analysis
Why?
I choose to analysis All Under Heaven because of curiosity and my desire to answer my question: "Anyone can write a Chinese cookbook, but can a non-Asian person write one that is also respected by the Asian community?" After reading All Under Heaven, I got my answer. Phillips did an excellent job in her cookbook. The cookbook was incredibly detailed and taught me many ideas, concepts, and histories that I did not know. At the beginning of the book, when Hom said, "All Under Heaven is not just a mere cookbook - in fact, it may be the most comprehensive work to date on an incredibly complex subject", I took it with a grain of salt. I was skeptical of whether or not someone was able to give every region's cook justice in one single cookbook. However, Phillips was able to do so. In the cookbook, through combining her research with her personal experience and historical facts, Phillips truly exceeded my expectations. As Hom said, "Her meticulous research has helped fill gaps in my own understanding... developed", not only did I learned a lot, but I also got an answer to my question. Yes, a non-Asian person can write a Chinese cookbook and also bring justice to it.
Who?
The author of this book is Carolyn Phillips. She is a writer, scholar, artist, and food writer. Besides All Under Heaven, she is also the author of "The Dim Sum Field Guide: A Taxonomy of Dumplings, Buns, Meats, Sweets, and Other Specialties of the Chinese Teahouse". Carolyn used to be a professional Mandarin interpreter in the federal and state courts for more than a decade. She also lived in Taiwan for eight years. During those eight years, she translated count books and articles.
When?
Majority of the contents were written in a modern context. However, the author does use historical facts and intuition to back up her claims. For example, when talking about the Arid Highlands, the author explained how Tibet and Mongolia were similar in cuisines despite not sharing a border by providing historical facts such as Tibet being invaded by Mongolia twice.
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Where?
Phillips tackles every major region of China in her cookbook through carefully analyzing the cuisines of each region. In particular, Phillips divided her book into five different sections, North, Yangtze River, Coastal Southeast, Central Highlands, and the Arid Lands, respectively.
What?
The author's purpose for writing this book is to educate the modern world about what authentic Chinese food is. Looking at the contents of the book, one can see that this book was written in a modern context. As the world becomes increasingly fascinated by Chinese food, the question of what is real Chinese food often comes into play. Although Chinese people have lived in the West for centuries, they were not always accepted. The same can be said about Chinese food. In the past, questions such as "Do Chinese people eat rats?" often pop up, which demonstrated America's lack of knowledge for Chinese food in the past. However, as the world continues to become increasingly globalized, people are becoming fascinated by Chinese food. Although this fascination is good, it can lead to people wanting to seem different from the average Joe by claiming they know Chinese food more than others, hence bringing the question of authenticity into play. I believe that Phillips wishes to address this issue. Not only does Phillips want to teach people about how to cook authentic Chinese food, but she also wants to give people an idea of how diverse Chinese food is and how authentic Chinese food is different from American Chinese food.
