When Did Chili Peppers Come to China

Zhang Jing

Zhang Jing was an associate professor at Tohoku University of Arts and Technology， an associate professor at Kokugakuin University， and a professor at Meiji University’s Department of Law. From 2007 to 2009， he was a visiting fellow at Harvard University. He is currently a professor in the Department of International Japanese Studies at Meiji University， with research interests in comparative literature and comparative culture， the history of East Asian cultural exchange， and cultural history.

Following the sequence of Chinese historical evolution， the book focuses on Chinese cuisine. It takes readers to explore the origins of Chinese cooking， and to learn， by examining every dish， the level of economic， technological， and agricultural development and cultural achievements of a dynasty， showing in a popular style the reconstruction and evolvement of Chinese culture throughout the development of epochs， the replacement of dynasties， and the clash and fusion of ethnic cultures.

History of China

at the Dinner Table

Zhang Jing

CITIC Press Group

May 2022

58.00 (CNY)

Chili peppers were not native to China but were introduced to China from overseas in the late Ming Dynasty. During the Age of Navigations， chili peppers spread worldwide from their origins in Mexico， Amazonia， and other regions. People in various areas also began to grow them (Zhou Dasheng， 1989). There is no dispute about this point by now. Chili peppers are not mentioned in Li Shizhen’s Compendium of Materia Medica， published in 1596. Therefore， chili peppers have been used in Chinese cuisine for no more than 300 years. So much so that Sichuan cuisine， known for its spiciness， did not use chili peppers in the past. Of course， the people of Sichuan and Hunan had a taste for spicy foods before chili peppers were introduced from abroad.

Mustard seeds had been used as a seasoning a long time ago， and Jia Ming of the Yuan Dynasty explained the usefulness of mustard seeds from a health preservation point of view in his Notes on Diet. The habit of Chinese people consuming mustard did not change after the arrival of chili peppers. Li Yu’s Leisure Occasional Mails writes， “The older the mustard seeds for making spicy sauce， the better， and it is said that the older the mustard seeds， the spicier they are. The dishes cooked with such seasonings are all very delicious.” It means that mustard seeds were still a seasoning in the Qing Dynasty. For this long-existed hobby， chili peppers were so quickly accepted in China. But what needs looking at is when chili peppers were used in cooking and popularized. It was found that chili peppers were not immediately used in cooking when they first entered China. It was only long after that very spicy dishes appeared and made their way into the center of Chinese food culture.

Chili peppers had no trace in the cuisine in the 18th century

First， let’s take a look at the dietary texts of the early Qing Dynasty.

In his book A Collection of Secret Recipes， Zhu Yizun， born in the late Ming Dynasty， recorded the “spicy shreds soup，” a soup made with finely chopped pork， mushrooms， and bamboo shoots. However， when you check its production process， no chili peppers were used， just a sprinkle of mustard seeds on the soup’s surface. Another dish called “spicy boiled chicken” was cooked as follows: “The boiled chicken is shredded and re-boiled together with sea cucumber and jellyfish. Before serving， add mustard seeds. All kinds of toppings can be mixed in. It also tastes great when cooled and mixed with sesame oil.” Being the prototype of the current “Bang Bang Chicken，” “spicy boiled chicken” was spicy but did not use chili peppers.

Another noteworthy point is that the number of dishes using mustard seeds did not increase after the Qing Dynasty. The book A Collection of Secret Recipes contains only one such dish. Of course， this book didn’t cover all the dishes in China during the Qing Dynasty， but the types of dishes that were recorded were very representative. Thus， it can be concluded that in the 17th century， chilies were not yet at the center of Chinese food culture.

So， what changes had taken place in China in the 18th century? Yuan Mei， who died in 1798 at the age of 82， could be considered a witness to the 18th century. But his Suiyuan Eating List， a dietary encyclopedia， didn’t mention chili peppers once. Yuan Mei devoted a section specifically to condiments and seasonings， with detailed descriptions of their functions and applications. There listed more than ten kinds of spices， including sauce， cooking oil， cooking wine， vinegar， green onion， Sichuan pepper， ginger， cinnamon， granulated sugar， salt， and garlic， but no chili pepper. Also， pepper was used when cooking dishes like sheep’s head and sheep tripe soup， while chili pepper did not appear in any of the dishes， nor was there any record of chili pepper as a vegetable ingredient.

Yuan Mei was born near Hangzhou and served as a governor of Jiangpu and Jiangning (now Nanjing). According to his own account in Suiyuan Eating List， after retiring from Shaanxi at the age of 38， he lived in Suiyuan， a villa located at the foot of Xiaocang Mountain in Jiangning. The villa， which he bought about four years prior， was carefully managed after his retirement and became a famous garden in the region. Yuan Mei spent most of his life there， and the extent of his life was confined to Jiangsu and Zhejiang， so perhaps he did not know much about the cuisine of Sichuan.

19th century:

the debut of chili peppers

In the 19th century， chili peppers finally appeared in diet books. In 1861， Wang Shixiong’s A Recipe for the Food and Drinks of the Leisurely Life introduced chili peppers， which were then called “Spicy Eggplant.” According to the description in the book， they were “of different types， green first and then red.” They might be of a pretty spicy variety. However， this kind of chili pepper was not classified in the “vegetable section” but listed in the “flavoring section” (a category of seasonings and spices) together with Sichuan pepper， pepper， cinnamon， and others. Chili peppers were not then served as fresh vegetables. But there was no indication of what and how they were used as a seasoning. Nor was there a single dish mentioned in this book that used chili peppers. It is important to note that the book mentioned “spicy eggplant” with the phrase “people who eat this too much tend to get sick.” The author， Wang Shixiong， was born in Haining， Zhejiang Province， and lived in Hangzhou and Shanghai. This may indicate that in the middle of the 19th century， chili peppers had already spread to some extent among the people in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. While the scholars still seemed to have had a strong prejudice against this new food.

Chili pepper had a variety of names back then. In A Recipe for the Food and Drinks of the Leisurely Life， there recorded eight names in total， such as “sha，” “yue pepper，” “l(fā)azi，” “l(fā)ahu，” “l(fā)ameizi，” etc.， noting that “in different regions it was called differently.” The fact that the names varied from dialect to dialect indicate that the popularity of chili peppers had spread quite widely. Incidentally， the Compendium of Materia Medica recorded that “sha，” “yue pepper，” and “l(fā)azi” were aliases for “Cornus officinalis.” The same term may refer to something completely different in different sources at other times， which should be paid special attention to.