Chinese dish, the Huaiyang flavor system

Author: Chen Suhua / Country: Mainland China
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-03-01
Features: The Huaiyang cuisine system is listed alongside the Sichuan, Shandong, and Cantonese cuisine systems as one of China's four major culinary systems. This is an undeniable and objective fact in the regional flavor classification of Chinese food culture. However, what exactly is the Huaiyang cuisine system? Its origins, content, and nature remain unclear to this day. Some people even avoid this widely accepted fact, and whenever it is mentioned, misunderstandings arise, leading to debates with no clear resolution. As a result, in regions with similar customs, climate, and natural products, new concepts of "cuisine systems" named from a local perspective have emerged in large numbers, creating barriers among them while forgetting the shared rules of food culture. Many such systems, such as the "Eight Great Cuisine Systems," "Twelve Great Cuisine Systems," or even "Thirty Great Cuisine Systems" or more, are actually interwoven with each other, belonging to the same food culture system. This has made it difficult to establish a clear and organized framework. Today, with the high development of both social and natural sciences, our research on major cuisine systems cannot be limited to a narrow time and space. Instead, we should examine the entire Huaiyang cuisine system within the broader cultural context and gain a clearer understanding through a broader perspective.
"Cuisine systems" are a unique phenomenon in food culture, representing a systematic and summary of people's understanding of this phenomenon. They are cultural category concepts that naturally form during this process of and summary. Simply put, a cuisine system is a sum and system of regional flavors and dishes, characterized by distinct differences that set it apart from other cuisine systems. Therefore, cuisine systems are the product of the relationship between natural regions and human origins; they are choices made by people to adapt to nature for survival, and they are the historical condensation of this adaptive process. They reflect the entire cultural history of human dietary habits, customs, and traditions in a natural region. Our research on cuisine systems aims to understand their patterns of inheritance, sharing, variation, and evolution, thereby accurately grasping the essence and characteristics of the outstanding cultural heritage of the Huaiyang cuisine system and better serving modern human dietary life.
1. The Ancient Huaiyang Cuisine System
The administrative divisions of Southeast China have changed over the centuries, but the natural geographical and climatic regions have remained constant throughout history. The concept of Huaiyang as a natural region originates from the Book of Documents (Shangshu·Yu Gong), which states, "The Huai River and the sea belong to the Yangzhou region." The Commentary explains that Yangzhou's location is "north of the Huai River and south of the sea." The Interpretation of Places (Er Ya·Shi Di) says, "The south of the Yangtze River is called Yangzhou." The Rites of Zhou also states, "The southeast is called Yangzhou." Here, "Huai" refers to the Huai River, "hai" refers to the sea (the East China Sea), and "Yang" refers to the Yangtze River. The Han River flows out of Panjiashan to Hankou and merges with the Min River, flowing eastward to the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River in present-day Yangzhou and Taizhou. This area was historically known as the Yangtze River. "Zhou" is synonymous with "zhou," referring to the land surrounded by water, later used as a regional term. The Book of Mao says, "Land that can be inhabited in water is called zhou." The Shuowen Jiezi states, "Zhou originally referred to an islet in water," and "In ancient times, Yao was flooded and lived on high land in water, hence the nine states of Zhou." The ancient character for "zhou" resembles water surrounding it on all sides.
The Book of Documents is China's oldest historical record, chronicling the ancient and Shang-Zhou dynasties, with its focus on the Central Plains. Based on the natural ecological conditions of the continent at that time—such as "mountains, forests, rivers, lakes, hills, marshes, and plains"—it divided the territory into nine regions: "Ji, Yun, Qing, Xu, Yang, Jing, Yu, Liang, and Yong." The legend of the nine bronze drums of the Xia Dynasty refers to this historical fact. The Yangzhou region mentioned here refers to a vast area centered on the Huai River to the south and the East China Sea to the west, along the Yangtze River basin. This region is located in the southeastern part of the continent, with the low and humid Jiangnan area as its core. The name "Yangzhou" vividly describes the topographical features of the southeastern region, which is characterized by abundant water and flat terrain. It is a vast regional concept that includes the entire East China region and parts of Central China, as well as the Penghu Islands, Taiwan, and the Zhoushan Archipelago. This region is composed of a main area and two auxiliary areas: the plain areas of the Huai River basin and the Yangtze River basin, the southeastern coastal region, and the surrounding low mountain and hilly areas. These regions are interconnected, with convenient transportation, similar climates, and close customs, forming a relatively independent natural ecological region. In China's comprehensive natural geographical division, it is generally classified as a single region. The name "Huaiyang" is a high-level summary of the natural ecological environment of this region.
Now, let's look at the administrative divisions. The name "Yangzhou" as an administrative region dates back to the fifth year of the Yuanfeng era (106 BC) during the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, when Yangzhou was one of the thirteen circuits, governing five commanderies and one kingdom, covering ninety-three counties, including Luijiang Commandery (Shu County, southern Anhui), Jiujiang Commandery (Shouchun, southern Anhui), Wuxi Commandery (Wuxi, Jiangsu), Danyang Commandery (Wannian, southern Anhui), Yuzhang Commandery (Nanchang, Jiangxi), and Lü'an Kingdom (Liu County, northern Anhui). Its scope was relatively large. During the Eastern Han Dynasty, the seat of the Yangzhou Circuit was located in Lixian, Shouchun, or Quao, governing six commanderies: Jiujiang, Danyang, Luijiang, Wuxi, Wu Commandery, and Yuzhang. At that time, most of the early administrative divisions of Fujian and Zhejiang were also under Wuxi and Wu Commandery. From the Wei to the Zhou dynasties, the seat was in Shouchun or Hefei. From the Wu to the Chen dynasties, it was in Jianye (Nanjing) or Wuxi, governing Danyang, Wu Commandery, Wuxi, Yuzhang, Luling, Poyang, Xindu, Linchuan, Linhai, Jian'an, Wuxing, and Dongyang commanderies, almost encompassing the southeastern coastal region and vast areas of Anhui and Jiangxi. The seat of the Yangzhou Circuit was established in present-day Yangzhou (Jiangdu and Jiangyang) in the ninth year of the Kaifeng era (589 AD) during the Sui Dynasty, when the Yangzhou General Command was established. In the ninth year of the Wude era (626 AD) during the Tang Dynasty, the Yangzhou Grand Protectorate was established, governing fourteen prefectures and commanderies, including Jiangdu, Chu, Chuzhou, Hezhou, Huozhou, Lü, Shu, Shou, Guang, Qi, Huang, Shen, An, and Mian. By the Southern Song Dynasty, Yangzhou was changed to Huainan Circuit, with its seat still in Jiangdu, governing Jiangdu, Chu, Chuzhou, Tai, Tong, Zhen, Dongan, Gaoyou, Huai'an, Zhaoxin, and Qinghe prefectures and commanderies.
After the Yuan Dynasty conquered the Song, it established the Jiangzhe Province in the former territory of Jiangdu, governing both the two Huai and the two Zhejiang regions, also known as Huadong Province or Yangzhou Province. In the twenty-first year of the Zhiyuan era (1274 AD), its seat was moved to Hangzhou, and it was called Jiangzhe Province. In the twenty-third year, it returned to Jiangdu and was still called Jianghuai Province. In the twenty-sixth year, it was moved to Hangzhou again. In the twenty-eighth year, the northern Jiangbei prefectures and commanderies were annexed into Henan Province, and it was again called Jiangzhe Province. In the third year of the Dade era (1299 AD), Fujian Province was abolished, and its territory was merged into it, covering vast areas of present-day Anhui, Jiangsu, Shanghai, Zhejiang, Fujian, and Jiangxi. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, due to the significant increase in population density, the administrative divisions were further refined. An Yangzhou Prefecture was established in the former city of Jiangdu, but at that time, Yangzhou was no longer the Yangzhou of the Yuan Dynasty. It only governed two counties, Jiangdu and Ganquan, and was an important prefectural-level administrative unit in Jiangsu Province at the time. Before the Yuan Dynasty, present-day Yangzhou was known as Hancheng, Guangling, or Jiangdu, and it was always the economic and cultural hub of the Yangzhou region and, after the Tang Dynasty, the seat of the Yangzhou administration. In 1949, the city of Yangzhou was officially established here.
Even considering the complex administrative relationships between the name "Yangzhou" and the southeastern provinces and cities over the centuries, it also illustrates the overall nature of the cultural history of the southeastern region. Yangzhou is famous for its natural mountains and rivers and has long been an administrative region, becoming a symbol of the long-standing cultural history of the southeastern provinces and cities. It is deeply and firmly rooted in the dietary and cultural consciousness of the people in the southeastern region. The long-standing administrative ties between the Huai River basin and Yangzhou further reflect the integration of food culture and customs in the two river basins. Therefore, the combination of "Huaiyang" has become a habit, showing that the Huaiyang cuisine system is a category of natural history, a large-scale concept of dietary culture in natural regions, a community of southeastern dietary flavors and customs, and a traditional cultural heritage jointly created and shared by the people of the southeastern provinces and cities. Thus, it must be the foundation and crystallization of the dietary and cultural creative activities of the people in the southeastern region.
From the above, it can be seen that the Huaiyang cuisine system does not belong to a single province or city but is a cultural system concept of the overall southeastern region of the continent.
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