美国华人和作为同化标志的中餐食谱

Chinese Food Recipes as the Symbol of Chinese Americans and Their Acculturation

饮食文化的传播是多样化的。我们可以通过移民、烹调书以及其他一些标志探究一种文化如何融入新环境。自古以来,食物就是中国人在餐桌内外普遍关注和讨论的话题。研究表明,全世界华人的饮食习惯的变迁是最为迟缓的。本文回顾了自1785年第一批华人进入并定居美国以来的一些标志性事件及其带来的变迁。随着华人移民的不断涌入,越来越多作为中华烹饪传统载体的中餐食谱在美国出版,中餐馆也在美国不断蔓延,养活了众多美国人。本文重点选取几个标志性事件作为说明依据。其中包括1899年美国政府刊发宣传册,鼓励种植和食用中国的蔬菜;20世纪上半叶中餐食谱的出版与使用;时至今日已有超过47000家中餐馆遍布美国,等等。

Food culture disseminates in a variety of ways： migration, cook books and other research into how one culture melts into another. Food has been a household topic of the Chinese that attract univer-sal attention from a time immemorial. Research shows that the food habits of the Chinese change the slo-west compared to those of other peoples. This article is a reptrospective study of the symbolic events and the consequent changes brought about by the first Chinese immigrants to the United States since they set foot on American soil in 1785. As the Chinese kept coming, one after another Chinese cook book was pub-lished and more and more Chinese restaurants were opened to feed an increasing number of Americans. This article will highlight a few symbolic events as proofs：the pamphlet published in 1899 by the US gov-ernment to encourage the planting and eating of Chinese vegetables;publication and use of Chinese recipes in the first half of the 20 th century;the existence of over 47 ,000 Chinese restaurants from coast to coast in the United States; etc.