Delicacies of Overseas Chinese women writers

Delicacies of Overseas Chinese Women Writers is acollection of works created by 117 members of OverseasChinese Women Writers Association (OCWWA).

The contents are about delicacies in five continents worldwide. With the clue of foreign lands and foods, the book not only records the taste of food, but also records the histories, geographies, human relationships and customs, including the memory of and longing for hometown. The book is full of mortal world flavor and scholarliness. Presented by parts, the book is excellent and splendid as a worldwide recipe with the collective emotions and thoughts of overseas Chinese women. Readers can find food, emotion, taste and harvest in the book, which can be said reading is beneficial.

The food world in women writers is various and food descriptions by them are vivid, real and effective, which tempts people to have a taste. In Africa, the "palmerworms in trencher" never heard before is eye-opening. In Asia, it mainly records Southeast Asia style food and Japanese "sushi", as well as taros, curry leaves, pandan leaves, roasted pigs, bamboo pupas and sashimi. In Australia, the seafood is not peculiar, but it still brings extraordinary stimulation to the taste bud. In Europe, the dishes are the most abundant; it has a variety of delicacies ranging from Scottish "national dish" to Spanish snacks, and from staple food to side dishes, tempting people's taste bud from multi-dimensions and multi- aspects. In America, the barbecues, steaks and turkey are seemingly familiar but actually more complex when exploring deeper. They are full of unfamiliar exotic culture and also freshness. Not satisfied with introducing the food simply, women writers also describe the cooking method and recipe of the food without reservation, such as the cooking method of toast and the recipe of chocolate-coated ice cream. They make a comparison between westem food and eastem food, such as the difference of hams (Iberian Ham), and hot pots (Swiss Fondue). They even make a comparison among western foods, such as the difference of bacon between Ireland and North American (Green and Centuries-old Ireland)...

Food itself is a kind of culture. It's of cultural connotations in age, territory, nation, religion, custom, economy and so on. In the process of world fusion, the cooperativity of food is reflected in its wide view, deep-seated, multi-dimension, and high grate culture identity. The food recorded in Delicacies of Overseas Chinese Women Writers may not have much cultural complexity, but the history, geography and folk culture reflected are of vivid, interesting and abundant knowledge. In Zen of Japanese Sushi, the history of sushi is clearly clarified. "As early as Zhou, there was the record of sushi. With coal exploitation later, the food was fine cooked." Thus, it extends in the culture and Zen realm of food. In Mackerel Flavor in Imperial Capital and Tujue Nationality, the rise and fall in history of "Istanbul" is popularized, emphasizing the history fact that Tujue nationality is "the descendant of Huaxia". As for the geographic knowledge, women writers describe the food around the world based on different territories. The writers themselves who write the food and knowledge in the travelling are migrants. Some of them are from America to Southeast Asia. Some of them are form Asia to Europea. From one country to anther country, one place to another place, the cross and extending of travel is a world joumey. It is also a popularization of geographical knowledge. Reading this book, you can follow the authors' steps to wander about metropolises like New York, Paris and Tokyo, or Eurasian small towns like Rodchen, Arras, and Muse. Objects are influenced by the air, and people are influenced by the objects. You can understand a nationality or a group of people by their food and customs, because the local folkways always be completely reflected in their food: you can know about Spanish people in Seeing Spanish People From Food s Art, Armenians in Armenian Cates, German images in Delicious Goethe Green Sauce in Frankfurt, as well as Mexicans who dare to love and hate and the love story of Mexican woman Fasta in Mexican Romance.ln the book, there are also descriptions about religious and folk festivals, such as Christmas, Yule Day and Thanksgiving Day. In this aspect, Delicacies of Overseas Chinese Women Writers is really an encyclopedia of universal world history, geography and folkways.

You are what you eat. People's living environment and attitude towards life are always reflected in the food they eat. As for writers, it is their goals to fill book world with individual aspiration and passion, to reflect the meaning of individual life, and to bring readers in a meaningful spirit atmosphere with works. A writer should not keep far from readers with proud loneliness, nor please readers with plain words. Instead, he should endeavor to promote meaning beyond daily life so as to make further progress. It is the tension and height goal of literature writing. However, if the works are about the awe of nature and gratitude oflife, the writing is given modernity and deeper meaning. No matter such choice is intentional or unintentional, the subjects can be received by the public if itself has the space to enrich. Once writers could respond to it intentionally, they have the ability to creatively write out the meaning and character ofit.

In Delicacies of Overseas Chinese Women Writers, it is a meaningful choice to describe homesickness, collective memory and family country feelings beyond food expressed by the writers. It arises the homesickness inside every stranger by the vivid description of sentiment inside Chinese food culture. Several articles talk about the turkey dinner on Thanksgiving Day, the reprehensive of western food culture, reflecting the difficulty and endless process for Chinese to blend in the American culture. "So- called homesickness is the emotion related to people and food in hometown" (Fall in Love with Foreign Food). Although they "gradually accept culture of host country instead of excluding", the homesickness arises in their heart unconsciously.

Another emotion expressed in the book is humanistic care and joy of benefaction, such as personally involved instant rice (Flavor of Instant Rice in Disaster Area), the silent blessing "when hurricane Haiyan attacked the central and southern Philippines, watching the widespread destruction on TV, I mused when could these homeless brothers and sisters can celebrate a festival or eat a roasted pigs again" (Festivals and Roasted Pigs in the Philippines). It is a precious spirit of writers to care about the world and people.

I'd like to conclude this article with the insights of Banquet in Firenze in this book: Hemingway once said, if you have the honor to live in Paris when you are young, it will be with you all your life as a take-away feast. Just like life, the daily necessities from one kitchen to another are similar, but the foods cooked by every family are very different. It is important that when, where, for what and with whom you are eating together. Delicacy need to be tasted wholeheartedly. You can have a mobile fest anywhere when your heart is with you...