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2023/24 School of Chinese Research Student Seminar

品味西方：閱讀一本晚清的西餐食譜

Savoring the West: Reading a Western Cookbook in Late Qing

Abstract:

1889年，上海美華書館在出版《西法食譜》的同時，還出版了它的中英對照本The Oriental Cook Book。這是中國最早的雙語西餐食譜，其出版目的是幫助外國主婦準確地給中國廚子下達烹飪指令。儘管是一種重要的飲食文獻，但學者對此書的關注不多，也未能以系統化的方法將其作為歷史文獻來解讀。

本研究將從成書、出版和閱讀接受對The Oriental Cook Book及《西法食譜》進行細讀。首先，將The Oriental Cook Book放置於19世紀食譜寫作發展的背景中，結合食譜選編的特定內容，分析食譜書寫如何表達文化身分並融合在地體驗。其次，比較兩本食譜的廣告宣傳，尤其是它們在裝幀、開本及頁數等方面的差異，從而理解其出版策略與局限性。最後，本研究將討論食譜的閱讀接受。通過分析一位晚清文人在日記中對《西法食譜》的提及，我將嘗試解釋西餐在何種程度上成為他所理解的「西學」的一部分。

In 1889, American Presbyterian Mission Press published xifa shipu and its English-Chinese edition, The Oriental Cook Book. As the first bilingual cookbook in China, The Oriental Cook Book aims to assist foreign housewives in giving accurate instructions to their Chinese cooks. Despite its significance in culinary literature, this cookbook has received limited academic attention and has not been systematically interpreted as a historical document.  

This study closely examines The Oriental Cook Book and its Chinese edition xifa shipu, focusing on the creation, publication, and reception. Firstly, by situating The Oriental Cook Book within the broader context of recipe writing in the 19th century and highlighting contents regarding specific ingredients and dishes, I intend to explore how culinary writing reflects cultural identity and incorporates localized experience. Then, this study compares advertisements for these two cookbooks at that time, considering the differences in size, binding, number of pages, etc., to shed light on the publication strategy and its limitations. Finally, my concentration moves to the reception of this cookbook. By paying attention to a Chinese literati’s diary during the late Qing that mentions xifa shipu, I seek to comment on the extent to which the Western food culture and culinary art integrate into his Western learning.