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The Patriot's Scientific Diet: Nutrition science and dietary reform campaigns in China, 1910s–1950s

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 February 2015

SEUNG-JOON LEE
SEUNG-JOON LEE*
Affiliation:
National University of Singapore, Singapore Email: [email protected]
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Abstract

This article explores how nutrition science became a significant part of the nation-building project in both Republican China and the early People's Republic of China within the context of burgeoning popular concerns over bodily health and an increasing sense of urgency. Insofar as nutrition science offered a new type of expertise about what to eat and what not to eat in daily life, it entailed harnessing the state's potential persuasive power to garner willing compliance, if not tacit obedience, from the population. Unlike previous scholarship, which takes the viewpoint of government authorities and the medical elite, this article argues that popular concerns about bodily health and culinary curiosity that were prevalent in major Chinese cities helped to popularize state-led dietary reform campaigns that culminated during the Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) and continued even after the revolutionary regime change in the 1950s.

Type
Research Article
Information
Modern Asian Studies , Volume 49 , Issue 6 , November 2015 , pp. 1808 - 1839
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Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2015 

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References

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2 SB, 24 May and 26 May 1912.

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17 SB, 24 October 1910.

18 The Yili bakery was located on Burkill Road in the International Settlement. Its unique selling point was that a ‘foreign pâtissier himself made breads with French style’. SB, 26 October 1910.

19 This booklet, published in Shanghai in 1917, was a translation of the work of the contemporary Japanese agriculturalist, Inoue Masayoshi. However, the translator, Liu Renhang, added his own commentaries, annotations, and popular analogies from Chinese history. Japan also shared the notion of ‘health preserving techniques’, using the same Chinese characters (yōjō). Liu, R. (1917). Jun min baoshu cushi mengjian fa (The Treasured Book for the Military and Civilians: The Healthy Way of a Coarse Diet), Shanghai: Luotian xiuyang guan, Vol. 1, p. 8.

20 This appears in Liu's annotation. Liu, Jun min baoshu cushi mengjian fa, Vol. 2, p. 20.

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28 Swislocki, Nutritional governmentality, p. 21; Fu, ‘Society's Laboratories’, p. 218.

29 Wu, X. (1932). Wuguoren zhi chifan wenti (Eating problems in our country), Duli pinglun, 2, p. 15.

30 Wu, Wuguoren zhi chifan wenti, p. 16.

31 Wu, Wuguoren zhi chifan wenti, pp. 15–16.

32 Dikotter, The Discourse of Race in Modern China, p. 178.

33 Zhang was not a professional eugenicist by any means. He taught anthropology at Jinan University in Shanghai, having studied psychology at Columbia University in the 1920s. However, his personal interests in anthropology and eugenics led him to become one of the most popular advocates of pseudo-scientific ‘race improvement’. Pan Guangdan, the leading eugenics advocate, also studied at Columbia University in the 1920s. For a brief biographical background, see Zhang, J. (1935). Zhongguo minzu zhi gaizu (The Remake of the Chinese Race), Shanghai: Zhonghua Shuju, p. 134Google Scholar; Sun, L. (2002). The Chinese National Character: From Nationhood to Individuality, Armonk: M. E. Sharpe, pp. 159, 170–176Google Scholar.

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35 Zhang, Zhongguo minzu zhi gaizu, p. 2.

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37 Zheng, J. (1934). Zhongguoren de shanshi wenti (Chinese people's eating problem), Guangbo zhoubao, 6, pp. 8–9Google Scholar.

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39 Lee, Gourmets in the Land of Famine, pp. 113–114.

40 All of the detailed programmes for this grandiose plan included genetic plant experiments, selecting better seeds and distributing them to peasants, the reclamation of more arable land, and so on. See: (1937). Guangdong quansheng zaliang gengzhong duchu jihua dagang (The basic plan to plant miscellaneous grain throughout the province), Nongsheng, 110/111. Reprinted in (1942). Kanton shokuryō mondai (The Food Problem in Guangdong), Guangzhou: Kōain Kanton haken’in jimusho, pp. 247–249.

41 Sun Xingdong, professor of horticulture at the National Central University at Nanjing, obtained his Bachelor's degree in agricultural science from the University of Illinois. Sun, X. (1936). Minshi ziji yu guofang, Guangbo zhoukan, 92, pp. 14–15Google Scholar.

42 SB, 15 March 1917.

43 (1918). Jiaoqizheng shipin zhi zhuyi (Paying attention to foodstuffs related to beriberi symptom), Guanghua weishengbao, 1, p. 74.

44 Bu, N. and Shu, W. (1932). Jiaoqibing (Beriberi), Nanjing: Neizhengbu Weisheng shu, pp. 12–14Google Scholar.

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47 Two of 37 cases, or 5.4 per cent, died in the physician's ward. See (1929). Junyi Gongbao, no. 1, Appendix.

48 Zhongshan ribao, 19 December 1937. Cited in (1938). Baowei da Guangdong (Defend Great Guangdong), Guangzhou: Zhongshan ribao she, p. 71.

49 Huang, L. (1940). Kangzhan sannian zhi liangshi xingzheng (The management of food supply for the three years of the Resistance war against Japan), Dongfang zazhi, 37:14, p. 7Google Scholar.

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53 Guangdong sheng liangshi weiyuanhui, Zaliang shipu, p. 3.

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55 Here, I translate nüshi into the female prefix ‘Ms’. Liang Ruwen's biographical background is unknown. See Guangdong sheng liangshi weiyuanhui, Zaliang shipu, p. 4.

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58 After the fall of Guangzhou in October 1938, Japanese authorities collected related materials about the Committee and Corps and translated them into Japanese. See Seimubu, Kōayin (1939). Kanton senji ryōshoku jikyū undō nit suite (On the Wartime Food Self-Reliance Movement in Guangdong), Tokyo: Kōayin SeimubuGoogle Scholar. In December 1939, the Japanese authorities promulgated the Rice Polishing Restriction Regulation which prohibited the sale of white rice and established a mandatory polishing rate on rice. Subsequently, a similar food-saving campaign was conducted in the name of the National Moral Mobilization in Japan. See Johnson, B. F. (1953). Japanese Food Management in World War II, Stanford: Stanford University Press, pp. 198–199Google Scholar.

59 Although it is impossible to obtain accurate demographic data, Chongqing's population increased from roughly 380,000 before the War to slightly more than a million in 1945. See Chen, J. (1941). Chongqing zhi mishi (Rice markets in Chongqing), Jingji huibao, 3:11/12Google Scholar. Reprinted in LZSL 4, pp. 475–476; Li, X. (1939). Chongqing shi de nianmiye (Rice husking business in Chongqing), Jianshe zhouxin, 8:7, p. 1Google Scholar.

60 For more discussion about the cultural contrast between ‘downriver people’ and Chongqing natives, see McIsaac, L. (2000). The City as Nation: Creating a Wartime Capital in Chongqing’ in Esherick, J.Remaking the Chinese Cities: Modernity and National Identity, Honolulu: University of Hawai‘iGoogle Scholar.

61 For example, when the city of Yichang (the trans-shipment point for the rice-producing provinces of Hunan and Hubei) fell to the Japanese in June 1940, the Chongqing rice market panicked. Rice prices skyrocketed 500 per cent between May and the end of the year. Eastman, L. E. (1984). Seeds of Destruction: Nationalist China in War and Revolution, Stanford: Stanford University Press, pp. 47–48Google Scholar.

62 Juxing yingyang yanjiu huiyi bingqing ge weiyuan an (On the nutrition research conference and invitation of participants), Academia Historica Archives, Taipei (hereafter AHA), 028000003166A; Dagongbao (hereafter DGB), 14 December and 17 December 1940; Fu, ‘Society's Laboratories’, pp. 247–248.

63 Not until wartime did nutritionists and dieticians, previously affiliated as a branch of the Chinese Physiology Association, have their own association. This later developed into the Chinese Nutrition Society. See Chinese Nutrition Association, Zhongguo Yingyang Xuehui Shi, p. 12.

64 The National Irrigation Bureau, for example, was one of the government bureaus that dispatched a staff member to take the Summer Special Training Class for Meal Management in June 1942. Zhongyang weisheng shiyanyuan wunian gongzuo baogao (The five-year report of the Central Hygiene Experimental Institute), AHA, 02800000025A; Paiyuan canjia shanshi guanli xunlianban shouxun an, Institute of Modern History Archives (hereafter IMHA), 25–06–21–141.

65 Ren, B. and Lin, G. (1941). Xinshipu (New Recipe), Chongqing: Xingzhengyuan, p. 22Google Scholar.

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68 Quanguo shengchan huiyi jueyi youguan yingyang gaijin (The resolution for nutrition improvement passed in the national production conference), AHA, 028000003172A.

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72 The Company was built to minimize untrustworthy private merchants’ manipulation of rice prices and quality in the market in October 1941. The Nationalists’ distrust of rice merchants dated to the 1920s. Along with their intransigent distrust of merchants, the instrumental understanding of rice was deeply rooted in their mindset. The Company's management focus was on the mechanized milling factories. DGB, 4 September 1942; Zhongliang gongsi 3, nianmi chang (The 3rd milling factory of the Rice Industrial Processing Company), AHA, 119000004593A.

73 Chi gesheng yilü gaishi caomi (Each province should adopt less-husked rice with no exception), AHA, 11900001817A.

74 For example, the ‘Science Field’ section of Jiefang ribao (Liberation Daily), controlled by the Communist Party, specialized in issues of nutrition and food. Jiefang ribao, 18 April 1941.

75 For war preparations led by the New Life Movement, see Felanti, F. (2010). The New Life Movement in Jiangxi Province, 1934–1938, Modern Asian Studies, 44:5, pp. 961–1000CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

76 For 43 months, from January 1938 to September 1941, while Japanese air forces diverted their attention to the Pacific, Chongqing was raided by air 193 times by roughly 5,553 Japanese bombers that dropped more than 12,000 bombs. See The Chinese Ministry of Information (1943). China Handbook: A Comprehensive Survey of Major Developments in China in Six Years of War, 1937–1943, New York: Macmillan, p. 818.

77 Liangzheng xiejinhui juxing liangshi jieyue yundong (Food-saving movement conducted by the association for united effort for food supply), AHA, 119000006564A.

78 This single bombing operation caused the deadliest damage to Chongqing. Civilian casualties amounted to roughly 3,700 deaths and 2,650 injuries; approximately 4,900 buildings were burned and destroyed, leaving more than 10,000 homeless refugees. See Tow, E. (2011). ‘The Great Bombing of Chongqing and the Anti-Japanese War, 1937–1945’ in Peattie, M. et al. The Battle for China: Essays on the Military History of the Sino-Japanese War of 1937–1945, Stanford: Stanford University Press, pp. 260–261Google Scholar.

79 Chen, L. and Kong, X. (2002). Xinshenghuo yundong cujinhui zonghui xingwang shi (The rise and fall of the New Life Movement General Association), Chongqing wenshi ziliao, 50, p. 217Google Scholar.

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81 Liangzheng xiejinhui juxing liangshi jieyue yundong (Food-saving movement conducted by the Association for united effort for food supply), AHA, 119000006654A.

82 DGB, 2 June 1942.

83 Zhongyang ribao (hereafter ZYRB), 4 June 1942.

84 DGB, 4 June 1942.

85 Chen and Kong, Xinshenghuo yundong cujinhui zonghui xingwang shi, p. 219.

86 ZYRB, 3 June and 4 June 1942.

87 Chongqing shi shehui ju, Zhongguo liangzheng xiejin hui guanyu ge gonggong shitang yilu gaishou caomifan de gonghan (The decree issued by the Chongqing Municipal Bureau of Social Affairs and the Association for united effort for food supply on serving only less-husked rice in each public canteen), CQMA, 0060–0001–00538–0000.

88 Jolliffe, L. J. (1942). ‘Life in Free China Cities’ in Price, F. W.Wartime China as Seen by Westerners, Chungking: The China Publishing Co., p. 119Google Scholar.

89 Yingyang yanjiu huiyi gexiang tian (The various items of the nutrition research conference), AHA, 028000003182A.

90 The Chinese Ministry of Information, China Handbook, pp. 682–684.

91 Jolliffe, ‘Life in Free China Cities’, p. 119.

92 All new milling factories constructed during the post-war building projects were literally called ‘healthy rice milling factories (jiankang michang)’. Chouban jiankang michang (Preparing for building healthy rice milling factories), AHA, 119000000304A; Jiang Qianding jiaoshou tichang shiyong jiankangmi yanjiu (Professor Jiang Qianding advocated ‘healthy rice’ research), IMHA, 20–22–096–08; Jiang Qianding tichang shiyong jiankangmi zengjin guomin jiankang yijian shu (Professor Jiang Qianding's report on the improvement of national-citizen's health through eating ‘healthy rice’), IMHA, 20–22–096–09.

93 It is not known when the Society determined this standard. Zhang, L. (2000). Zhang Jian Yu Junyi Xuexiao: Jian Shu Kangzhan Shiqi Junyi Jiaoyu (Zhang Jian and Military Medical School: With Narration About Military Medical Education During the Wartime Period), Hong Kong: Tiandi Tushu, p. 241Google Scholar.

94 For a good exemplar of the public interest in science vis-à-vis cultural experience, see Fyfe, A. and Lightman, B.Science in the Marketplace: Nineteenth Century Sites and Experiences, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, p. 42Google Scholar.

95 The original title was ‘An Opinion for the Improvement of the National Nutrition (Gaijin guomin yingyang chuyi)’. The new article acknowledged the original authors but also mentioned that the current article was published without Wu Xian's agreement because he had left Beijing. On the same page, the Daily introduced the Communists’ resolution to the nutrition problem: ‘Given the disastrous situation caused by the dual exploitation of both feudalistic Guomindang bureaucrats and imperialists, improving people's physical strength was more important than anything else to revive agriculture and industry.’ Renmin ribao (hereafter RMRB), 30 August 1949.

96 In April 1950, for example, the Saving and Relief Committee was organized in Shanghai to promote popular participation in the food saving campaign. RMRB, 17 April 1950.

97 See Wakeman, F. (2007). ‘Clean Up: the New Order in Shanghai’ in Brown, J. and Pickowicz, P. G.Dilemmas of Victory: The Early Years of the People's Republic of China, Cambridge: Harvard University PressGoogle Scholar.

98 On efforts by the People's Republic of China to popularize scientific knowledge, see Schmalzer, S. (2008). The People's Peking Man: Popular Science and Human Identity in Twentieth-Century China, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, p. 63CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

99 Yi, M. (1950). Jiuer mi he Bayi mian (Ninety-Two Rice and Eighty-One Wheat Flour), Shanghai: Shangwuyin Shuguan, pp. 4–7Google Scholar.

100 Fan, G. (1955). ‘Zhengfan haochu duo’ in She, B.Zenyang Jieyue Liangshi (How to save food), Shanghai: Shanghai Wenhua Chuubanshe, pp. 14–15Google Scholar. For a discussion of the reputation of the Xinya Cantonese Restaurant in Shanghai from the 1920s, see Swislocki, Culinary Nostalgia.