FOOD SYMBOLISM IN CONTEMPORARY CHINESE LITERATURE: FOCUS ON OIL AND FAT(S)

Nasleđe 63 (2026) [131-148]

AUTOR(I) / AUTHOR(S): Lara Colangelo

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.46793/NasKg2663.131C

SAŽETAK /ABSTRACT:

“Food plays such an important role in Chinese life as to lead many to characterize the Chinese as having a food-centered culture” (Simoons 1999: 14). Reflections on food and its depictions have indeed always had a significant place in Chinese literary and artistic production (Chang 1977). In this sense, several mentions of the dietary realm and its connection to human psycho-physical well-being can already be found in ancient documents (Parasecoli 2015: 15), such as recipe books and manuals of traditional Chinese medicine. Similarly, references to food and the culinary world continue to be numerous in modern and contemporary Chinese literature. From its early philosophical and Taoist connotations (Paolillo 2015, 31–41) to more recent socio-political implications, the representation of food — as well as of the human body — is imbued with multiple meanings. Part of a broader interdisciplinary reflection exploring the role and literary representation of food in different civilizations, this paper aims to shed light on the main symbolic meanings attributed to food in contemporary Chinese literature, with a particular focus on oil and fats, which are essential elements of every culinary culture. More specifically, by analyzing a corpus of novels spanning from the early 1980s to the late 1990s of the 20th century, this paper will show how food discourse in contemporary Chinese fiction serves “more as an excuse to say something else” (Masi 2002, 20). In other words, food — particularly oils and fats — is never portrayed as mere sources of nourishment. Rather, they are imbued with a strongly metaphorical significance that encompasses various ideological and existential dimensions.

KLJUČNE REČI / KEYWORDS: 

food symbolism in contemporary Chinese fiction, oil and fats in China, Chinese culinary culture, food and literature in China.

PROJEKAT / ACKNOWLEDGEMENT:

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