美国华人融入主流社会的催化剂： 探析中餐的功能 = A study on the effects of Chinese food towards the assimilation of American Chinese into mainstream society

• Main Author: 余欣娥 Yee, Andrea
• Other Authors: Ong Soon Keong
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: Chinese
• Published: Nanyang Technological University 2023
• Subjects: Humanities::History::United States; Humanities::Language::Chinese
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/165055
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

正所谓“民以食为天”。华人将粮食视为上天，足见饮食对于华人的重要性。 人类学家 Anderson 曾提出，地球上每个群体都会使用食物传达信息。排除人类在万分 肌饿状态下毫无选择的余地，我们日日所食之物其实本身就承载着身份、种族、宗 教，社会地位等相关信息。 19 世纪中叶，美国加利福尼亚发现大量黄金的消息促使大量华人涌入美国。华 人移民不仅在长相、语言、文化习惯等方面和欧美等人大相径庭，其数量也开始威胁 到一部分美国人的经济利益，导致美国人民对华人产生敌对情绪，施以暴力、赶出各 行各业。华人无奈只好投身餐饮业，以开设中餐馆谋生。 中餐在美国的发展史不仅仅叙述了美食的传承和演变，它也见证了华人移民初 到美国时面临的歧视、排挤以及他们如何在夹缝中生存、克服挑战，最终融入美国主 流社会的过程。本文将进一步探析中餐如何于美国华人融入主流社会是一剂催化剂。Traditionally, the Chinese have regarded food to be as important as the heavens. This utmost importance accorded to food is revealing of its significance in the lives of the Chinese. Anthropologist E.N. Anderson is also of the opinion that communities around the world communicate through food. Most of the time, key information about our race, religion, social status etc. is embedded within our daily food choices. During the mid-19th century, the discovery of gold in California caused an influx of Chinese immigrants into America. Not only were the Chinese vastly different in appearance, language and their cultural habits, their large numbers also begun to threaten the economic interests of some Americans. Hence it was not long before the Americans harboured feelings of hostility towards the Chinese and resorted to violence to drive them out of multiple industries. Left with no source of income, the Chinese had no choice but to make a living by opening Chinese restaurants. The history of Chinese food in America has not only witnessed the evolution of Chinese food, it is also testament to the prejudice and discrimination the Chinese faced in the American society, as well as how they overcame these difficulties and finally assimilated into the American mainstream society. This article will explore how Chinese food catalysed the Chinese Americans assimilation process into the American mainstream society.