Brian R. Dott - The Chile Pepper in China

1. 
   Names and Places: How the Chile Found Its Way Home to China
2. 
   Spicing Up the Palate
3. 
   Spicing Up the Pharmacopeia
4. 
   Too Hot for Words: Elite Reticence Toward Chile Peppers
5. 
   Chiles as Beautiful Objects and Literary Emblems
6. 
   Maos Little Red Spice: Chiles and Regional Identity

Many people have provided me with support and assistance throughout this book project. Sarah Scheewind, Yi-Li Wu, and Evelyn Rawski all gave me valuable advice and feedback on my first stab at writing a narrative for the history of the chile. Members of the History Department at Whitman College provided feedback at various stages of the project. Audiences at presentations at the Qing History Institute at Renmin University in Beijing and at the Needham Institute in Cambridge asked probing questions that pushed me further in my understanding and analysis. Shu-chu Wei-Peng, Qiulei Hu, and Donghui He all helped me decipher cryptic passages in classical Chinese. Wencui Zhao gave me assistance with nuances of modern Chinese and helped me navigate obtaining permissions in China. Dong Jianzhong, at the Qing History Institute at Renmin University, hosted me on several occasions in Beijing, aiding in numerous ways, both scholarly and personally. Xu Wangsheng at the China Agriculture Museum in Beijing assisted by tracking down important scholarly works on chiles in Chinese. Wang Maohua brought the illustrated text by Huang Fengchi to my attention. Annelise Heinz provided research assistance at the beginning stages of the project.

Chef Wang Taohong in Beijing demonstrated a variety of cooking methods, engaged me in a stimulating culinary conversation, and taught me to look for chiles in the cuisines of traditionally nonspicy regions. Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioner Alex Tan clarified a number of medical concepts. Li Yongxian from Sichuan University expanded my understanding of the place and role of chiles in Sichuan culture. He took the time to tour me around Pixian, where I deepened my appreciation of douban jiang. Librarians at Harvard-Yenching, the University of Washington, Beijing Universitys rare book collection, and the National Library of China all provided invaluable assistance tracking down materials. At Whitman College, Jen Pope did an extraordinary job obtaining numerous books through interlibrary loan. Jennifer Crewe, at Columbia University Press, helped me turn a manuscript with potential into a much more readable book.

Whitman College and the History Department both provided travel expenses for multiple research trips to China, as well as the University of Washington Library and the Harvard-Yenching Library. Sally Bormann has aided me in this project in many ways, as an amazing editor, providing feedback, and especially as someone who pushed me to think deeper and write better.

All translations in the book are my own unless noted otherwise.