Why is it said that “Huaiyang cuisine” may be a fake cuisine?

Written by Wei Shuihua

Header Image | Who is the most Chinese?

Huaiyang cuisine is the only Chinese cuisine that is not named after a province. Since its inception, it has been criticized by many people: Huai'an and Yangzhou are both cities in Jiangsu Province, so why not just name it "Su cuisine". But every time the term "Su cuisine" appears in writing, it is criticized even more: "Can this represent Su cuisine? What kind of irreconcilable conflict is hidden behind the three words Huaiyang cuisine?

No.1 The same regional taste comes from the same historical evolution, the same language system, and the local identity constructed by the same material resources. This convergence of the dietary environment has distinct characteristics in the Sichuan Basin, the Pearl River Delta, and the Qilu cultural circle. And this characteristic ultimately created the distinctive Sichuan cuisine, Cantonese cuisine, and Shandong cuisine.

But the irony is that Jiangsu in the administrative sense, at least before the middle of the fourteenth century, has never been a geographical entity. The Yangtze River and the Huai River run through it, dividing it into three major parts: Jiangnan, where Wu culture is the main body, the Jianghuai Plain, where Jianghuai culture is the main body, and the Xuhuai area, where Central Plains culture is the main body. The three areas have always belonged to different administrative units. In the great unified dynasties such as the Qin and Han Dynasties, the Sui and Tang Dynasties, and even the Northern Song and the Yuan Dynasties, the north and south of Jiangsu belonged to different states, roads, provinces, and routes; and in the war eras of the Three Kingdoms, the Two Jin Dynasties, the Southern and Northern Dynasties, the Five Dynasties, and the Southern Song Dynasty, Jiangsu was a battlefield for different forces to fight for.
Long-term separation has created completely different languages, living habits and values. Specifically speaking of food, for example, the attitude towards mutton. As a well-connected transportation hub and military stronghold, long-term cultural exchanges, war tug-of-war and marriage integration have made the people of northern Jiangsu acquainted with the northern people's custom of eating mutton regardless of climate and season. Therefore, here, mutton can be eaten in all seasons, and the locals especially eat mutton in the dog days of summer, which is the most nutritious. The "Fuyang Festival" has even become an important festival celebration in many northern Jiangsu cities today. In the south of the Yangtze River, mutton is often regarded as a tonic, suitable only for consumption in winter, and has the effect of keeping out the cold. Eating it in the summer will "heat you to death."

In the agricultural civilization system, land is a tradable real estate with the same value as currency. A piece of land that can produce various crops is a huge waste if it is planted with grass for cattle and sheep to eat. Moreover, sheep cannot be used as arable livestock like cattle. However, omnivorous pigs are different. They eat everything, including waste swill, fruit and vegetable roots and skins, so they do not compete with the people for land. This situation is particularly serious in the hilly areas in the south where arable land is scarce. Over time, mutton, which is rare and precious, has been labeled as not to be eaten casually, while pork, which is readily available, does not need to be so particular. It is not difficult to imagine that a Suzhou person who is used to drinking mutton soup to keep warm in the cold winter would be surprised, disgusted and unreasonable when he went to Xuzhou in the summer and found that his fellow villagers in northern Jiangsu were drinking mutton soup with their bare chests and sweating.

No.2 The sixteenth year of Zhizheng in the Yuan Dynasty (1356) was a year that determined the fate of Jiangsu for more than 600 years. Zhu Chongba from Fengyang, Anhui, led the army and broke through Jiqing Road in just ten days. And renamed it Yingtianfu, which means "responding to the will of heaven". Ten years later, Zhu Chongba, who had changed his name to Zhu Yuanzhang, proclaimed himself emperor here, and the country was named "Daming". Yingtianfu became Nanjing in the Ming Dynasty. Perhaps in order to build a strong base, Zhu Yuanzhang put the main lands of today's Anhui, Jiangsu and Shanghai into the same province. Later, it was called "Nanzhili". To some extent, it may also include Zhu Yuanzhang's own thoughts of wanting the developed areas of southern Jiangsu to contribute to the better construction of his hometown Fengyang, Anhui.

In fact, since the Three Kingdoms period, after thousands of years of development in the south, the Jiangnan hills, which were originally "mountainous and barbaric", have become a beautiful place in the south of the Yangtze River that everyone yearns for. According to Sima Guang's "Shushui Jiwen", the "Liangzhe Road" composed of the Yangtze River Delta, the Ningshao Plain and the southern Zhejiang hills has occupied half of the taxes of the Northern Song Dynasty government. In the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, Jiangnan became a well-known "imperial milk cow". The materials and money created by the Jiangzhe chaebols were continuously sent to the north through the Grand Canal to support the country's administrative operations and border defense expenses. The huge wealth dividend has built an unparalleled regional cultural confidence for the people of Jiangnan. From the regional dialect with Wu as the core, to the regional art represented by poetry, opera, carving and embroidery, to the countless finely crafted Jiangnan cakes, the light and sweet long fish and crabs, and the exquisite and elegant Jiangnan pastries, all express this confidence.

This is the fundamental reason why Shanghai, Suzhou, Wuxi, Changzhou in Jiangsu, and Hangzhou, Jiaxing, Huzhou, Shaoxing, Ningbo in Zhejiang look more like one province.

No.3 The social structure after the Ming and Qing Dynasties also affected northern Jiangsu. Although the sandification and desertification of a large amount of land due to the diversion of the Yellow River and the flooding of the Huai River led to the structural collapse of the once culturally prosperous Central Plains society, the maturity of the Grand Canal's water transport has awakened the flavor of northern Jiangsu in another way.

The introduction of Shandong cuisine to Beijing is a very representative event. Since the middle of the Ming Dynasty, the barren land could no longer support the over-growing population, and a large number of Shandong people went north to make a living. Chefs with low entry barriers and high social demand became the first choice for the middle and lower classes. The pressure of making a living outside also affected the Shandong chefs' attitude of striving for excellence. Liang Shiqiu said: "Most of the best restaurants in Beijing are run by Shandong chefs." It can be seen that by the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China at the latest, Shandong cuisine chefs had become the highest level representative of northern cuisine.

One thing that people often overlook is that Xuzhou, Suqian and other places north of the Huaihe River are naturally connected to the land of Qi and Lu. The era when Shandong cuisine flourished was also the era when the superb cooking level of the Xuhuai region took shape. At the same time, the prosperous water transport in the Ming and Qing dynasties became a pillar industry in the area from the Yangtze River to the Huaihe River, and the wealthy salt merchant class came into being. They are located between the north and south of Jiangsu, and they have a very twisted mentality when facing food: on the one hand, they admire the elegant and indifferent values ​​of the Jiangnan region, and on the other hand, they pursue an aristocratic lifestyle of never getting tired of fine food. Thus, Jianghuai cuisine, which pays attention to knife skills, makes coarse dishes carefully, and shows skills in the ordinary, was born.

No.4 Four In essence, Jianghuai cuisine, which was born out of cultural differences and historical opportunities, cannot be called a "cuisine". It survives in the hands of a few salt merchants' home chefs and in high-end restaurants that cater to a certain class. This is completely different from Cantonese and Sichuan cuisines, which have a broad folk base and cultural origins. In addition, even within the Jianghuai region, there are huge differences between cities. Huai'an cuisine in the north is closer to the grand style of Shandong cuisine, while Yangzhou cuisine in the south is more like the meticulous style of Jiangnan cuisine.

On October 1, 1949, after the founding ceremony, the first banquet of the founding of the country was held to entertain Chinese and foreign guests. At the beginning of the founding of the Republic, there was a lot of work to be done. How could the design of the first banquet of the founding of the country be both light and acceptable to everyone, while also showing the breadth and depth of Chinese cuisine and adhering to the new atmosphere of the Republic of China's thrift and not extravagance? Coincidentally, the chief designer of the first banquet of the founding of the country was Zhou Enlai, a Jianghuai son who was born in a wealthy family and lived in Huai'an until he was 12 years old.

More than a decade later, when Yao Yilin, then Minister of Commerce, introduced Chinese cuisine to foreign guests, the term "cuisine" first appeared. Yao's original words were: "China has four major cuisines: Shandong cuisine, Guangdong cuisine, Sichuan cuisine, and Huaiyang cuisine." The wording of this diplomatic occasion was obviously carefully polished, replacing the "gang" that was commonly used in the kitchen world before liberation, which had the connotation of vulgarity and underworld, with "cuisine", which seemed more formal and solemn.

A Shanghai food guide from the Republic of China period, using the term "various gangs"

The careful placement of Huaiyang cuisine after Shandong, Guangdong, and Sichuan not only confirms the importance of Huaiyang cuisine in the "first banquet of the founding of the country", but also illustrates the fact that the food style within Jiangsu is not unified and cannot be compared with that of Shandong, Guangdong, and Sichuan. A cuisine that originally existed in a small area and a fixed class has ascended to the throne of China's major cuisines.

-END- In 1760, the governor of Anhui and the governor of Jiangsu appointed by Emperor Qianlong arrived at their posts, marking the completion of the dismemberment of the most powerful Nanzhili Province in the Ming Dynasty. The "imperial cow" of the previous dynasty could finally be used by me. The overjoyed Emperor Qianlong wrote a poem: The chariot is parked near the middle river, and the red railings overlook the green waves. The crowd sings about the benefits of the grain transport, and they always owe it to the saints. What is there to continue the story? I dare not follow it. The province has learned the key, let alone other things. The writing is not good, but the mother tongue is not Chinese, so we can't make too high expectations. Interestingly, Emperor Qianlong, on the one hand, praised the "grain transport benefits", and on the other hand, seemed to feel that there was a problem with the rough administrative division: "Let alone other things", let's talk about it when there is a problem. The "internal struggle" in Jiangsu was foreshadowed, and the more exciting Huaiyang cuisine was born because of it. Who knows the path of historical development?