Faculty Lecture- Spicy Sichuan: Chili Peppers, Regional Identity and Chinese Revolution

3.26.10
	What:	Faculty Lecture Series- Spicy Sichuan: Chili Peppers, Regional Identity and Chinese Revolution
	When:	12:10 p.m.
	Where:	University Hall, Room 156
	About:	Dr. Hongjie Wang of the History department will be giving this lecture. Sichuan might be the best-known Chinese province to foreign visitors, and the reason seems very simple: its popular cuisine with super spicy flavor resulting from liberal use of chili peppers. Yet one would be surprised to know that the Sichuanese did not eat chilis until the late 18th century, more than two hundred years after the introduction of this foreign plant to China. This lecture examines the dissemination of the chili pepper in China and its revolutionary role in transforming Sichuanese cuisine. This helped to reshape the regional identity of the province in the tumultuous modern era, ultimately formulating the well-accepted belief that associates the relish for spicy food with the character of Sichuanese people and their contributions to the Chinese Revolution. The Faculty Lectures Series is FREE and open to the public. We look forward to seeing you there!