politics, so they devoted themselves to compar- acter, so as to reproduce the integrity of charac- ing their gardeners and chefs. The influence of ters, environment and events in the context of it can still be tasted from certain types of haute complete culture and truly reveal the cultural cuisine today.” The introduction of the social links among characters, environment and events, and historical background of the formation of as well as the internal relationship between them

J Sociology Soc Anth, 10(1-3): 42-60 (2019) 60 JIANG YOUCHUN AND ROBERT G. TIAN and the entire cultural background. It is displayed Fetteman DM 2007. Ethnography: Step-by-Step. Chi- in ‘A Bite of China’ that each dish is a cultural na: University Press. Geertz CJ 1999. The Interpretation of Cultures. (Trans. slice, supplemented by the description of the his- by Naran Bilik). China: Shanghai People’s Publishing torical, humanistic and social environment. More- House. over, it allows the audience to learn about the He M, Fan S 2013. A Nostalgia, Various Interpretations: macro cultural topics from the stories of culinary An Analysis of the Popularity of ‘A Bite of China’ from culture in small places, which is the most impor- the Perspective of Culture. From (Retrieved on 20 June 2019). Heider KG 1990. Visual Ethnology. (Trans. by Guang pological film, has been widely appreciated. Tian and Hong Wang). China: Minzu University Press. Guang Ming Daily Reporter 2012. Review: Highlights in RECOMMENDATIONS China’s Cultural Industry in the First Half of 2012. From (Retrieved on 16 June 2018). of China’, deconstructs it from the perspective Li D 1990. A new discipline urgently to be developed – Review of Visual Ethnology. Journal of the Central of traditional anthropology, and interprets it from University for Nationalities, 1990(3): 56-58. the perspective of visual anthropological films. Li G 2007. Cultural Interpretation of Visual Anthro- When understanding the Chinese culinary cul- pology. China: Yunnan Normal University Press. ture, we should not superficially think that it is Nanfang Metropolis Daily 2012. Directors Expose the only the experience of human beings in visual Secrets of A Bite of China: To Show Ordinary People. and taste nerves but should also have a pro- From (Retrieved on 26 June 2018). found knowledge of the anthropological, socio- Niu M, Li L 2012. A New Exploration of the Cultural logical and cultural knowledge behind culinary Charm of Bite of China. Guang Ming Daily, May 28, cultures, including rituals, ethnic groups, reli- P. 3. gions, nationalities, history, ecology, social strat- Ohm J 2016. Multimedia Content Analysis. Berlin ification, binary opposition of cuisine, econom- Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag. ic circles and so on. The recognition in these Shi Y 2009. Food education in Japan. Food and Nutri- tion in China, 2009(10): 6-9. aspects will enable us to understand the simple Tian RG, Tian, K, Zhao, DD, Wang CH 2018. Food but meaningful culinary behaviors from multiple cultures in China: From social political perspectives. dimensions. Cuisine is a cultural behavior, and Trames: Journal of Humanities and Social Scienc- the transformation from raw food to cooked food es, 22(4): 345-364. is the process of nature to culture when human Wang S 2012. The Blue Taste of Chinese: A Bite of China viewed from the perspective of Anthropolo- beings first learnt how to cook. In addition, from gy. Cuisine Journal of Yangzhou University, 2012(3): the perspective of communication between Chi- 30-33. nese and Western culinary cultures, we should Weber RP 1990. Basic Content Analysis. 2nd Edition. also ponder over how to break through the Newbury Park, California: Sage Publications Ltd. mighty attach of foreign fast food culture and Wolcott F 1997. Ethnography research in education. In: RM Jaeger (Ed.): Complementary Method for give a new life to the traditional culinary culture Research in Education. Washington, DC: American in China. Educational Research Association, pp. 77-92 Xiong M, Chen Q 2012. On the popularization trend ACKNOWLEDGEMENT of documentaries – A case study of A Bite of China. Film Review, 2012(14): 86-88. Thanks to the National Philosophy and So- Xu X, Wang M, Wang Q et al. 2005. Catering culture and ethnic boundary- Conversation about catering cial Sciences Fund Project of P. R. China for the Anthropology. Journal of Guangxi University for support entitled “A Study of the Cultural Inher- Nationalities: Social Science Edition, 2005(6): 83- itance and Creativity in the Reaches of Yuan 89. River (18BMZ066).” Zhang W 2012. The way to success of the documenta- ry “A Bite of China”. Modern Audio-Video Arts, 2012(8): 62-64. REFERENCES Zhuang K 2008. What is Visual Anthropology? China: Gazette of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Bourdieu P, Wacquant LD 1992. An Invitation to Re- flexive Sociology. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Paper received for publication in May, 2019 Press. Paper accepted for publication in June, 2019

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