Recipes for Migrants: A Cultural Analysis of the Fujian Spring Cake

Abstract

The culture of Fujian is closely related to the history of migrants from northern China starting from the early 4th century. Those migrants, having failed to resist the invasions of the nomadic people, came to the southeast coast of the mainland. They brought along with their ways of living including their dietary habits. Among the various Fujian food, the Fujian Spring Cake (Nen Bing[??] or ??[Run Bing] or Mixed Vegetable Roll in Taiwan term) is regarded as the highlights of Fujian food by Lin Yutang??). Similar recipes of the Fujian Spring Cake flourish in Guangdong Province of Southern China, as well as Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia in the Southeast Asia when the migration continues. However, the Spring Cake remains in its origin as a family recipe and is served usually in family or clan gathering, especially in the Qingming Festival(???). This paper tries to explore the cultural implication of the Fujian Spring Cake.