Yong Chen
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- November 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780231168922
- eISBN:
- 9780231538169
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Columbia University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7312/columbia/9780231168922.003.0009
- Subject:
- Sociology, Race and Ethnicity
This chapter presents the author's reflections upon returning to China in 1997 after spending 12 years in the United States. He cites how food has served as a vital signifier of identity in his ...
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This chapter presents the author's reflections upon returning to China in 1997 after spending 12 years in the United States. He cites how food has served as a vital signifier of identity in his American journey as it had in the adventurous travels of Odysseus. He observes that China was no longer the homeland of his youth, with its high-rises, new eateries, including KFC and McDonald's, and more upscale restaurants. He also discusses how changes in the socioeconomic conditions within China and America and in the U.S.-China equation have broadened the meaning of Chinese food in China; the changes in Chinese-food industry in the United States; and why there are so many Chinese restaurants in the United States.Less
This chapter presents the author's reflections upon returning to China in 1997 after spending 12 years in the United States. He cites how food has served as a vital signifier of identity in his American journey as it had in the adventurous travels of Odysseus. He observes that China was no longer the homeland of his youth, with its high-rises, new eateries, including KFC and McDonald's, and more upscale restaurants. He also discusses how changes in the socioeconomic conditions within China and America and in the U.S.-China equation have broadened the meaning of Chinese food in China; the changes in Chinese-food industry in the United States; and why there are so many Chinese restaurants in the United States.
