What Is “Chinese” Food? Historicizing the Concept of Culinary Regionalism

When discussing Chinese food in the People’s Republic of China, the concept of culinary regionalism appears everywhere. Scholarly and popular accounts alike systematically list the same four (eight, ten, or twelve) “great” regional cuisines (sidacaixi, badacaixi, etc.), asserting that the designation of the original four great regional cuisines (Lu from Shandong Province, Yue from Guangdong Province, Chuan from Sichuan Province, and Huaiyang from Jiangsu Province) arose during the Qing dynasty (1644–1911). This article argues that the standardized concept of a four- (or more) part culinary system is likely a much later historical development, possibly even of the post-Mao reform era. It draws upon different historical definitions of “Chinese” food, using the food writings of Yuan Mei (1716–98), Xu Ke (1869–1928), Lin Yutang (1895–1976), and Qi Rushan (1875–1962). How can a better understanding of the historical dynamics of culinary regionalism affect our understanding of “Chinese” food?