Fuchsia Dunlop: belief

Transcript context

…What’s your speculation on why this kougan 口感 is such a big feature of the Chinese food? Okay, speculation again. I think the thing about China — there was this ancient philosopher, Gaozi, who said shi se xing ye 食色性也, food and sex are human nature. There’s this unabashed pleasure in the physicality of eating. English people traditionally are a bit buttoned up, and it’s impolite to make noises when you eat, and it’s not very proper to show too much exuberant delight in food. But in China, you see this absolute joy in eating — in ancient poetry, in the way people eat today. I think part of that is feeling uninhibited about it as something physical. When you eat in China, you can make little noises. You can put something like a duck’s tongue that’s grapplous and a bit bony and complicated to your lips, and you can enjoy the game with your teeth and tongue, and that’s all perfectly acceptable and enjoyed. Perhaps when you don’t mind a little noise and you are not shy of the physicality, then you can have things that are slithery and crunchy and require a bit of engagement when you eat them. Really makes you wonder about the English approach to sex. [laughter]…

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