The Three Meanings of Zhuhai

Notes on Zhuhai： Sequel to the World of Chaoshan Cuisine

Zhang Xinmin

Lingnan Fine Arts Publishing House

December 2020

188.00 （CNY）

Zhang Xinmin

Zhang Xinmin is a gourmet who has authored well-known works such as The World of Chaoshan Cuisine， The Taste of Chaoshan， and Chaozhou Cuisine. He is also the director of the Chaoshan Cuisine Research Society of Shantou， a food consultant for the shows A Bite of China and Once Upon a Bite， the main consultant for the show Flavorful Origins， and the owner of Zhuhai Restaurant.

In February 2011， my monograph The World of Chaoshan Cuisine， which consisted of two sections， was reprinted， with the title of the first being “The Culture and History of Chaoshan Cuisine” and that of the second being “The Humanities of Chaoshan Cuisine”. Another work of mine， The Taste of Chaoshan， which was first published in January 2012， has since had eight printing runs. At that time， I thought that I had already comprehensively covered the entire culture surrounding Chaoshan cuisine and that it might be time for me to either stop writing about this topic or shift my research and focus to a new direction. In June 2013， along with some of my friends who also love Chaoshan cuisine， I established the Chaoshan Cuisine Research Society of Shantou in order to shift our focus from theoretical research to practical cooking. Even though this newly established research society was hidden away in the residential estates of Guangsha New Town， it included a relatively modern kitchen powered by electricity which allowed us to experiment and connect with each other through cooking. I remember recreating various dishes which would later become famous such as smoked foie gras， swiftlet nest soup with pomegranate， sous vide threadfin over rice， etc. Popular shows about food such as A Bite of China also helped to make Chaoshan cuisine one of the most searched topics online， with many people treating Chaoshan as a holy site for food. The Chaoshan Cuisine Research Society became one of the most well-known underground restaurants in China， commanding a place on virtually every list of good restaurants. Entering 2018， the research society was relocated to a hotel located on Haibin Road， the new address bringing with it a complete set of kitchen equipment. It was here that an official restaurant would be established; that’s right， this would end up becoming Zhuhai Restaurant， a restaurant which has received a two-diamond rating from the Black Pearl Restaurant Guide （the Chinese Michelin） three years in a row！

Unbeknownst to many， I had actually trademarked the name “Zhuhai （literally meaning boiling the seawater instead of the city name）” very long ago. Some of you who have read my works previously may remember that in the 2006 edition of The World of Chaoshan Cuisine， the first chapter， which discusses horseshoe crabs， reads “If someday I actually get to open my own restaurant， I will place a shell or specimen of a horseshoe crab in the most conspicuous area， because， to me， the horseshoe crab is symbolic of Chaoshan cuisine， despite it having a very rich culture and a diverse spectrum of dishes.” Now， everyone can see that I live up to my words！ I had the idea of opening a restaurant many years prior and had even thought of and trademarked its name. To me， the name “Zhuhai” has at least three meanings.

First off， “Zhuhai （boiling seawater）” was the method used to produce salt during ancient times. This would have played a huge part in shaping the lives and culture of people living in ancient Chaozhou. “Boiling seawater into salt” was the saying during those times. In the Book of Han， Ban Gu mentions， “Salt production through the boiling of seawater from the East China Sea will contribute vastly to the prosperity of China.” In general， during those ancient times， the salt industry in China contributed to about a third of the country’s fiscal income and was the most important industry in the country. The earliest method to produce salt utilizing this method was to fill a large pot with seawater before placing it onto a stove and boiling it down using firewood. Although this method may seem wasteful and unnecessary when compared to crystallization， which does not require any form of heating and simply uses evaporation， one has to remember that salt crystallization was one of the great inventions which came about only during the Yuan Dynasty. It wasn’t until the publication of Xu Guangqi’s Complete Treatise on Agriculture （which was published in 1639， during the Ming Dynasty） that the common people started making use of it. Before that， salt production all over China involved heating. In modern-day Chenghai District， Shantou， there is a place known as “Yanzao” （literally meaning “salt stove”）， which is famous for producing thin-shelled rice. The name of this place harkens right back to the ancient culture of salt production in China.

The second meaning of “Zhuhai” is to boil seawater and relates somewhat to the myth （and Yuan-Dynasty Zaju， a form of Chinese opera） of Zhang Yu Boiling the Sea. Through its development during both the Northern and Southern Song dynasties， the Chaoshan area had become known as “Zoulu on the shore” （Zoulu meaning an area of cultural prosperity） and was famous not only for producing salt but also for its prosperous culture and advanced educational system， with 139 imperial scholars coming from this area alone. Legend has it that Emperor Xiaozong of Song once asked Wang Dabao （a high-ranking official from the Chaoshan area） about the culture of Chaozhou， to which Wang Dabao replied， “Education can help break one out of poverty.” Something important to note is that the people of Chaozhou were able to effectively make use of their location next to the sea to not only get produce such as salt and fish but also to develop maritime trading routes， enabling them to have a vast and developed trading network， with routes through the Bohai Sea and Miaodao Archipelago. Evidence of this can be found in Su Shi’s The Records of the Twelve Stones from the Northern Sea. Moving forward into the Yuan Dynasty， the maritime trade routes opened up by businessmen from Chaozhou impressed Wang Dayuan （a Chinese traveler） so much that he wrote in his book A Brief Account of Island Barbarians， “The shoreline of China， also known as the shoreline that goes for ten thousand li， has its roots in Chaozhou and extends about like a long snake， reaching and connecting the seas and lands.” I believe that it is this background that has resulted in Zhang Yu， a scholar from Chaozhou， becoming the main character of the myth Zhang Yu Boiling the Sea. This myth has been around for several hundred years and is one of the most touching and romantic stories of traditional Chinese culture.

Lastly， the third meaning of “Zhuhai” is the cooking of seafood as a culinary art. The people of historical Chaozhou chose the sea and harvested resources such as salt and fish from it while also treating every corner of it as their home， creating Chaoshan cuisine. The late Wei Fu， a professor from Shantou University， wrote in the foreword of The World of Chaoshan Cuisine that “Chinese culture is first and foremost the culture of the Chinese mainland， thus Chinese food culture should also be the food culture of the Chinese mainland. Seafood， as something that cannot be presented as an offering or sacrifice， is the main symbol of Chinese food culture as it is used in the food culture of hunter-gatherers （e.g. Korean cuisine， Northeastern cuisine）， fishermen （e.g. the cuisine of minority races， country cuisine）， livestock farmers （e.g. Mongolian cuisine， Chinese Muslim cuisine）， and plant farmers （e.g. Beijing cuisine， Shandong cuisine， Huaiyang cuisine， Hunan cuisine， Hubei cuisine， Sichuan cuisine， etc.）. All these cuisines combined result in a cuisine known as the Manchu-Han Imperial Feast， which originated from the culture of the Chinese mainland. Seafaring culture， on the other hand， may only be considered a sub-culture in China， as it was seen as the opposite of the culture in the Chinese mainland. It was only after the Chinese economic reform， during which China opened up and became a part of the international family， that China finally admitted seafaring culture is the predominant culture of the world. Following this change in mindset， Chaoshan cuisine， as an “edible” form of this seafaring culture， quickly became widely accepted by the Chinese people after the 1980s.” Professor Wei’s conclusion of this was that “Chaoshan cuisine is the only product of seafaring culture in China.”

If one were to say that the food culture of the Chinese mainland is founded upon the culture of meat， with the standard for good cooking and good-tasting food being “fragrance”， and having cooked food as its most noticeable characteristic， then the food culture of the sea would be founded upon the culture of fish， with its standards for good cooking and good-tasting food being “fresh”， and having raw food as its characteristic. The cuisine of our neighbor， Japan， is the most classic and recognized form of this culture. However， if we were to compare this cuisine with Chaoshan cuisine， we would realize that the two are actually shockingly similar. First， both cuisines love eating food raw. Japan’s sashimi is popular across the globe， while similarly， Chaoshan’s raw fish and raw pickled seafood are also very well-known. In Gazetteer of Chaozhou Prefecture， Qianlong Emperor is recorded saying， “Most of what I eat comes from the sea. Raw oysters， fish， shrimp， etc. are the best-tasting.” Second， both cuisines have rice as a staple and are both very creative using it. Japan has its sushi and onigiri while Chaoshan has its rice noodles and porridge. Third， both make use of seaweed. Many types of sushi use seaweed， while there is also a saying in Chaoshan which roughly translates to “the sea waves are very dangerous when one is trying to harvest seaweed，” referencing a common profession in Chaoshan where people would go to the shoreline to harvest seaweed. Fourth， both also have a lot of deep-fried food， with Japan its tempura and Chaoshan its deep-fried shrimp cakes， shrimp balls， pork belly， pork liver， etc. Fifth， both make use of eel. Japanese cuisine has its grilled eel while Chaoshan cuisine has its red-braised eel， steamed eel， and pork intestines stuffed with eel， etc. Sixth， both call chopsticks the same name （Zhu in Chinese）. Seventh， both like to make use of sauces to dip food into in order to preserve the natural taste of ingredients as much as possible. Eighth， the way miso in Japan is produced and consumed is shockingly similar to Puning sauce in Chaoshan. Ninth， both cuisines have desserts eaten with tea. Japan has wagashi and Chaoshan has its sugar-coated peanuts， dried mandarin oranges， and other dried fruits. And finally， both cuisines love tea. Japan has its traditional tea ceremonies while Chaoshan has its kungfu tea ceremonies， both of which seek to achieve a higher level of thinking， beyond that of mere appetite.

Using Zhuhai Restaurant as an inspiration， this book not only expands further on the views and methods brought up in The World of Chaoshan Cuisine but also delves deeper into the culture of the cuisine itself. I have also added insights I have gathered over the years through all my eating and cooking in the form of notes in the book. Welcome to the Notes of Zhuhai， I invite you to join me on this adventure and exploration of our senses！