wǒ shì cáo yǔ zài guǎng zhōu zhǎng dà de

我是曹雨，在广州长大的

My name is Caoyu and I grew up in Guangzhou

zuì jìn xiě chéng le yī běn shū jiào zhōng guó shí là shǐ

最近写成了一本书叫《中国食辣史》

Recently I wrote a book named the History of Chili in China

là jiāo dào zhōng guó lái yǒu sì bǎi nián de shí jiān

辣椒到中国来有四百年的时间

It’s been 400 years since chili have come to China

chī là de rén kǒu dà gài shì wǔ yì zuǒ yòu

吃辣的人口大概是五亿左右

Now there’re about 500 million people eating chili

guó nèi guān yú là jiāo de yán jiū shì bǐ jiào yǒu xiàn de

国内关于辣椒的研究是比较有限的

Domestic research on chili was limited

zhè gè lǐng yù jū rán méi yǒu rén xiě yī gè wán zhěng de dōng xī

这个领域居然没有人写一个完整的东西

There lacked a complete introduction in the field

nà wǒ jiù lái xiě yī xiě

那我就来写一写

So I wrote one

suǒ yǐ dà jiā kě néng huì jué dé qí guài a

所以大家可能会觉得奇怪啊

So people might feel strange

yī gè guǎng zhōu rén jiù bǎ zhè gè shì qíng gěi zuò chéng le

一个广州人就把这个事情给做成了

That a Cantonese did it

là jiāo chuán rù zhōng guó de shí jiān dà gài shì zài míng cháo wàn lì nián jiān

辣椒传入中国的时间大概是在明朝万历年间

Chili was introduced to China during the Wanli period of Ming Dynasty

zuì zǎo de jì zài shì chū xiàn zài háng zhōu

最早的记载是出现在杭州

It was first recorded in Hangzhou

shì gāo lián de zūn shēng bā jiān

是高濂的 《遵生八笺》

In the Zunsheng Bajian by Gao Lian

bǎ tā zuò wèi yī zhǒng guān shǎng zhí wù lái jì zài

把它作为一种观赏植物来记载

Chili was recorded as an ornamental plant

míng mò de jiāng nán wén rén

明末的江南文人

Men of letters in the Jiangnan area in the Ming dynasty

xǐ huān cǎi jí zhè xiē qí huā yì cǎo zhǒng zhí zài zì jǐ jiā de yuán lín lǐ miàn

喜欢采集这些奇花异草种植在自己家的园林里面

Liked collecting exotic and rare plants and growing them in their own garden

là jiāo yě shì bèi tā men shì wèi yī zhǒng qí huā yì cǎo zhǒng zhí qǐ lái

辣椒也是被他们视为一种奇花异草，种植起来

Chili was also grown as one of such plants

dāng shí là jiāo shí jì shàng shì yǒu yī gè xìng de yǐn yù zài lǐ tóu de

当时辣椒实际上是有一个性的隐喻在里头的

Actually chili was also used as a sexual metaphor

mǔ dān tíng míng pàn zhè yī chū xì lǐ miàn

《牡丹亭·冥判》这一出戏里面

In the scene Ming Pan of the Peony Pavilion

tā lǐ miàn shuō le hěn duō zhǒng huā

它里面说了很多种花

Many flowers are mentioned

suǒ yǒu de zhè xiē huā dōu gēn zhè gè qíng qù yǒu guān

所有的这些花都跟这个情趣有关

And all of them are related to sex

yǒu yī jié shì là jiāo huā bǎ yīn rè zhǎi

有一节是“辣椒花，把阴热窄”

There’s one sentence which goes ‘chili flower warms and narrows the vagina’

fēi cháng míng xiǎn jiù shì zhè gè zì miàn shàng de yì sī

非常明显就是这个字面上的意思

Obviously it means that literally

rèn wèi chī zhè zhǒng rè xìng de dōng xī

认为吃这种热性的东西

It was thought eating hot stuff

rén shēn shàng huì yǒu yī xiē qíng qù shàng de gǎi biàn

人身上会有一些情趣上的改变

Could result in sexual changes

huò zhě shì zhè yàng de yī zhǒng àn shì ba

或者是这样的一种暗示吧

Or such a hint

míng dài mò qī de shí hòu

明代末期的时候

In the end of the Ming dynasty

yǐ jīng shòu dào yī xiē xī yáng de yǐng xiǎng le

已经受到一些西洋的影响了

Affected by western thoughts

rán hòu jiù rèn wèi xiāng liào de zhè gè dōng xī yǒu cuī qíng de zuò yòng

然后就认为香料的这个东西有催情的作用

People considered spices as aphrodisiacs

yīn wèi zhōng guó běn shēn shì méi yǒu zhè zhǒng yǐn yù fāng shì de

因为中国本身是没有这种隐喻方式的

Because there was no such metaphor form in China before

zhōng guó rén chī là jiāo zuì zǎo de jì zài

中国人吃辣椒最早的记载

Chinese having chili was first recorded

chū xiàn zài guì zhōu

出现在贵州

In Guizhou

quē yán zuì lì hài de jiù shì guì zhōu

缺盐最厉害的就是贵州

Salt was the most scarce for people in Guizhou

dāng dì de tǔ mín hé miáo mín yòng là lái dài yán

当地的土民和苗民用辣来代盐

Local Tujia people and Miao people replaced salt with chili

zhè jiāng hé guǎng dōng shì zuì zǎo chuán rù là jiāo de

浙江和广东，是最早传入辣椒的

Chili first entered into China through Zhejiang and Guangdong

dàn zhè biān de rén yī bān shì bù tài chī là de

但这边的人一般是不太吃辣的

But people in those area seldom had chili

yīn wèi tā bǐ jiào róng yì qǔ dé hǎi lǐ miàn de dōng xī

因为他比较容易取得海里面的东西

Because seafood was easily available for them

zhōng guó de shàng céng shè huì lǐ miàn

中国的上层社会里面

The upper class of China

yuán lái de cài dōu shì bù là de

原来的菜都是不辣的

Didn’t have spicy food

là jiāo de chuán bō zuì zǎo shì zài shù mín cài lǐ miàn de

辣椒的传播最早是在庶民菜里面的

Chili was first popular among ordinary people

céng guó fān chī là zi fěn

曾国藩吃辣子粉

Zeng Guofan had chili powder

tā kuì duì rén jiǎng tā yǒu chī là jiāo de xí guàn

他愧对人讲，他有吃辣椒的习惯

But was ashamed of talking about his habit of eating chili

tā rèn wèi shàng bù dé tái miàn

他认为上不得台面

He thought it was cheap

máo zé dōng qǐng pǔ yí chī guò yī cān fàn

毛泽东请溥仪吃过一餐饭

Mao Zedong invited Puyi to dinner

ràng zhè gè xuān tǒng huáng dì lái cháng yī cháng hú nán de là jiāo

让这个宣统皇帝来尝一尝湖南的辣椒

And entertained the Xuantong emperor with Hunan-style chili

qí shí zhōng guó rén děng yú zhòng xīn fā míng le yī cì chī là jiāo de chuán tǒng

其实中国人等于重新发明了一次吃辣椒的传统

In fact Chinese reinvent the tradition of having chili

duò là jiāo yān là jiāo yóu pō là zi dòu bàn jiàng

剁辣椒、腌辣椒、油泼辣子、豆瓣酱

Chopped chili, salted chili, hot oil chili, fermented broad bean sauce

hái yǒu yún nán de zhàn shuǐ guì zhōu yě yǒu zhàn shuǐ

还有云南的蘸水，贵州也有蘸水

Dipping sauce from Yunnan and Guizhou

tā jiù shì ná lái xià fàn de yī zhǒng dōng xī

它就是拿来下饭的一种东西

They all go well with rice

suǒ yǐ tā yào qiú xiāng wèi yào nóng liè yī diǎn

所以它要求香味要浓烈一点

So they have strong aroma

zhōng guó de là jiāo yù zhǒng gēn quán shì jiè bù tài yī yàng

中国的辣椒育种跟全世界不太一样

The chili breeds in China are different from those in other places around the world

wài guó shì yī wèi zhuī qiú là wǒ men yào zhuī qiú xiāng

外国是一味追求辣，我们要追求香

Foreign countries pursue only the hot taste but Chinese like the aroma as well

là jiāo zài quán guó fàn wéi nèi de dà liú xíng

辣椒在全国范围内的大流行

The popularity of chili across China now

shì yóu zhōng guó jìn sān shí nián lái de yí mín shè huì zào chéng de

是由中国近三十年来的移民社会造成的

Is the result of the immigrant waves in the past 3 decades

shí jì shàng shì yí mín chuàng zào chū lái de

实际上是移民创造出来的

It’s actually invented by immigrants

yī zhǒng xiàn dài shí là fēng sú

一种“现代食辣风俗”

A ‘modern custom of having chili’

yí mín yī fāng miàn tā quē qián

移民一方面他缺钱

On one hand immigrants are hard up

tā xū yào shè jiāo

他需要社交

They need to socialize

tā jiù xū yào qù gēn rén jiā chī fàn

他就需要去跟人家吃饭

So they need to dine with others

là wèi cài yáo zài zhōng guó chuán tǒng xí miàn cài yáo lǐ miàn lái jiǎng shì zuì biàn yí de

辣味菜肴在中国传统席面菜肴里面来讲是最便宜的

Spicy dishes are the cheapest among traditional Chinese dishes

là wèi kě yǐ yǎn gài hěn duō bù liáng de wèi dào

辣味可以掩盖很多不良的味道

Spiciness covers a lot of unpleasant flavors

yóu qí shì lěng liàn yùn shū dài lái de lěng dòng shí wù de bù liáng kǒu gǎn

尤其是冷链运输带来的冷冻食物的不良口感

Especially the bad taste of frozen food brought by cold-chain transportation

zuì guǎng fàn dì lái lì yòng shí cái

最广泛地来利用食材

Ingredients are fully used

dà fú jiàng dī chéng běn

大幅降低成本

To reduce cost greatly

chī là tā shì yī zhǒng

吃辣，它是一种

Having spicy food

jiàn lì rén jì guān xì de yī zhǒng hěn zhòng yào de shǒu duàn

建立人际关系的一种很重要的手段

Is an important way to establish relationships

tā yòu biàn yí

它又便宜

It’s cheap

rán hòu tā yòu néng gòu jiàn lì gǎn qíng

然后它又能够建立感情

And it builds connection

chī là shí jì shàng shì yī zhǒng tòng jué

吃辣实际上是一种痛觉

Having spicy food in fact induces pain

wǒ gēn nǐ yī qǐ chī là yì sī shén me

我跟妳一起吃辣意思什么

What does it mean if I have spicy food with you

wǒ men yī qǐ lái rěn shòu tòng kǔ

我们一起来忍受痛苦

It means we suffer pain together

suǒ yǐ shí jì shàng yǒu yī zhǒng gòng qíng zài lǐ miàn

所以实际上有一种共情在里面

So there’s empathy about it

lā jìn le rén hé rén zhī jiān de jù lí

拉近了人和人之间的距离

It shortens the distance between people

hái yǒu yī diǎn wǒ men yào zhù yì dào

还有一点我们要注意到

Another point we should pay attention to is that

chī là zhè gè dōng xī gēn nián líng shì yǒu fēi cháng mì qiè de guān xì de

吃辣这个东西跟年龄是有非常密切的关系的

Having spicy food is closely related to age

nián qīng rén shì chī là de zhǔ lì

年轻人是吃辣的主力

Young people are the main eaters of chili

jī běn shàng sì shí wǔ suì yǐ shàng de rén

基本上四十五岁以上的人

Basically people over 45 years old

chī là chéng dù dōu huì dà fú dù xià jiàng

吃辣程度都会大幅度下降

Eat spicy food at a largely reduced frequency

kě néng yǐ hòu wèi lái zhōng guó rén màn màn fù yù le

可能以后未来中国人慢慢富裕了

Possibly as Chinese get richer and richer

lǎo líng huà shè huì yuè lái yuè míng xiǎn

老龄化社会越来越明显

And the society ages more and more

kě néng zhōng guó rén chī là de zhè gè fēng cháo huì màn màn jiào ruò le

可能中国人吃辣的这个风潮会慢慢较弱了

The trend of eating chili might decline in China

yī gè dōng xī néng gòu zuò wèi shí wù shì yǒu fēi cháng duō de yīn sù de

一个东西能够作为食物是有非常多的因素的

There’re lots of factors for something to become food

wǒ hěn xiǎng zài xiě yī xiē guān yú zhè fāng miàn yǐn shí rén lèi xué de dōng xī

我很想再写一些关于这方面（饮食人类学）的东西

I really want to write something in this aspect(diet anthropology)

tián wèi shì yǒu rén xiě guò le

甜味是有人写过了

Someone have written about sweet food

kě néng hái huì zài xiě yī xiē qí tā de wài lái zhí wù shén me de

可能还会再写一些其他的外来植物什么的

I might write about exotic plants or something like that