La comida local y su significado en la China contemporánea: el caso del suroeste de Hubei
This article focuses on local food and the associated meanings in the ethnic area of central China and is based on field research in Enshi prefecture, a Tujia-Miao autonomous prefecture that lies in the southwest Hubei province. As in many other areas in contemporary China, the local food in southwe...
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| Formato: | Online |
| Idioma: | español |
| Editor: |
El Colegio de México
2015
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| Materias: | |
| Acceso en línea: | https://estudiosdeasiayafrica.colmex.mx/index.php/eaa/article/view/2043 |
| Revista: |
Estudios de Asia y África |
| authentication_code | dc |
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| _version_ | 1844256219864236032 |
| author | Wu, Xu |
| author_facet | Wu, Xu |
| author_sort | Wu, Xu |
| category_str_mv |
"Bolivia", "hyperinflation", "economic crisis", "Bolivia", "hiperinflación", "crisis económica"
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| collection | OJS |
| description | This article focuses on local food and the associated meanings in the ethnic area of central China and is based on field research in Enshi prefecture, a Tujia-Miao autonomous prefecture that lies in the southwest Hubei province. As in many other areas in contemporary China, the local food in southwest Hubei, central China, known as hezha food, has been integrated into the urban restaurant system and has acquired a variety of meanings. In Enshi prefecture, special varieties of local food, such as hezha, baogufan (a dish made of maize flour and rice), tularou (smoked pork) and zhaguangjiao (a preserved food made of maize flour and red chili pepper) had long been treated as markers of local regional food or of “coarse” country cuisine. A combination of maize’s reliable high yield in mountain fields and local people’s culinary wisdom, has meant that hezha food has played a key role in the modern history of this mountain area. Up to the early 1990s, the common dish made of maize has served as the marker of mountain life (described as miserable life sometimes). In the early 1990s, when the Chinese government launched a nationwide rural development project, Enshi’s officials went to villagers’ kitchens to check if a maize dish was being replaced with that of rice. However, such food of the poor people did not disappear at all with rural development. Many farmers said that they had easier access to meat (pork) and rice (which symbolize a higher standard of living and is often associated with Han, the majority) than ever before, but since the mid-1990s, Enshi prefecture has witnessed a conspicuous phenomenon of local people returning to “coarse” local food despite an abundance of meat and rice. What is more, such local food has found its way into the urban restaurant system: as food in the Hezha restaurants, Ethnic restaurants, as well as Farmhouse Joy restaurants. The standardization of local food in these restaurants has involved both cuisines and their associated meanings, and has highlighted the local ways in which food is procured. For instance, plant cultivation, animal husbandry, and gathering; the general meal structure (of core dish fan, vegetable-meat dish cai, and drinks); the general features of local food’s flavor pattern (sour, sweet, glutinous, and spicy); and the commonly used cooking methods. Diverse meanings surround hezha food now; meanings that emerged at different historical periods. In local media and mass discourses, hezha food now signifies ordinary daily meals, farmers’ food, poor people’s food, mountain people’s food, famine food, ethnic food, tasty food, healthy food, delicacies on foreigners’ dinner-tables and so on. This article outlines the history of hezha food and examines how and why it has been integrated into and standardized by restaurants. It also analyzes the reasons behind the coexistence of so many contradictory meanings, and reflects on how the constructions of ethnic images, the promotion of agricultural modernization and the promotion of tourism in contemporary Enshi prefecture have influenced these meanings. |
| format | Online |
| id | oai:oai.estudiosdeasiayafrica.colmex.mx:article-2043 |
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| journal | Estudios de Asia y África |
| language | spa |
| publishDate | 2015 |
| publisher | El Colegio de México |
| record_format | ojs |
| Terms_governing_use_and_reproduction_note | Derechos de autor 2015 Estudios de Asia y África |
| data_source_entry/ISSN | Estudios de Asia y África; Vol. 50, No. 3 (158), September-December, 2015; 651 - 678 Estudios de Asia y África; Vol. 50, núm. 3 (158), septiembre-diciembre, 2015; 651 - 678 2448-654X 0185-0164 |
| spelling | oai:oai.estudiosdeasiayafrica.colmex.mx:article-20432025-09-01T18:19:11Z Local Food and Meanings in Contemporary China: The Case of Southwest Hubei La comida local y su significado en la China contemporánea: el caso del suroeste de Hubei Wu, Xu local food (hezha) meanings restaurants ethnic areas China comida local (hezha) significados restaurantes zonas étnicas China This article focuses on local food and the associated meanings in the ethnic area of central China and is based on field research in Enshi prefecture, a Tujia-Miao autonomous prefecture that lies in the southwest Hubei province. As in many other areas in contemporary China, the local food in southwest Hubei, central China, known as hezha food, has been integrated into the urban restaurant system and has acquired a variety of meanings. In Enshi prefecture, special varieties of local food, such as hezha, baogufan (a dish made of maize flour and rice), tularou (smoked pork) and zhaguangjiao (a preserved food made of maize flour and red chili pepper) had long been treated as markers of local regional food or of “coarse” country cuisine. A combination of maize’s reliable high yield in mountain fields and local people’s culinary wisdom, has meant that hezha food has played a key role in the modern history of this mountain area. Up to the early 1990s, the common dish made of maize has served as the marker of mountain life (described as miserable life sometimes). In the early 1990s, when the Chinese government launched a nationwide rural development project, Enshi’s officials went to villagers’ kitchens to check if a maize dish was being replaced with that of rice. However, such food of the poor people did not disappear at all with rural development. Many farmers said that they had easier access to meat (pork) and rice (which symbolize a higher standard of living and is often associated with Han, the majority) than ever before, but since the mid-1990s, Enshi prefecture has witnessed a conspicuous phenomenon of local people returning to “coarse” local food despite an abundance of meat and rice. What is more, such local food has found its way into the urban restaurant system: as food in the Hezha restaurants, Ethnic restaurants, as well as Farmhouse Joy restaurants. The standardization of local food in these restaurants has involved both cuisines and their associated meanings, and has highlighted the local ways in which food is procured. For instance, plant cultivation, animal husbandry, and gathering; the general meal structure (of core dish fan, vegetable-meat dish cai, and drinks); the general features of local food’s flavor pattern (sour, sweet, glutinous, and spicy); and the commonly used cooking methods. Diverse meanings surround hezha food now; meanings that emerged at different historical periods. In local media and mass discourses, hezha food now signifies ordinary daily meals, farmers’ food, poor people’s food, mountain people’s food, famine food, ethnic food, tasty food, healthy food, delicacies on foreigners’ dinner-tables and so on. This article outlines the history of hezha food and examines how and why it has been integrated into and standardized by restaurants. It also analyzes the reasons behind the coexistence of so many contradictory meanings, and reflects on how the constructions of ethnic images, the promotion of agricultural modernization and the promotion of tourism in contemporary Enshi prefecture have influenced these meanings. Este artículo se enfoca en la comida local y los significados asociados en el área étnica de China central, y está basado en trabajos de campo realizados en la prefectura de Enshi, una prefectura tujia-miao autónoma que se encuentra en el suroeste de la provincia de Hubei. Como muchas otras áreas en China contemporánea, la comida local en el suroeste de Hubei, conocida como comida hezha, ha sido integrada al sistema de restaurantes urbanos y ha adquirido una variedad de significados. En la prefectura de Enshi, varios platillos locales especiales, como hezha, baogufan (un platillo hecho de harina de maíz y arroz), tularou (puerco ahumado) y zhaguangijao (una conserva hecha de harina de maíz y chiles), han sido vistos por mucho tiempo como símbolo de la comida regional local o de la cocina “rústica” del campo. Tanto la gran producción de maíz en los campos de la montaña como la sabiduría culinaria de los locales le han otorgado a la comida hezha un papel esencial en la historia moderna de esta área montañosa. Hasta los primeros años de la década de 1990, el platillo común hecho de maíz había funcionado como indicador de la vida de la montaña (descrita algunas veces como una vida miserable). Pero en ese mismo periodo, cuando el gobierno chino lanzó un proyecto nacional de desarrollo rural, los oficiales enshi fueron a las cocinas de los aldeanos para revisar si el platillo de maíz estaba siendo reemplazado con uno de arroz. Sin embargo, con el desarrollo rural estas comidas de gente pobre no desaparecieron. Muchos granjeros manifestaron que ahora tenían mayor acceso a carne (de cerdo) y al arroz (símbolo de una mejor calidad de vida, pues generalmente se asocia con la mayoría han) que antes, pero desde la mitad de la década de 1990, la prefectura de Enshi había sido testigo de un fenómeno sobresaliente: la gente regresaba a la comida “rústica” local a pesar de la abundancia de carne y arroz. Más aún, esta comida local incluso fue incorporada al sistema urbano de restaurantes: en los restaurantes Hezha, en los étnicos y los de corte rural, los llamados restaurantes “Felicidad del agricultor”. La estandarización de la comida local en estos restaurantes ha involucrado tanto las cocinas como sus significados asociados, y ha puesto de relieve las maneras locales de conseguir alimentos (i.e., cultivos de plantas, cría de animales y recolección), la estructura general de la comida (platillo principal fan, platillo con vegetales y carne caj, y bebidas), las características generales del patrón de sabores de la comida local (ácido, dulce, glutinoso y picante), y los métodos de cocina más comúnmente usados. Alrededor de la comida hezha coexisten diversos significados, que emergieron en periodos históricos diferentes. En los medios locales y en los discursos de masas, la comida hezha ahora significa comida del diario, comida de granjero, comida de gente pobre, comida de montaña, comida de hambruna, comida étnica, comida deliciosa, comida saludable, exquisitez en las mesas de extranjeros, etcétera. Este artículo traza la historia de los alimentos hezha y examina cómo y por qué han sido integrados y estandarizados por los restaurantes. También analiza las razones detrás de la coexistencia de tantos y tan contradictorios significados, y reflexiona sobre cómo la construcción de imágenes étnicas y la promoción de la modernización agrícola y del turismo en la prefectura Enshi contemporánea han ejercido influencia en estos significados. El Colegio de México 2015-09-01 info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion application/pdf application/xml https://estudiosdeasiayafrica.colmex.mx/index.php/eaa/article/view/2043 10.24201/eaa.v50i3.2043 Estudios de Asia y África; Vol. 50, No. 3 (158), September-December, 2015; 651 - 678 Estudios de Asia y África; Vol. 50, núm. 3 (158), septiembre-diciembre, 2015; 651 - 678 2448-654X 0185-0164 spa https://estudiosdeasiayafrica.colmex.mx/index.php/eaa/article/view/2043/2043 https://estudiosdeasiayafrica.colmex.mx/index.php/eaa/article/view/2043/2277 Derechos de autor 2015 Estudios de Asia y África |
| spellingShingle | local food (hezha) meanings restaurants ethnic areas China comida local (hezha) significados restaurantes zonas étnicas China Wu, Xu La comida local y su significado en la China contemporánea: el caso del suroeste de Hubei |
| title | La comida local y su significado en la China contemporánea: el caso del suroeste de Hubei |
| title_alt | Local Food and Meanings in Contemporary China: The Case of Southwest Hubei |
| title_full | La comida local y su significado en la China contemporánea: el caso del suroeste de Hubei |
| title_fullStr | La comida local y su significado en la China contemporánea: el caso del suroeste de Hubei |
| title_full_unstemmed | La comida local y su significado en la China contemporánea: el caso del suroeste de Hubei |
| title_short | La comida local y su significado en la China contemporánea: el caso del suroeste de Hubei |
| title_sort | la comida local y su significado en la china contemporanea el caso del suroeste de hubei |
| topic | local food (hezha) meanings restaurants ethnic areas China comida local (hezha) significados restaurantes zonas étnicas China |
| topic_facet | local food (hezha) meanings restaurants ethnic areas China comida local (hezha) significados restaurantes zonas étnicas China |
| url | https://estudiosdeasiayafrica.colmex.mx/index.php/eaa/article/view/2043 |
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