Literary Banquet -- Selected Essays on Food and Beauty: Spine or cover may have flaws

Author: Jiao Tong
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-05-01
Features: In the nostalgia essays of Chinese literati in the 20th century, "food from the hometown" is an eternal theme. The literati left their hometowns and wandered in foreign lands, able to express their memories of individual taste only through writing. In the natural connection between nostalgia and food, they highlighted their adherence to traditional culture. Liang Shiqiu's douzhi'er (a Beijing snack), Tang Lujun's wanhua (green bean paste), Zhang Xiaofeng's sour plum soup, and Dong Qiao's cold dressed vegetable dishes are mostly everyday foods elevated to elegance. The literati either quoted ancient texts or expressed their deep affection for their hometown's cuisine. In discussing taste and savoring, they embodied the precious spirit of the common people. In the relationship between taste and language, they played with the charm of Chinese language and culture! To speak of taste, to savor it, to gain from it, to savor it again—reminiscing about the nostalgia essays of Chinese literati in the 20th century, "food from the hometown" is an eternal theme. The literati left their hometowns and wandered in foreign lands, able to express their memories of individual taste only through writing. In the natural connection between nostalgia and food, they highlighted their adherence to traditional culture. Liang Shiqiu's douzhi'er (a Beijing snack), Tang Lujun's wanhua (green bean paste), Zhang Xiaofeng's sour plum soup, and Dong Qiao's cold dressed vegetable dishes are mostly everyday foods elevated to elegance. The literati either quoted ancient texts or expressed their deep affection for their hometown's cuisine. In discussing taste and savoring, they embodied the precious spirit of the common people. In the relationship between taste and language, they played with the charm of Chinese language and culture! To speak of taste, to savor it, to gain from it, to savor it again.