Nie Hao, MA student, Graduate Institute of Chinese Literature, National Central University

“Eating” was published in Yuan Jen’s 1993 essay collection, It’s Not Funny. In addition to his career as a writer, Yuan Jen has also served as a Taiwanese diplomat in the US. In “Eating,” a presentation of the Yuan Ren’s dietary ideas, readers see how the author – brought up in the Confucian tradition and influenced by Western culture – has fused Eastern and Western views, offering a conception of food and drink unlike any that has come before.

Yuan Jen first discusses basic concepts. Of the five senses – sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch – there has always been a tendency to suppress or overlook the importance of “taste.” The chief reasons for this are two: ideological considerations and economic conditions. Ideologically, the Greek Epicurean School, Indian Buddhism, and Chinese Confucianism all stressed a culinary philosophy of lightness and simplicity. Yuan Jen presents those views without attempting to refute them, because what he is discussing is diet in the lives of the common people, which is in a different category from the metaphysically transcendent moral values pursued by the those philosophical schools. Economically, Yuan Jen believes that modern civilization has gradually moved away the material shortages that characterized earlier stages of development, and culinary pleasure is now part of the proper enjoyment of life – as long as we don’t overindulge, the writer isn’t opposed to partaking of exquisite, well-prepared foods.

Generally speaking, “Eating” revolves around a kind of “be in the moment” philosophy of living. A “penchant for good food” is not an undesirable trait, as was previously believed; even gourmet treats, as long as we take a good look at what our hearts desire and our bodies need, are acceptable if they are enjoyed in a fair, reasonable, and legal fashion – physiology influences psychology, and a positive, upright personality will naturally develop as a result. Conversely, overlooking such minute personal needs will do harm to bodies and minds. The essay also brings up an old Chinese tale to make a point: In the Jin period, scholar Zhang Han one day felt the autumn breeze blowing, and began to think of his favorite seasonal hometown dishes. Zhang thus realized that in seeking wealth and position, he’d remained too long away from home, whereupon he gave up his official post and happily returned to his place of birth. Hence, readers understand that the epicure Yuan Jen esteems is not one who merely seeks delicious flavors, but who deeply understands the human feelings that inform those tastes, and who, moreover, links the flavors of food and drink to his or her own conduct and interactions with others, and implements those ideals in everyday life. 

The writer also states that only by observing a person’s attitude toward daily activities such as eating and drinking can we infer whether he or she is capable of prudently handling matters of great import; moreover, an appreciation for the foods of other countries and cultures is an embodiment of democratic ideals. In today’s world, when modern technology is gradually objectifying the human body and science dictates what we consume “Eating” offers a unique perspective on diet. To sum up, the way of eating and drinking that Yuan Jen discusses is an exploration of every person’s primordial biological construct, which even influences the quality of an individual’s character.

Nie Hao, MA student, Graduate Institute of Chinese Literature, National Central University

Yuan Jen (1946- ) is the penname of Wang Lide, a native of Jun County in China’s Hubei province. The writer grew up in a military dependents’ village in southern Taiwan, enduring poverty as a child. He later studied at National Chengchi University’s Graduate Institute of Diplomacy, and earned a master’s degree in history at Loyola University in Chicago, where he served as R.O.C. consulate-general. Yuan Jen began writing in midlife. He has received the Liang Shiqiu Literature Award for essays, first prize in the Translation Awards, and the China Times Literature Award for fiction. He currently resides in New York. In addition to writing and translating, he also pens a column in World Journal, a Chinese-language newspaper based in the United States.

Stylistically, Yuan Jen’s essays are a blend of classical and vernacular language. His prose is clear and refined, the content warm and elegant; in wit and humor his works resemble those of Wu Luqin (Lucian Wu), but also possess deep, implicit charm. Literary critic Qi Bangyuan has said of Yuan Jen: “His prose is precise, his writing reflecting his personality: warm, modest, and low key, without overt displays of emotion.” Yuan Jen’s essays focus his own experiences and realizations, the style delicate and refined, displaying both Eastern and Western characteristics; nonetheless, an Asian ambience pervades his work, blending humor with pathos in the writer’s own distinctive style.   

Yuan Jen’s “Eating” was included in It’s Not Funny, a 1993 essay collection. His short story “There’s Fish to Eat” appeared in Selected Short Stories of 1992 (1993). “Yuan Jen’s Ten Sentences” was featured in Memos: Ten Sentences (1995), edited by poet Yin Di. The short story “Tale of Two Strangers” appeared in both From Another Land – 15^th Annual China Times Literature Award Prizewinners’ Collection (1992), edited by Yang Ze, and The Last of the Whampoa Breed ¹  (2004), edited by Qi Bangyuan and David Der-wei Wang.

¹Whampoa Military Academy, i.e. the Republic of China Military Academy.