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5. Liaoning Province
- Hong Kong University Press, HKU
- Chapter
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5 Liaoning Province To se e mor e clearl y what Chines e peopl e ea t o n a day-to-da y basis, we no w focus on one province: Liaoning in Northeastern China . This chapter surveys the geography of Liaoning Province, describes the food an d diet situation fo r the province as a whole, and lays out the application of McGee's zhenxianghua model. Whil e n o on e provinc e trul y ca n represen t a countr y a s larg e an d diverse as China in all details of food habits , Liaoning possesses characteristic s that are repeated elsewhere and are important to understanding China's issues of food supply , nutrition, an d well-being . The timing of this study fell just after th e end of food rationing in Chines e cities. Thus, the power of rations and subsidies to skew food choice s no longe r applied, and people had much more choice in what they would purchase an d eat. O f course , a s we shal l see , ol d foo d habit s di e hard , an d th e impac t o f food ration s and subsidie s remained i n people's minds and, thus, influence d their choices. Nevertheless, it is instructive to look at what they were eating at this momentous perio d i n th e food histor y of China . Geographical Backgroun d Liaoning (Figur e 5.1) i s the southernmost of the three northeastern province s of China, formerly know n a s Manchuria. I n latitude, it stretches from 38°43 ' to 43°26 ' north , o r abou t th e latitud e o f St . Louis, Missouri , t o Milwaukee , Wisconsin. I t i s the onl y northeaster n Chines e provinc e tha t ha s a seacoast . Its total area is 145,900 km2 (56,33 2 square miles), or about the size of Iowa. At the en d o f 1994 , the tota l population wa s about 4 0 million. 90Changing RiceBowlEconomic Developmentand Dietin China A*) r? J I L I N INNER M O N G O L I A ( - ^ > /j f**-^>-'Kangpin g*-) 7i • jFuxm .£ ? • / jW * * *"Shenyan g. J I A {> i' .. ~ * -® Fushu n; % \V ( , A„ * *o *^ o°Donglin gW ^^ / °Be,zhen */ Suj,atu n^ \ ^ v > V // ^ "Dengt a ° i\ J--vr--^ . • B e n x .HuaboziM t• ('Ansha n>• \HUlUda OrS C U "•„.,„ •^ ^ * \(Jinxi). £* VHaichen g^ S \—A KYingko uv T-^y (f r f HEBEW^J J ^ Dandong / N O R T H Shanhaiguan^-T/ ^> *J KORE A On V V S 1 S 1 Years Figure5.15Consumptio noffinegrain,ruralLiaoning,1978-94Sourc eLiaonin gStatistical Yearbooks,andcalculationsbytheauthor Grain Vegetable s Oi l Pork , beef, Poultr y Egg s Suga r Liquo r mutton Food categones I Urban • Rura l Figure5.16Urba nan druralconsumptio no fcategorieso ffood,Liaoning ,199 4Sourc e LiaoningStatisticalYearbook,1995 ...