A World History of Chinese Cuisine: Beyond Gastronomic Nationalism

As Chinese and Chinese-style cuisine spreads across the globe, how unique is Japanese Chinese cuisine? How did the formation of nation-states—a significant event in modern world history—change Asian cuisine and food culture? Driven by such simple questions, this book is the result of embarking on a "food journey" to various countries and persistently researching their histories.

In Part 1, we see that "Chinese cuisine" only took shape as a single culinary system relatively recently. In cities like Shanghai, the culinary capital during the Republic of China era, regional cuisines underwent rapid changes in popularity. In Beijing, which became the capital of the People's Republic of China in 1949, the essence of these cuisines was gathered to create dishes for state banquets and used in diplomacy. It was around this time that roast duck became world-famous as "Peking Duck." The convenient explanatory model of the "Four Great Cuisines" of China also finally appeared around the 1960s.

In the following Part 2, I focused on Chinese-style dishes that have become national foods in various Asian countries, comparing and verifying their formation processes. Singapore's chicken rice, Vietnam's pho, Thailand's pad thai, the Philippines' pancit, and South Korea's jajangmyeon are all "relatives" of Japanese ramen and are beloved in their respective countries. I sought to highlight the various political dynamics that were at work before these became national dishes.

Part 3 discusses the spread of Chinese cuisine in countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom. While unique developments in Chinese food culture can be seen in the US and Europe, issues related to racialized views of Chinese people and their culture also became apparent. On the other hand, it became clear that other Asian people, including Japanese Americans, played an indispensable role in the spread of Chinese cuisine.

Finally, in Part 4, I re-examined Japanese Chinese cuisine based on the world-historical perspective mentioned above. I wish to restrain the unconscious cultural nationalism seen in theories such as the Japanese origin of the lazy Susan. However, Japanese Chinese cuisine stands out for its historical richness, depth of penetration, and cultural diversity, deepening my desire to love, protect, and promote it just as much as Japanese cuisine.

A World History of Chinese Cuisine: Beyond Gastronomic Nationalism

Kazuhiro Iwama

Keio University Press

652 pages, 2,750 yen (tax included)

*Affiliations and titles are as of the time of publication.