Podcast Summary: New Books Network

Episode: Thomas David DuBois, "China in Seven Banquets: A Flavorful History" (Reaktion Books, 2024)
Host: Laura Goldberg
Date: December 28, 2025

Main Theme & Purpose

This episode features a conversation between host Laura Goldberg and historian Thomas David DuBois about his new book, China in Seven Banquets: A Flavorful History. The discussion explores Chinese history and society through the lens of food, focusing on the role of banquets as reflections—and drivers—of cultural, political, and social change. DuBois illustrates how food history is both deeply human and profoundly influential in shaping communities, etiquette, class, and even national security.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Human Side of Chinese Food History

• DuBois set out to write a history that’s vivid, personal, and accessible, intentionally departing from the dense academic tone common in works by historians.
• The opening scene in his book—a kitchen worker killing frogs for a banquet—was chosen to convey the immediacy and tangibility of food experiences in China.

  "All of these little, you know, these little moments...the reason it sounds vivid is because my memory of it is so vivid. And I wanted to capture all of these as clearly and, you know, as vividly as I could." (Thomas David DuBois, 05:06)

2. Frogs, Regional Cuisine & Food Choices

• The prevalence of frog in Chinese cuisine reflects environmental and regional factors; the further south, the more common frogs (“water chickens”) are, since they are easier to raise in wetter climates.
• DuBois and Goldberg discuss how even mundane food choices stem from deep historical and regional logic.

3. Banquet as a Lens on Chinese Society

• Chinese banquets are much more than meals: they are complex rituals involving performance, hierarchy, and etiquette.
• The arrangement of seats, order of toasts, and sequence of dishes all convey social status and relationships, especially in regions like Shandong, the birthplace of Confucius.

  "You pick that up. If you go to China, you pick that up fairly quickly that you don't just grab a seat, you wait until you are told where to sit." (Thomas David DuBois, 10:09)

• These social rituals turn meals into aesthetic experiences that reveal historical and social order.
• The book includes varied banquets, from ancient texts, historical events, movies, and personal experiences, to showcase diversity over time and space.

4. Food History: Reflection and Driver of Change

• DuBois underscores that food history isn’t just reflective of societal changes—it drives them.
• He describes food as a universal human experience through which all kinds of social, economic, and moral meanings are expressed.

  "Any human division or any human grouping or any human emotion can be expressed through food, which means it can be expressed in food history." (Thomas David DuBois, 17:52)

5. Banquet 1: The Eight Treasures of Zhou & Confucian Ethics

• The first banquet draws on Confucian morality—banquet etiquette is deeply foundational in Chinese society, going back 3,000 years.
• Meat, especially prepared in specific ways, was a symbol of moral and political standing.
• The description of fermented meat sauces—akin to Roman garum—elicited both fascination and queasiness (24:08).
• DuBois includes recipes throughout the book, some of which have entered his own regular rotation; others (like the fermented meats) were less successful.

6. Changing Flavors and Ingredients

• Some historical flavors and spices, such as long pepper, have disappeared from Chinese cooking as chilies and other tastes rose to dominance.
• Globalization in food is not new—China has always incorporated foreign ingredients, changing dramatically with the arrival of New World crops. Corn and chilies fundamentally transformed agriculture and cuisine, enabling population growth and new regional habits.

  "Corn would be one of the...the sort of the life changing, the cultural transformations. One would be corn, another would be Chili's. I think those are the two big changes." (Thomas David DuBois, 32:33)

7. Sichuan Cuisine and the Dynamics of Authenticity

• Goldberg reflects on American fascination with spicy Sichuan food, while DuBois explains this “authentic” spicy style was historically associated with poverty and is in part a product of industrialization and tourism.
• The global and internal marketing of culinary “authenticity” shapes what is offered, even in China, sometimes erasing local diversity for tourist expectations.

8. Banquet 2: The Lavishness of Ancient Banqueting

• The Tang Dynasty banquet, influenced by Silk Road connections, featured extraordinary arrays of foods, including exotic meats and dairy, highlighting how official banquets served political ends and displayed imperial power.
• Practical preparation was the work of dedicated official bureaus, employing armies of cooks and servers.

9. The Culture and Role of Tea

• Tea occupies a central place in Chinese social and ceremonial life, akin to wine in the West, with terroir, connoisseurship, and even speculative bubbles (i.e. pu’er tea).

  "Giving tea as a present or showing the ability to recognize good tea is, very similar again to wine in the West. It's a sign of a cultured person." (Thomas David DuBois, 52:15)

10. Culinary Representation in Film: Eat, Drink, Man, Woman

• The book includes a banquet inspired by Ang Lee’s film, showing how contemporary media reflect—and shape—culinary traditions and generational conflicts.
• The film’s attention to food, family, and changing relationships resonates with themes of authenticity, heritage, and adaptation.

  "Food is the vehicle for human relationships and it's sort of paired with family relationships, it's paired with sex, but it always has that symbolic value." (Thomas David DuBois, 61:45)

11. Chinese Cuisine Abroad & Notions of Authenticity

• DuBois traces his own journey from eating Americanized Chinese food in suburban Illinois, expressing love for the so-called “inauthentic” because of its personal significance.
• He critiques the rigid pursuit of authenticity, noting that all food cultures are moving targets, constantly evolving.
• In modern China, processes like productive upscaling and centralized food production—mirroring trends in Western countries—are rapidly transforming culinary culture, raising issues around standardization and food security.

12. Food Security and Centralization

• The Chinese government’s focus on food self-sufficiency since 1949 has driven domestic production and resistance to import dependence.
• Rapid centralization and industrialization, especially visible in dairy and food processing, have led to tensions with consumers’ expectations for tradition and freshness.

13. Takeaways for Readers and Diners

• DuBois hopes readers will come away with an appreciation for the sheer depth, diversity, and cultural meaning of Chinese food—a world far beyond questions of mere authenticity or taste.

  "We're not even at the tip of the iceberg. The iceberg is way over on the horizon. We haven't even seen the iceberg yet. There's so much depth to this. And even after having lived here for most of my adult life, it wasn't until I started researching this book that I properly understood how much, how deep and how rich this culture is." (Thomas David DuBois, 71:52)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "Delightful is about the highest praise I think I could aspire to. So we've started off on a really good foot." (Thomas David DuBois, 03:13)
• "The further south you go, the more froggy you get. And that's...related to the...where the water is..." (Thomas David DuBois, 07:01)
• "Food history is fun. Food history is. I like to jug that as a historian, I'm sort of the universal donor of humanity's academia. I could talk to anybody." (Thomas David DuBois, 16:04)
• "Is it authentic, is it, you know, is this an invented tradition or what have you. The sources are there and the depth of the aesthetic is, you know, it's just plain to see." (Thomas David DuBois, 55:50)
• "Food is the vehicle for human relationships and it's...paired with family relationships, it's paired with sex, but it always has that symbolic value." (Thomas David DuBois, 61:45)
• "Authenticity is always going to be a moving target. What I find interesting about China's current culinary scene...is to see that it's not really so much, for example, American food coming to China. It's...China's experiencing the same processes that transformed American cuisine." (Thomas David DuBois, 63:45)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 03:13 — Tone and intent of the book
• 05:06 — The vivid frog banquet anecdote
• 09:10 — The banquet as a window into etiquette and societal values
• 15:25 — “Food history as a driver”—Why study food history?
• 19:48 — Breakdown and meaning of the Eight Treasures of Zhou
• 24:08 — Adventures with ancient fermented meat recipes
• 26:29 — Lost flavors and shifting ingredient dominance
• 29:06 — Globalization and food: Corn, chilies, and population
• 34:00 — How corn and chilies changed China
• 35:50 — Sichuan cuisine, authenticity, and class
• 41:43 — The impact of tourism and marketing on local food
• 44:21 — Tang dynasty banquets and the logistics of ancient feasts
• 51:20 — The place of tea in Chinese culinary and cultural life
• 56:10 — The iconic film “Eat, Drink, Man, Woman” and food as metaphor
• 63:34 — Authenticity, adaptation, and Chinese food around the world
• 67:17 — Food centralization, security, and government policy
• 71:35 — Final takeaways: food’s depth beyond "real" or "tasty"

Overall Tone and Language

DuBois is scholarly but warm, enthusiastic, and often humorous, blending deep expertise with personal anecdotes and accessible storytelling. Goldberg, a lover of Chinese food and experienced interviewer, brings an inquisitive, appreciative voice, drawing out both the cultural significance and practical realities of China’s food traditions.

For Listeners Who Haven’t Heard the Episode:

This episode is an engaging, wide-ranging tour through Chinese history, culture, and society via the banquet table. Whether you’re a student of history, a lover of Chinese food, or simply curious about how something as universal as eating can shape—and reflect—the human experience, this conversation is filled with surprising insights and rich, memorable detail.