The Tastes and Flavours of China

Menu of Su Yuan, Yuan Mei, 1715-1798

China is a huge country with vast geographical and climatic variation. Its history is measured in thousands of years, and for centuries its people have numbered in the hundreds of millions. Until the last century, it was a nation that had been more or less unified politically, bureaucratically, and linguistically (in its written language) for two millennia. During this time the people experienced many periods of social and political innovation and experimentation, times of flexibility and social mobility, of new ideas and open trade. They are undergoing such a period today. In such times, novelty is allowed or even encouraged. This is apparent in China’s cuisine more than in other aspects of her culture as the Chinese join foreign influences to their venerable traditions and beliefs. In this way they assimilate them and make them their oWn.