Dimsum Diplomacy Vivienne Lo: UCL CCHH & British Chinese Workforce Heritage Project Conference Thinking Chinese 31st March – 1st April 2015

‘the art and practice of conducting negotiations

between representatives of states’

The finest of the seasoning agents are the ginger 薑brought from Yangpu 陽樸; the cinnamon from Zhaoyao 招搖; the bamboo shoots from Yueluo 越駱; the fermented condiment made from sturgeon zhanwei zhi hai 鳣鲔之醢; the salt from Daxia 大夏; the dewy waters from Zaijie 宰揭, which have the colour of white jade; and the eggs from Changze長澤. ‘Fundamental Flavours’ in Lüshi chunqiu呂氏春秋 (Mr Lü’s Spring and Autumn), ca. 239 BCE) Lü Buwei 呂不韋 (290-235 BCE), minister to the King of Qin (the first emperor)

Diplomacy: Ruling all Under Heaven

Assimilating ‘Other’ Powerful and Uncouth People Yuan [1279-1368 CE] imperial dietary by Hu Sihui: 忽思慧, Yinshan zhengyao 飲膳正要 (Propriety and essentials in eating and drinking)

Roast Wolf Soup

“ancient bencao do not include entries of wolf meat. At present we state that its nature is heating.........it warms the five internal organs and warms the centre.”

Economic Diplomacy: Dealing with Intransigent and Immoral but Powerful Barbarians

His Majesty is in a towering rage’ … the great profit made by barbarians is all taken from the rightful share of China. By what right do they then in return use the poisonous drug to injure theChinese people? ….. I have heard that the smoking of opium is very strictly forgidden by your

country… Of all that China exports to foreign countries, there is not a single thing which is not beneficial to people… take tea and rhubarb for example; the foreign countries cannot get along for a single day without them’.

•the practice of imperial power within a multicultural state

•cultural assimilation of militarily superior invaders

•a way of negotiating morality in political and economic conflict

John Chinaman will not arrive here as a competitor in the labour market proper. He offers his services as cook, houseman, and washerman…. And an opportunity for displaying his talents in this direction is shortly to be given by the erection of the Chinese laundry in Holland Park. The building has already been began … John is said to have a rather unpleasant habit of squirting the starch over the linen with his mouth; but this could scarcely be any objection with us, who permit far worse operations in regard to the things we eat, much less to whose we wear

We the Chinese World through our food conquered the world

Sir Robert Hart 1835 – 1911 Inspector General:China's Imperial Maritime Customs Service The English idea of the Chinese Tea-House and Chinese Restaurant has nothing corresponding to it in China except The fact that there are buildings in which people can buy and eat food and drink tea: if we could supply you with one of them bodily. You would indeed have a slice out of the real life of China, but English sight-seers would neither eat in it nor sit in it, and the Committee would very soon beg us to move it out of that. Quoted in Roberts 2002, p. 141.

John Dudgeon (1837-91): Scottish physician and sinologist Valuable suggestions are to be derived by which we might recast our dietary with profit both to our bodies and to our purses. The Chinese have succeeded intuitively, or as a result of their long experience, in the attainment of the maximum of nourishment with the minimum cost, which ought to be the object of every people and not alone of a government dietary for soldiers and sailors. Quoted in Roberts 2002, p. 143.

Zhao Yi 赵翼 (1727-1814) tells us‘the Russians regard Chinese rhubarb as the sovereign drug, and it is the only remedy than can cure them when they are sick. […] Lately, because of various infringements of the agreements, the government suspended trade, and placed an embargo on the export of rhubarb. The Russians were instantly cowed and did not dare cause trouble. […] Heaven produces only two things of this kind [i.e. rhubarb and tea], which serve our Qing Dynasty as a weapon to control the foreign barbarians’.

Chinese Health Care

Seamen Laundrymen

Restaurant

and shop

keepers

Year No. % No. % No.

1901 237 61 27 15 -

1911 480 36 351 26 -

1921 455 19 547 22 26

1931 477 25 531 27 17

0

50,000

100,000

150,000

200,000

250,000

300,000

1851 1861 1921 1871 1891 1911 1931 1951 1961 1971 1981 1991 2001

Nu

mb

er

of

Ch

ine

se P

eo

ple

Year

Number of Chinese in England & Wales

Laundering

The English idea of the Chinese Tea-House and Chinese Restaurant has nothing corresponding to it in China except the fact that there are buildings in which people can buy and eat food and drink tea: if we could supply you with one of them Bodily. You would indeed have a slice out of the real life of China, but English sight-seers would neither eat in it nor sit in it, and the Committee would very soon beg us to move it out of that.

Sir Robert Hart on the 1884 International Health Exhibiton plans

John Chinaman will not arrive here as a competitor in the labour market proper. He offers his services as cook, houseman, and washerman…. And an opportunity for displaying his talents in this direction is shortly to be given by the erection of the Chinese laundry in Holland Park. The building has already been began … John is said to have a rather unpleasant habit of squirting the starch over the linen with his mouth; but this could scarcely be any objection with us, who permit far worse operations in regard to the things we eat, much less to whose we wear

a non-descript coloured soup, rice, bamboo shoots and waterchestnuts, topped with fried egg. Slivers of meat steeped in canned pineapple with a little vinegar soon followed, and then some custard made with water Ballard

Catering

羅孝建 Chinese Food ‘suffers a sea change when removed from its native shores’