Food in China A Cultural and Historical Inquiry

This volume is a study of Chinese food from a cultural and historical perspective. Its focus is on traditional China before establishment of the People's Republic. It identifies and provides comprehensive information on a broad range of Chinese food plants and animals for general readers, as well as for specialists whose interests have led them to questions relating to the food of China. Readers will find discussions regarding origins, how things came to be, time and place of food-plant and animal domestication, the spread of plants and animals from and to China, and other historical questions regarding the foods used by the Chinese people. The book is written with Canton and the southeast as points of departure, but embraces all of China and is directed towards people unfamiliar with China.

List of Illustrations. List of Tables. Maps of Provinces of China. Dynasties of China. Preface. Bibliographic Note. INTRODUCTION. Food in Chinese Thought and Culture. Major Regional Cuisines of China. FOODS UTILIZED. Cereals and Pulses. Roots and Tubers. Other Cultivated Vegetables. Seaweeds and Other Algae. Fruits. Edible Nuts, Nut-Like Fruits, and Seeds. Flesh and Fowl. Fish, Turtles and Tortoises. Eggs. Spices and Flavorings. Four Chinese Delicacies. Beverages, Including Dairy Products. Notes on Food and Nutrition and Health in Traditional China. Conclusion. References. 600 pp., hardcover, 1990, ISBN 0-8493-8804-4.Features: