【文稿已更新】八大菜系申遗，真的选的出来代表么？

John: Chinese food is launching its second attempt to join UNESCO's cultural heritage list. The China Cuisine Association (CCA) has formed a team of 30 to travel across the country in search of the most promising candidates. So far, eight types of cuisine have gained the most votes, including Peking duck, traditional New Year's dinner, dumplings, moon cakes, tofu, Lanzhou hand-pulled noodles, hotpot and zongzi. So I guess really the only question we are talking about here, I think, is why. Does China need recognition from UNESCO? Heyang: Oh, just it seems like people are dying to get them, like we already have 29 items on the list. That’s a lot. It just seems like if only you get one of these UNESCO titles are you justified and qualified to be the star of the province kind of attraction. Liuyan: Yeah, reminds me of the Chinese joke: only if this happens, then your life is complete. That’s the impression I get, and also I think another big factor is when you get on the list, money comes. Heyang: Yeah, I wonder if that’s just a Chinese thing. John: But where does the money come from? The thing is you know, we look at Mexico, their cuisine, is UNESCO, France and Italy, I believe, and also Turkey, I’m not sure about Turkey, but India as well is in UNESCO’s cultural heritage list. And I think I mean the reason that they are there is, partly because people already love their cuisine. Mexican food is amazing. Indian food is amazing. French food is amazing. Heyang: Okay, the same argument can be used for Chinese food in that line of thinking. Chinese food is great, and then I think Chinese people don’t… John: is it? Heyang: Of course, it’s glorious, delicious. I love it so much, proud to be Chinese at the moment. And anyway so the point is it just attracts a lot of prestige within the country mostly I feel. John: So it’s kind of like another version of the Olympics, we have to have it, because we have to have it, because everyone else is doing it. Liuyan: And I also agree that the Chinese food, all those different genres, all those different cuisines, they are fabulous already, but if they get on the list, you can bet your bottom dollar, when you go to those restaurants, they will proudly display the placard and say we are listed among the UNESCO, blah, blah, blah… Heyang: Yeah, you need to pay more for them. John: But I think it’s strange, because listing all types of cuisine, but I always thought cuisine is regional, like we talk about, you know, southern like yuecai or dongbeicai, or sichuancai, or something like that. I thought that’s what they would be looking at, that’s what they would be applying. But they are singling out certain types of foods, not certain types of general ingredients and preparation methods. Heyang: Right, I think my impression of this is actually, they are lumping all that what John saying together. So it’s the eight systems or styles of Chinese cuisine cooking. They are lumping it together and applying for a special name for it. Liuyang: Yeah, I think that’s their strategy, because they tried it the first time in 2011, and they failed. So this time they want to list all those most famous ones, so that they have a bigger chance.