research paper

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VEGETARIANISM IN CHINA

Sinan Ruan

Dr. Judith Audin

CHES5106 Selected Themes on Chinese Anthropology

6/12/2018

Definition of Concepts

Vegetarianism- Encompasses meatless food-eating habits embraced by diverse peoples across the world.

Buddhist Vegetarianism- It is a variant of vegetarianism practiced by Buddhist faithful. Individuals avoid eating meat because of their concern for animal life.

Zhaijie-It was a ritualistic fast practiced by nobles in early China involving abstinence from meat eating.

Buddhist Entitlement Vegetarianism-It is a notion that allows Buddhist to practice non-violence against animals and all sentient life.

Introduction

Vegetarianism has gained increasing prominence in the modern context. Its definition varies depending on the context one uses it. For example, some individuals can regard it as an ideology or a spiritual virtue while others might visualize it as an individualized choice. In its strictest sense, vegetarianism encompasses meatless food-eating habits embraced by diverse peoples across the world. However, it broadly covers individuals who seldom consume meat, but their main diets are primarily vegetarian. Nuse notes that there are various categories of vegetarianism, such as lacto vegetarian, lacto ovo vegetarian, ovo vegetarian, vegan, and pescatarian.[footnoteRef:1] In China, the vegetarian culture has a long history spanning several millennia. In particular, the historical perspective of vegetarianism in China is frequently intertwined with its religious history. Both religion and the vegetarian ideology have reinforced and coexisted with each other with varying levels of success. In contemporary China, the increasing wealth levels among its citizens have witnessed a surge in the number of people who can afford meat in their dishes. However, both religious and personal motives have influenced a substantial portion of its population to embrace vegetarianism. In this regard, it is vital to interrogate the way Chinese religious background has influenced its people to practice vegetarianism for both spiritual and health reasons. [1: Brendan Nuse, "Vegetarianism In Historical and Contemporary China: Tracking Transitions In Discourse Through Rhetorical Idioms of Entitlement and Endangerment," PhD diss., Oberlin College, 2017]

Research Question

How have religious views influenced the growth of vegetarian culture in China for spiritual and health reasons?

Literature Review

Early Chinese Vegetarianism

To understand the significance of vegetarianism in Chinese life, it is critical to explore its roots and its intersection with religion in early Chinese society. In many respects, vegetarian aspects in prehistoric China antedate the arrival of Buddhism and other major religions.[footnoteRef:2] It indicates that the Chinese people practiced some form of vegetarianism even before Buddhism established itself. In the pre-Buddhism period, the Chinese people did consume meat. However, most scholars agree that “regular consumption of large amounts of meat was traditionally the preserve of the wealthy.”[footnoteRef:3] It indicates that most peasants could not afford the luxury of having meals containing meat. Their primary diet consisted of grains and vegetables with meat being only an occasional treat. Popular beliefs advanced reinforced by thinkers of the time, such as Mencius postulated that meat consumption could cause sickness and vulnerability to old age. In Western Han, for example, Cheng notes that government officials considered meals of rice blended with meat as a luxury that could attract heavy taxation compared to other locals.[footnoteRef:4] In this regard, meat consumption was a status symbol of privilege and wealth among the prehistoric Chinese. Life hardships and circumstances could have forced them to adopt vegetarian diets as a survival tactic. [2: Junqing Wu, Mandarins and Heretics: The Construction of “Heresy” in Chinese State Discourse, (Brill, 2016), 125.] [3: John Kieschnick, “Buddhist Vegetarianism in China,” in Of Tripod and Palate Food, Politics, and Religion in Traditional China, ed. Roel Sterckx (New York, NY: Palgrave MacMillan, 2005), 193.] [4: Chuan Cheng, Ethical Treatment of Animals in Early Chinese Buddhism: Beliefs and Practices, (Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2014), 56.]

Interestingly, one can trace its origins in China to as far back as 2300 BC during the era of the ancient Sage Kings who ruled parts of China.[footnoteRef:5] Although both Taoism and Confucianism were already established in China by the time Buddhism was introduced, the latter played an integral role in its growth and development. With time, the Chinese variant of Buddhism assimilated most aspects of vegetarianism, as well as some Taoist and Confucian-related values and concepts. The vegetarian values and concepts that Buddhism adopted are available in one of the following sections. In this respect, both Buddhism and vegetarianism combined to influence the ways the Chinese people interacted with their food systems. It created the foundations of modern Chinese vegetarianism. [5: Margaret Puskar-Pasewicz, Cultural Encyclopedia of Vegetarianism, (ABC-CLIO, 2010), 38.]

The Growth of Vegetarianism during Various Eras

Although the Buddhist vegetarianism has shaped Chinese food culture in many respects, it did not grow in a consistent curve. Instead, its influence on the Chinese way of life was dependent on the ruling government and the interests of the ruling class. While these eras are not necessarily in consecutive order, they offer essential insights that delineate the development and significance of vegetarianism in Chinese culture. For example, During the Chunqiu era (722-481 BCE), meat eating was the province of the nobles and wealthy, which depicted their status in the society. Cheng asserts that individuals “who were privileged to eat meat were members of the ruling class, including the king, feudal lords, ministers, and literati.”[footnoteRef:6] Being a member of the aristocracy became an admired position. As indicated earlier, meatless diets were relegated to the peasantry who could not afford regular meat-based meals. The Tang period (635-705) saw the emperor institute some stringent laws that promoted vegetarian diets. For example, Tang emperors decreed laws that banned fishing and slaughter of animals and held vegetarian feasts aimed at entertaining both Buddhist and Taoist monks.[footnoteRef:7] It indicates that the acceptance of vegetarian precepts in ancient China increased. Such laws limited the consumption of meat-based foods, thus promoting the spread of Buddhist vegetarianism. [6: Cheng, Ethical Treatment of Animals in Early Chinese Buddhism, 56-57. ] [7: Puskar-Pasewicz, “Ethical Treatment of Animals in Early Chinese Buddhism,” 38.]

Remarkably, the golden age of Buddhist vegetarianism might have occurred during the imperial period. During the Imperial Era, Puskar-Pasewicz contends that the Silk Road was instrumental in enriching the vegetarian cuisine on royal and peasant tables throughout China through imports and local exchanges of vegetables.[footnoteRef:8] It illustrates that local and trans-border trade allowed the Chinese people to access vegetables from other areas the supplemented and improved their vegetarian diets. During the leadership era of “Liang of Wu (464-569)”, the emperor became a notable “advocate of the vegetarianism in Chinese Buddhism.”[footnoteRef:9] It flourished during his rule because of his royal patronage, thus catapulting it to mainstream practice in Chinese society. According to Cheng, Liang’s patronage and institutionalization of Buddhist vegetarianism culminated in both monastic and lay practice of vegetarian culture, thus embedding it permanently in Chinese social fabric.[footnoteRef:10] While the emperor’s decision to institutionalize it could have been informed by his political desire to exert influence over the growing Buddhist community, its strategic nature enhanced the adoption of vegetarian beliefs in China. [8: Puskar-Pasewicz, 38.] [9: Puskar-Pasewicz, 38.] [10: Cheng, Ethical Treatment of Animals in Early Chinese Buddhism, 78.]

Reasons for Vegetarianism in Early China

In early Chinese history, one can associate the adoption of vegetarianism with various ritualistic ceremonies and increasing convergence with the Buddhist religion. Privileged meat eaters could temporarily or permanently stop its consumption for four primary reasons. Firstly, they would do it during zhaijie or ritualistic fasting. They practiced zhaijie before sacrificing to their gods and other deities in their beliefs. In this regard, they avoided eating meat and other desires that could compromise their ability to cleanse their bodies and minds.[footnoteRef:11] They considered it a preparatory element that could appease the gods. Secondly, they would eat vegetarian diets during mourning rituals. According to Kieschnick, it was “limited to the period of mourning after the death of a relative as an expression of sorrow and self-restraint.”[footnoteRef:12] In other words, the nobles were required to show filial respect to their dead parents by abstaining from eating meat. According to Cheng, the procedure and strict adherence for the mourning ritual varied depending on one’s social status.[footnoteRef:13] Notably, the practice of meat abstinence during mourning periods continued during varies dynasties, thus engraving it in Chinese culture. [11: Cheng, 61.] [12: Kieschnick, “Buddhist Vegetarianism in China,” 193] [13: Cheng, Ethical Treatment of Animals in Early Chinese Buddhism, 64. ]

Thirdly, nobles could have abstained from meat “to cultivate the virtuous quality which might have been derived from other admiration of one’s being content and happy with little and of frugality.”[footnoteRef:14] For this reason, the Chinese might have found frugality an important virtue that endeared them to the community and enhanced their self-satisfaction. Fourthly, vegetarian Buddhist monks and other adherents practiced the eight-fold fasting to uplift their souls and adhere to a frugal and virtuous lifestyle.[footnoteRef:15] It grew in popularity and was ingrained in Chinese vegetarian culture. As indicated earlier, Chinese Buddhism assimilated concepts and values from other faiths, including traditional Chinese practices. In this respect, it became increasingly challenging to separate Buddhism from vegetarian practice. [14: Cheng, 64.] [15: Cheng, 70]

Pre-modern China

The Qing Dynasty, which spanned between 1634 and 1912, is the closest thing one can observe Buddhist vegetarianism in pre-modern China. Admittedly, Qing Dynasty’s economic, political, and cultural successes became the foundations of modern China, which continue to influence its growth even today. Like in prehistoric times, Wu notes that meat-eating was a luxury most commoners could not afford, which made it the preserve of the privileged and powerful.[footnoteRef:16] In this regard, the peasant farmers embraced vegetarian diets most of their lives. “J.L Buck’s survey of 1930 reveals that only 1 percent of the energy that Chinese farmers took from food came from animal products.”[footnoteRef:17] It depicts that meat was still considered a luxury in China at the turn of the twentieth century. However, one begins to perceive different dynamics as China started industrializing and immersing itself in globalization during the second half of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. [16: Wu, Mandarins and Heretics: The Construction of “Heresy” in Chinese State Discourse, 125.] [17: Wu, 125.]

Discussion

Buddhist Vegetarianism in the Modern Chinese Context

China’s rapid economic growth trajectory since the opening-up reforms that characterized the 1970s and 80s has shaped the spread of vegetarianism in varied ways. In particular, China’s access to “globalized supply chains, has allowed it to access previously inaccessible products from across the globe, thus increasing Chinese food options.[footnoteRef:18] It indicates that its citizens have to grapple with emerging food-related health issues, such as obesity and heart disease. In this regard, religious vegetarianism is crucial in understanding the way the Chinese people are coping with such health and spiritual issues. [18: Brendan Nuse, "Vegetarianism in Historical and Contemporary China: Tracking Transitions in Discourse through Rhetorical Idioms of Entitlement and Endangerment," PhD Diss., Oberlin College, 2017: 3.]

Religious Reasons for Embracing Vegetarianism in Contemporary China

As indicated earlier, Buddhism is the dominant force in Chinese religious landscape. In this regard, examining modern Chinese vegetarianism within the context of Buddhism can unravel some of the critical religious reasons behind the people’s adoption of vegetarianism. Broadly, one can base Chinese vegetarianism on Buddhist entitlement vegetarianism. Nuse defines it as a practice that aims at reducing “suffering among non-human animals, and therefore, among all sentient beings.”[footnoteRef:19] The eightfold fasting that was mentioned earlier offers clear guidelines regarding the practice of entitlement vegetarianism. One of its edicts requires that individuals abstain from taking life, which validates the prohibition against eating meat among modern Chinese Buddhists. The concept of right livelihood forbids individuals from engaging in occupations that permit harm or violence on sentient beings including animals.[footnoteRef:20] Apart from their reluctance to take life, Buddhist vegetarians embrace the practice in their quest to achieve immortality.[footnoteRef:21] It demonstrates that the vegetarian culture can allow one to enhance their purity and ready oneself for immortality. [19: Nuse, 14.] [20: Nuse, 16.] [21: Frederick J. Simoons, Food in China: A Cultural and Historical Inquiry, (CRC Press, 2014), 31.]

Today, Buddhist monks, nuns, and other adherents adhere to a strict vegetarian diet. Puskar-Pasewicz postulates, “The Su diet of Buddhists avoids meat, fish, dairy products, dried lily stem, onions, chives, garlic, and leeks.” [footnoteRef:22] From this perspective, vegetarianism is an important aspect of Buddhist religious identity. In other words, their vegetarian diets allow them to distinguish themselves from other religions and sects in China.[footnoteRef:23] However, it is noteworthy that Chinese Buddhist vegetarianism is flexible. It indicates that it is not necessarily a lifelong process and individuals can voluntarily practice it according to the strength of their faiths. Kieschnick notes that some Buddhist vegetarians “choose to keep a semi-vegetarian diet, or adopt a vegetarian diet for a limited period of time.”[footnoteRef:24] However, most of them choose vegetarian lifestyles for their entire lives. Amazingly, “Many contemporary Chinese people at one time or another during their lives take vows not to eat meat and observe two meatless days every lunar month.”[footnoteRef:25] This practice denotes the influence of Buddhist religious views on Chinese vegetarians. Notably, Buddhist vegetarianism has been vital in converting other Chinese religions towards vegetarianism, as well as influencing “millions of Chinese to adopt a vegetarian diet on the basis of religious beliefs.”[footnoteRef:26] From this lens, Buddhist vegetarianism influences the way the Chinese people practice non-violence against animals and abstain from eating meat. [22: Puskar-Pasewicz, “Ethical Treatment of Animals in Early Chinese Buddhism,” 38.] [23: Kieschnick, “Buddhist Vegetarianism in China,” 186.] [24: Kieschnick, 186.] [25: Puskar-Pasewicz, 38.] [26: Kieschnick, 186.]

The Emergence of Buddhist Vegetarian Restaurants in China

One can trace the history of Buddhist vegetarian restaurants back to the thirteenth century. Kieschnick posits that historicity of Buddhist vegetarian restaurants since the thirteenth century has inspired the emergence of “vegetarian restaurants in Chinese cities and inspired the creation of distinctive vegetarian cuisine, complete with various sorts of imitation meats.”[footnoteRef:27] It indicates that vegetarian cuisine has become a commercial delicacy, thus launching vegetarianism into mainstream limelight in China. In particular, over the centuries, Buddhist monks have perfected the art of making vegetarian dishes. They have mastered methods of developing “delicious vegetarian dishes.”[footnoteRef:28] For example, the Buddha’s Delight is a vegetarian dish made from a combination of cloud ears, vegetarian steak, lily flowers, ginger, black mushrooms, and soy sauce among others. [27: Kieschnick, 186.] [28: Simoons, Food in China: A Cultural and Historical Inquiry, 37.]

Similarly, tasty imitation Buddhist meats are made from bean curd and cereals, thus giving them semblance to meat dishes. Such options allow religious vegetarians to maintain strict adherence to acceptable foods. In urban China, the popularity of such dishes has led to the rapid growth of Buddhist vegetarian restaurants and other supporting industries that manufacture vegetarian products. A study by Garnet and Wilkes found that major cities, such as Beijing, Guangzhou, and Beijing each had approximately 50 restaurants with most of them being Buddhist.[footnoteRef:29] They serve as essential convergence points among both secular and religious Chinese vegetarians seeking deeper bonds and meanings regarding their meatless eating practices. [29: Tara Garnett and Andreas Wilkes, "Appetite for Change: Social, Economic and Environmental Transformations in China’s Food System," Food Climate Research Network, Oxford, (2014): 96.]

Buddhist Vegetarianism and Health Issues

Notably, one can attribute the growing prominence of Buddhist vegetarianism to the religious resurgence in modern China and an emerging health-conscious middle class that has increasingly embraced religious vegetarianism. While religion is not the only motivator in urban China, Buddhist eating-places are instrumental “in shaping vegetarian practices and discourses and their relationship to more mainstream Chinese foodways.”[footnoteRef:30] Individuals converge in such places to discuss the benefits and demerits of meat consumption, as well as establish common ground regarding ethical living practices. In his study of Kunming’s vegetarian restaurants, Klein found that such restaurants served a diverse population consisting of professionals, Buddhists, middle-class individuals, and foreigners.[footnoteRef:31] Most of these individuals are increasingly health-conscious despite their social status. Some of Klein’s respondents in Kunming argued that their decision to embrace vegetarianism spawned from their “ethical concern for animals and the global environment,” health-related benefits, and interactions with the Buddhist religion.[footnoteRef:32] For this reason, the intersection between Buddhist vegetarian practices and the quest for improved health is a prominent one in China. They are not easily delineable. [30: Jakob A. Klein, "Buddhist Vegetarian Restaurants and the Changing Meanings of Meat in Urban China" Ethnos 82, no. 2 (2017): 3.] [31: Klein, 19.] [32: Klein, 25.]

In Kunming, vegetarian entrepreneurs have increasingly promoted vegetarian diets as the appropriate intervention against health and food safety issues emerging in the rapidly industrializing China.[footnoteRef:33] It is likely to encourage Chinese people to enhance their commitment to vegetarian diets in the context of the health benefits and spiritual diets they provide. Klein asserts, “In articulating people’s anxieties about the dangers of excessive consumption and industrial meat with the karmic consequences of taking life, Buddhist vegetarian groups were actively encouraging reengagement with a moral understanding of meat-eating that was once deeply embedded in Chinese society.”[footnoteRef:34] The accommodative nature of Buddhist vegetarianism encourages diverse people with various motives for partaking in vegetarianism to grow their spiritual and health wellbeing gradually. Thus, the combination of Buddhist ideals and health concerns among contemporary Chinese has made vegetarianism fashionable and appealing. [33: Klein, 26.] [34: Klein, 27.]

Ecological Impact of Buddhist Vegetarianism

The ethical concern for animals and the environment is a critical juncture that depicts the significance of Buddhist vegetarianism in the modern context. According to Wang, ethically oriented vegetarians gradually turn to Buddhism because of its compatible ideologies that place precedence on sentient life and protection of the environment.[footnoteRef:35] The multiplicity of motivations, such as health, spiritual wellbeing, and concern for animal and environmental welfare has a critical ecological significance that can help in mitigating modern climate change. In his study of greenhouse gas emissions (GHGEs) among Mahayana Buddhist Vegetarians, Tseng found that their consumption of vegetarian diets contributes to a reduction of 48.83 million metric tons of carbon dioxide, “which is equivalent to 11.3% and 8.9% of the annual GHGEs from France and UK, respectively, in 2012.”[footnoteRef:36] It illustrates that Buddhist vegetarianism is useful in alleviating the ecological crisis resulting from runaway global greenhouse pollution. Meat consumption increases greenhouse emissions. Thus its omission from diets can benefit the environment. Additionally, the study can be instrumental in encouraging more Buddhists and secular individuals to embrace vegetarianism as a way of curbing environmental degradation. [35: Yahong Wang, "Diet, Lifestyle, Ideology: Vegetarians in Modern Beijing," Cambridge Journal of China Studies 11, no. 1 (2016): 117.] [36: Ampere A. Tseng, "Equivalent Reduction in Greenhouse Gas Emissions by Mahayana Buddhists Practicing Vegetarian Diets," Journal of Religion and Health, (2017): 18.]

Personal Encounter

From a personal perspective, my family has traditionally embraced vegetarian diets for both religious and health reasons. Notably, religious connotations have always superseded health ideals. For example, in Beijing, numerous Buddhist restaurants specifically serve vegetarian diets to diverse customers without discrimination. As indicated earlier, Buddhist monks have historically deviated from confrontational and non-accommodating antics toward non-Buddhist vegetarians. In this regard, I was warmly welcomed to every Buddhist restaurants I entered in Beijing. As discussed earlier, the public discourse in most of these vegetarian restaurants centers on both religious and health merits of a vegetarian lifestyle. Although vegetarian diets can be dull, the creativity and ingenuity of Buddhist restaurateurs have enabled them to produce delicious delicacies that keep customers streaming in for more.

Conclusion

China’s long history of vegetarianism is inseparable with the Buddhist religious views that have promoted and shaped it over the centuries. Admittedly, Buddhist monks and nuns have been essential pushing religious vegetarianism to mainstream acceptance in the Chinese context. In the modern context, the Chinese people practice vegetarianism for a variety of reasons. Primarily, the concern for animal life and environmental conservation, spiritual high ground, and health awareness are the leading principles behind Buddhist vegetarianism in contemporary China. The emergence and growth of Buddhist vegetarian restaurants across China have reinforced the acceptance of such ideologies in the mainstream culture. Moreover, its potential to reduce GHGEs in the world has attracted the attention of scholars, which creates an opportunity for promoting it as a potential intervention for global warming.

Bibliography

Garnett, Tara, and Andreas Wilkes. "Appetite for Change: Social, Economic and Environmental Transformations in China’s Food System." Food Climate Research Network, Oxford, 2014.

Cheng, Chuan. Ethical Treatment of Animals in Early Chinese Buddhism: Beliefs and Practices. Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2014.

Kieschnick, John. “Buddhist Vegetarianism in China.” In Of Tripod and Palate Food, Politics, and Religion in Traditional China, 186-212. Edited by Roel Sterckx. New York, NY: Palgrave MacMillan, 2005.

Klein, Jakob A. "Buddhist Vegetarian Restaurants and the Changing Meanings of Meat in Urban China." Ethnos 82, no. 2 (2017): 252-276.

Nuse, Brendan. "Vegetarianism in Historical and Contemporary China: Tracking Transitions in Discourse through Rhetorical Idioms of Entitlement and Endangerment." Ph.D. Diss., Oberlin College, 2017.

Puskar-Pasewicz, Margaret. Cultural Encyclopedia of Vegetarianism. ABC-CLIO, 2010.

Simoons, Frederick J. Food in China: A Cultural and Historical Inquiry. CRC Press, 2014.

Tseng, Ampere A. "Equivalent Reduction in Greenhouse Gas Emissions by Mahayana Buddhists Practicing Vegetarian Diets." Journal of Religion and Health (2017): 1-16.

Wang, Yahong. "Diet, Lifestyle, Ideology: Vegetarians in Modern Beijing." Cambridge Journal of China Studies 11, no. 1 (2016).

Wu, Junqing. Mandarins and Heretics: The Construction of “Heresy” in Chinese State Discourse. Brill, 2016.