Project Paused
This project was underway when the COVID-19 pandemic began and travel to China stopped. Our intention was to publish the 5-volume academic encyclopedia, and then The Celestial Kitchen, a volume for the general reader similar to the Larousse Gastronomique. In the meantime, we have published Recipes from the Garden of Contentment, the first English edition of one of the world’s most famous books about food, as well as the English-only popular version of the book, The Way of Eating.
Advance Articles
The articles listed here have been accepted for publication in the forthcoming Berkshire Encyclopedia of Chinese Cuisines. They have been peer-reviewed, copyedited, and reviewed by the author/s, and we would under normal circumstances be putting them into pages for a print edition. The closure of colleges and libraries during the pandemic has changed our plans, and of course delayed some of the work on the publication, which has contributions from experts around the world. We are therefore offering a sample of the new contents as Advance Articles at this website. Please refer to them as forthcoming, and if quoting or linking to them, ensure that you include the full citation. Information about the publication itself can be found here.
ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT
Tibetan Cuisine
Author/s: Denise M. Glover, University of Puget Sound
Citation: Cheung et al. (2022). Berkshire Encyclopedia of Chinese Cuisines. Great Barrington, MA: Berkshire Publishing. Advance publication date as per post date.
DOI: 10.47462/941258504
Keywords: Tibetan cuisine; pastoralism in Tibet; agriculture in Tibet; tsampa; yak products; ecological diversity; Tibetan butter tea
Abstract: Variations in cuisine among the Tibetan minority of China are due in part to environmental diversity. Different ecologies yielded varied adaptive strategies of resource use (economies), and resulted in three main types of food production: pastoralism, agriculture, and a mixed economy with both kinds of production. These strategies in turn affect the type of food raised, and consequently consumed. Core foods include tsampa (roasted barley flour), and milk products such as yogurt, cheese, and butter.
ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT
Beef in Chinese Cuisines
Author/s: Thomas David DUBOIS, Beijing Normal University
Citation: Cheung et al. (2022). Berkshire Encyclopedia of Chinese Cuisines. Great Barrington, MA: Berkshire Publishing. Advance publication date as per post date.
DOI: To come
Keywords: beef; meat; restricted foods; northern cuisine; Beijing cuisine; fast food (McDonalds)
Abstract: Nearly ubiquitous in China today, beef was not always so popular. Unlike pork, beef was traditionally a highly regional taste. While people in northern cities like Beijing consumed large amounts of beef, those in many other areas considered the idea of eating beef to be disgusting and even immoral. As beef consumption grew during the twentieth century, cooks continued to develop techniques to accentuate and balance the natural qualities of the meat.
ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT
Food in Chinese Poetry
Author/s: Alfreda MURCK, Columbia University
Citation: Cheung et al. (2022). Berkshire Encyclopedia of Chinese Cuisines. Great Barrington, MA: Berkshire Publishing. Advance publication date as per post date.
DOI: To come
Keywords:
Abstract:Abstract: From antiquity, Chinese poets wrote about all aspects of food: its cultivation, its preparation, its prominence in celebrations, its importance in ancestral rites, its pleasures, and the pain of its absence. Poets contrasted lavish banquets with hunger and starvation; they crafted allegories and metaphors from food: an orange was compared to a virtuous man, bitter bamboo shoots were likened to frank criticism, and a pomegranate symbolized fertility.
ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT
Ritual in Chinese Cuisines
Author/s: Miranda Brown, University of Michigan
Citation: Cheung et al. (2022). Berkshire Encyclopedia of Chinese Cuisines. Great Barrington, MA: Berkshire Publishing. Advance publication date as per post date.
DOI: To come
Keywords: Ritual; ancestor worship; sacrifice; etiquette; social values; mourning; exorcism; ceremonies; holidays; festivals
Abstract: Food and drink have played a central role in Chinese religious and ceremonial life from ancient times to the present. The role of food and drink is conspicuous not only in terms of banquet and drinking etiquette, but also in a wide variety of religious practices observed throughout the Chinese-speaking world. These range from ancestral sacrifices, to the worship of deities, to the wearing of mourning to the observance of religious festivals and family holidays.
