Embodying nation in food consumption : changing boundaries of "Taiwanese cuisine" (1895-2008)

This dissertation examines the transformations of “Taiwanese cuisine” under three different political regimes. In the Japanese colonial era, “Taiwanese cuisine” emerged as food for the elite and as the “food of the colony.” However, the arrival of the Nationalist government and migrants from mainland China transplanted a condensed Chinese culinary map to Taiwan, while Taiwanese cuisine became a regional cuisine which was placed at a much lower level in the culinary hierarchy. After the establishment of the Democratic Progressive Party government in 2000, Taiwanese cuisine was imbued with symbolic meanings and began to be viewed as a “distinctive national cuisine.” The exploration of Taiwanese cuisine shows that “national cuisine” is a relational and performative concept, as well as a commercial product. Nationhood, in the context of food, can render itself perceivable only to those who perceive the symbolic meanings of cuisine or those who embed meanings in particular dishes. It thus suggests that there are three stages leading to the embodiment of nationhood in food consumption and which together form a circle. First, specific cuisines are symbolized and performed as “national.” Second, the symbolized cuisines are commodified. Finally, only when consumers perceive and practice these cuisines as national, nationhood can be embodied in these particular cuisines.