Skip to Main Content

Scribes of Gastronomy: Representations of Food and Drink in Imperial Chinese Literature

Online ISBN:
9789888180967
Print ISBN:
9789888139972
Publisher:
Hong Kong University Press
Book

Scribes of Gastronomy: Representations of Food and Drink in Imperial Chinese Literature

Published online:
23 January 2014
Published in print:
1 August 2013
Online ISBN:
9789888180967
Print ISBN:
9789888139972
Publisher:
Hong Kong University Press

Abstract

The culture of food and drink occupies a central role in the development of Chinese civilization, and the language of gastronomy has been a vital theme in a range of literary productions. From stanzas on food and wine in the Classics of Poetry to the articulation of refined dining in The Dream of the Red Chamber and Su Shi's literary recipe for attaining culinary perfection, lavish textual representations help explain the unique appeal of food and its overwhelming cultural significance within Chinese society. These eight essays offer a colorful tour of Chinese gourmands whose work exemplifies the interrelationships of social and literary history surrounding food, with careful explication of such topics as the importance of tea in poetry, “the morality of drunkenness,” and food's role in objectifying women.

Contents
Close
This Feature Is Available To Subscribers Only

Sign In or Create an Account

Close

This PDF is available to Subscribers Only

View Article Abstract & Purchase Options

For full access to this pdf, sign in to an existing account, or purchase an annual subscription.

Close