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My Thoughts & Musings:
This is a new area of interest that I am exploring. Inspired by my current study on the history of soy sauce, I became interested in the history of soybean as a Chinese indigenous and as a global industrial crop. China’s food security crisis is best illustrated by its increasing reliance on soybean imports while it was a global exporter of soybean one century ago. The current research and re-cultivation of soybean in China and Taiwan reveal the agricultural and food crisis that Asia and the world is facing with the domination of global capitalist industrial agriculture that prioritizes profit above human health and the environmental concerns. I shall study the growing movement of rural revival in Greater China where agriculturalists and food activists attempt to reinvigorate agriculture and rural life as a way not only to increase domestic crop production and the quality of human food, but also to preserve a culture, a way of life that is the root of Chinese civilization.
My Thoughts & Musings:
The study and preservation of traditional crafts and techniques for making foods and cultivating crops are crucial in conceptualizing and constructing post-industrial rural revival and cultural heritage strategies. Such knowledge and practices, often developed and transmitted by artisans and cultivators toiling in specific environments and trained within particular traditions, provide us with information and skills different from standard industrial procedures targeting mostly at productivity and profiteering. Such crafts and techniques for making things and growing crops are valuable assets for securing our sustainable future.
My Thoughts & Musings:
I have also done work on the history of Chinese medicine and diseases. Medicine and food are often two sides of the same coin, and the crafting of Chinese medicine remains a highly valued living tradition. The traditional conceptualization and treatment of diseases, on the other hand, survived serious challenges from Western science and medicine in the 20th century by adopting new concepts and methods to become a hybrid medicine. Similar to other civilizations, the history of Chinese medicine is also closely linked to charitable movements led by religious and community groups and leaders.
My Thoughts & Musings: