Yin and Yang of Classical Chinese Cuisine ......................................

Lecture 8

S

ome cultures have strong, complex culinary traditions, and others
don’t. There are two underlying factors that help establish culinary
traditions, but are not absolutely essential: a variety of ingredients,
either grown or imported and marketed, that can be obtained by a good
proportion of the population; and long, stable kingdoms or relative peace
and prosperity over a long period, during which culinary techniques can
develop and become perfected. In this lecture, you will learn why China has
one of the longest and most complex culinary traditions on Earth.

Chinese Dynasties and the Development of Culinary Art
 You need at least one of the following three conditions for culinary
art to develop:
○ You need a strong tradition of the family and household as
the basic unit of production—ideally, an extended household
in which members of many generations live together and pass
down cooking techniques from generation to generation. In
China, the family, fi lial piety, obedience to parents, respect for
the elderly, and even ancestor worship mean that food customs
and cooking techniques got passed down for centuries, and
respect for old ways meant that they changed little over time
but could be perfected.

○ Another possibility is a vibrant court culture, involving a

concentration of wealth, usually involving autocratic rule by

an emperor or king, patronage networks, and a certain degree

of social mobility. Other wealthy people would imitate the

court, and its customs would circulate. In China, an extensive

court culture and access to it as a state employee, priest, or

soldier spread the imperial cuisine—even if it could never be

as elaborate and grand.