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辣椒带来中国味道革命
- Authors
中国最大的外卖app美团去年报告称，近八成的餐厅现在提供辣味饭菜，这种味道用中文表示为“辣”。
双语精读
Coming in hot
热辣而来
How the once-derided chilli pepper revolutionised Chinese palates.
曾经受到嘲讽的辣椒如何彻底改变了中国人的口味。
Tianshui, a city tucked away in China's north-western hills, does not normally make headline news. But a fiery soup that owes its unique flavour to locally grown Gangu chillies has lit up the internet.
天水，一个位于中国西北山区的城市，通常不会成为头条新闻。但是，一种因当地种植的甘谷辣椒而具有独特风味的辣味汤点燃了互联网。
Since March, the hashtag #TianshuiMalatang, referring to a popular type of street food, has racked up more than 140m views on Weibo, a social-media platform.
自今年3月以来，在社交媒体平台新浪微博上，“天水麻辣烫”（指的是一种流行的街头小吃）话题标签已累计获得超过1.4亿浏览量。
Increasingly the Chinese palette is craving spice. Last year Meituan, China's biggest food-delivery app, reported that nearly 80% of restaurants now offer spicy fare, a taste known as la in Chinese.
越来越多的中国味蕾渴望尝到辣味。中国最大的外卖app美团去年报告称，近八成的餐厅现在提供辣味饭菜，这种味道用中文表示为“辣”。
Look back a few hundred years, though, and chillies were nowhere to be found. Unlike ginger and Sichuan peppers, which are native to the region and widely used, chilli peppers were brought to China from the Americas by Portuguese and Dutch explorers only in the 16th century.
然而，回顾几百年前，辣椒无处可寻。生姜和花椒是本土植物，使用广泛，辣椒与它们不同，辣椒是在16世纪才由葡萄牙和荷兰探险家从美洲带到中国。
At first, nobody ate them. For at least 50 years, they were grown as decorative plants, prized for their cheerfully bright colour and tiny white flowers, and occasionally used as medicinal herbs.
起初，没有人吃辣椒。至少50年来，它们被当作观赏性植物种植，因其鲜艳的颜色和小巧的白色花朵而备受珍视，偶尔被用作草药。
During China's last imperial period, a stringent system that taxed salt forced peasants in Guizhou province to look for an alternative to the condiment. They chose chillies, which produce several crops a year and take up little land. From there, a new flavour was unlocked.
在中国最后一个皇朝时期，严苛的盐税制度迫使贵州省的农民寻找盐的替代品。他们选择了辣椒，辣椒一年可多次收获，而且只占用很少的土地。从此，一种新的味道被解锁。
The pepper steadily spread to other rural regions of China, but its pungent, overpowering flavour barred it from getting near the tables of imperial or upper-class families. For a long time, la was used to describe vicious-natured people, and the few urbanites who enjoyed chillies did not trumpet their taste.
辣椒逐渐传播到中国其他农村地区，但它辛辣、过于强烈的味道使它无法接近皇室或上流家族的餐桌。在很长一段时间里，“辣”被用来形容心狠手辣的人，少数喜欢吃辣椒的城里人也不会宣扬他们的口味。
But the Communist revolution revolutionised the kitchen. The chefs of nobles were out of favour, and their traditions discontinued. The new leader, Mao Zedong, was the son of a peasant and a fan of chillies.
但共产主义革命也带来了厨房的革命。贵族的厨师不再受欢迎，他们的传统也中断了。新的领导人毛主席是农民的儿子，也很爱吃辣椒。
Mao made Russian envoys eat sweat-inducing dishes and laughed when they could not handle the heat. "You can't be a revolutionary if you don't eat chillies," he said. What was once a poor man's food became a symbol of China's working class.
毛主席让苏联特使吃让人冒汗的菜肴，当他们受不了辣时，他笑了起来。“不能吃辣椒就是不能革命哩。”他说。曾经的穷人的食物就变成了中国工人阶级的一个象征。
Industrialisation after Mao created the largest migration in human history. Hundreds of millions of migrants poured into big cities, bringing with them the spicy flavours of home. Chillies are now incorporated into street food, fine dining and snacks in regions with little tradition of heat.
毛主席之后的工业化创造了人类历史上最大规模的移民。数百万农民工涌入大城市，也带来了家乡的辣味。如今，在没有什么吃辣传统的地区，辣椒已进入街头小吃、精致餐饮和零食中。
Cao Yu, a food writer and author of "The History of Eating La", argues that part of the chilli's charm also comes from its social function. "If we've had spicy food together, we've endured pain together," he says. "It's just like drinking, it brings us closer to one another."
美食作家曹雨写了《中国食辣史》，他认为，辣椒的部分魅力来自它的社交功能。“如果我们一起吃了辛辣的食物，那么我们就一起忍受了痛苦，”他说，“这就像喝酒，吃辣让我们彼此更亲近。”
词汇预习
normally [高考]
美[ˈnɔːrməli] | 英[ˈnɔːməli]
adv. 通常；正常地
region [高考]
美[ˈriːdʒən] | 英[ˈriːdʒən]
n. 地区；范围；领域；地带；地域
charm [高考]
美[tʃɑːrm] | 英[tʃɑːm]
n. 魅力；吸引力；迷人；美貌 v. （使）着迷；施魔法
occasionally [高考]
美[əˈkeɪʒnəli] | 英[əˈkeɪʒnəli]
adv. 偶尔地
fiery [高考]
美[ˈfaɪəri] | 英[ˈfaɪəri]
adj. 火的；炽热的；激烈的；暴躁的；辛辣的
cheerfully [高考]
美[ˈtʃɪrfəlɪ] | 英['tʃɪəfəlɪ]
adv. 高高兴兴地
steadily [高考]
美[ˈstɛdəlɪ] | 英['stedɪlɪ]
adv. 稳定地；稳固地；逐步地
migration [高考]
美[maɪˈɡreɪʃn] | 英[maɪˈɡreɪʃn]
n. 移民；移往；移动
revolutionary [高考]
美[ˌrevəˈluːʃəneri] | 英[ˌrevəˈluːʃənəri]
adj. 革命的 n. 革命者
peasant [高考]
美[ˈpeznt] | 英[ˈpeznt]
n. 农民
spicy [高考]
美[ˈspaɪsi] | 英[ˈspaɪsi]
adj. 辛辣的；香的
unique [高考]
美[juˈniːk] | 英[juˈniːk]
adj. 独特的；独一无二的；稀罕的
media [高考]
美[ˈmiːdiə] | 英[ˈmiːdiə]
n. 传播媒介；(medium的复数)媒体；新闻媒介
handle [高考]
美[ˈhændl] | 英[ˈhændl]
v. 处理；对待；操作；触；买卖 n. 把手；柄
alternative [高考]
美[ɔːlˈtɜːrnətɪv] | 英[ɔːlˈtɜːnətɪv]
adj. 两者择一的；供选择的；非主流的 n. 二者择一；供替代的选择
revolution [高考]
美[ˌrevəˈluːʃn] | 英[ˌrevəˈluːʃn]
n. 革命；变革；重大改变；旋转
fare [高考]
美[fer] | 英[feə(r)]
n. 车费；路费；乘客；食物 vi. 过活；进展；进食；旅行；行走
upper [高考]
美[ˈʌpər] | 英[ˈʌpə(r)]
adj. 较高的；上面的；上部的 n. 鞋帮；上铺 n. 兴奋剂；令人兴奋的经历
sweat [高考]
美[ swet] | 英[swet]
n.汗；出汗；流汗；一身汗 v.出汗；流汗；不安；结水珠
platform [高考]
美[ˈplætfɔːrm] | 英[ˈplætfɔːm]
n. 平台，站台，月台，讲台，(政党的)政纲 v. 把…放在台上；起草政纲；站在讲台上演说
favour [高考]
美[ˈfeɪvər] | 英[ˈfeɪvə(r)]
n. 恩惠；支持；喜爱；偏爱 v. 支持；偏袒；有利于；长得像
flavour [高考]
美[ˈfleɪvər] | 英[ˈfleɪvə(r)]
n. 味道；风味；韵味 vt. 给...加味；给...增添风趣
imperial [高考]
美[ɪmˈpɪriəl] | 英[ɪmˈpɪəriəl]
adj. 帝国的；皇帝的；特大的；英制的 n. 皇帝；女皇；马车车顶；特大号
spice [高考]
美[spaɪs] | 英[spaɪs]
n. 调味品；香料；情趣 v. 用香料调味；给…增添趣味
trumpet [高考]
美[ˈtrʌmpɪt] | 英[ˈtrʌmpɪt]
n. 喇叭；喇叭声；喇叭手 vt. 宣扬；鼓吹；吹嘘 vi. 吹喇叭；发出喇叭似的声音
vicious [四级]
美[ˈvɪʃəs] | 英[ˈvɪʃəs]
adj. 恶毒的；恶意的；剧烈的；堕落的
upper-class [四级]
美['ʌpə'klɑs] | 英['ʌpəklɑ:s]
adj. 上层阶级的；上层社会的 n. 上层社会
locally [四级]
美[ˈlokəlɪ] | 英['ləʊkəlɪ]
adv. 在本地；地方性地；局部地
decorative [六级]
美[ˈdekəreɪtɪv] | 英[ˈdekərətɪv]
adj. 装饰的；装饰性的
ginger [六级]
美[ˈdʒɪndʒɚ] | 英[ˈdʒɪndʒə(r)]
n. 姜；姜根；精力；深棕色 vt. 用姜调味；使 ... 活泼
out of [六级]
美[aʊt ʌv] | 英[aut ɔv]
prep. 离…一段距离；从…里；离开 ...；出于
grown [专八]
美[groʊn] | 英[grəʊn]
adj. 长大的；成年的；长满某物的
pungent [专八]
美[ˈpʌndʒənt] | 英[ˈpʌndʒənt]
adj. 刺鼻的；辛辣的；尖锐的；刻薄的
medicinal [考研]
美[mɪˈdɪsənəl] | 英[məˈdɪsɪnl]
adj. 药物的；有药味的；治疗的；医学的
don [托福]
美[dɑn] | 英[dɒn]
n. 先生（西班牙用语）；(牛津、剑桥大学的)指导教师 v. 穿上
重点讲解
Coming in hot
热辣而来
deride v. 嘲笑；揶揄
【例】The proposal was derided as impractical and naive.
这项提案被嘲笑为不切实际和幼稚。
【近义词】laugh at/mock 嘲笑
【拓展】derision n. 嘲笑；奚落
palate n. 上颚；味觉
【例】The chef can create dishes that please the most discerning palates.
这位厨师烹制的菜肴能让最挑剔的味觉感到满意。
【搭配】suit/to one’s palate 合某人的口味
【拓展】palatable adj. 可口的；美味的
tuck sth away
1. 把某物收藏起来
【例】She kept his letters tucked away in a drawer.
她把他的来信收藏在抽屉里。
2. 位于（僻静的地方）
【例】The shop is tucked away down a backstreet.
这家店铺位于一条僻静的小巷里。
【拓展】tuck sb in 把某人的被子掖好
How the once-derided chilli pepper revolutionised Chinese palates.
曾经受到嘲讽的辣椒如何彻底改变了中国人的口味。
deride v. 嘲笑；揶揄
【例】The proposal was derided as impractical and naive.
这项提案被嘲笑为不切实际和幼稚。
【近义词】laugh at/mock 嘲笑
【拓展】derision n. 嘲笑；奚落
palate n. 上颚；味觉
【例】The chef can create dishes that please the most discerning palates.
这位厨师烹制的菜肴能让最挑剔的味觉感到满意。
【搭配】suit/to one’s palate 合某人的口味
【拓展】palatable adj. 可口的；美味的
tuck sth away
1. 把某物收藏起来
【例】She kept his letters tucked away in a drawer.
她把他的来信收藏在抽屉里。
2. 位于（僻静的地方）
【例】The shop is tucked away down a backstreet.
这家店铺位于一条僻静的小巷里。
【拓展】tuck sb in 把某人的被子掖好
Tianshui, a city tucked away in China's north-western hills, does not normally make headline news. But a fiery soup that owes its unique flavour to locally grown Gangu chillies has lit up the internet.
天水，一个位于中国西北山区的城市，通常不会成为头条新闻。但是，一种因当地种植的甘谷辣椒而具有独特风味的辣味汤点燃了互联网。
deride v. 嘲笑；揶揄
【例】The proposal was derided as impractical and naive.
这项提案被嘲笑为不切实际和幼稚。
【近义词】laugh at/mock 嘲笑
【拓展】derision n. 嘲笑；奚落
palate n. 上颚；味觉
【例】The chef can create dishes that please the most discerning palates.
这位厨师烹制的菜肴能让最挑剔的味觉感到满意。
【搭配】suit/to one’s palate 合某人的口味
【拓展】palatable adj. 可口的；美味的
tuck sth away
1. 把某物收藏起来
【例】She kept his letters tucked away in a drawer.
她把他的来信收藏在抽屉里。
2. 位于（僻静的地方）
【例】The shop is tucked away down a backstreet.
这家店铺位于一条僻静的小巷里。
【拓展】tuck sb in 把某人的被子掖好
Since March, the hashtag #TianshuiMalatang, referring to a popular type of street food, has racked up more than 140m views on Weibo, a social-media platform.
自今年3月以来，在社交媒体平台新浪微博上，“天水麻辣烫”（指的是一种流行的街头小吃）话题标签已累计获得超过1.4亿浏览量。
rack up 累积；聚积
【例】He's racked up a considerable amount of debt over the years.
这些年来，他累积了一大笔债务。
【近义词】accumulate/amass v. 累积；聚积
【拓展】rack one's brain 绞尽脑汁
【辨析】ramp up 使数量增加
fare n. 菜肴；饭菜
【例】Travelers like the local fare at the small roadside diner.
游客很喜欢路边小餐馆的当地食物。
【近义词】food/dish/cuisine/delicacy n. 饭菜/美食
Increasingly the Chinese palette is craving spice. Last year Meituan, China's biggest food-delivery app, reported that nearly 80% of restaurants now offer spicy fare, a taste known as la in Chinese.
越来越多的中国味蕾渴望尝到辣味。中国最大的外卖app美团去年报告称，近八成的餐厅现在提供辣味饭菜，这种味道用中文表示为“辣”。
rack up 累积；聚积
【例】He's racked up a considerable amount of debt over the years.
这些年来，他累积了一大笔债务。
【近义词】accumulate/amass v. 累积；聚积
【拓展】rack one's brain 绞尽脑汁
【辨析】ramp up 使数量增加
fare n. 菜肴；饭菜
【例】Travelers like the local fare at the small roadside diner.
游客很喜欢路边小餐馆的当地食物。
【近义词】food/dish/cuisine/delicacy n. 饭菜/美食
Look back a few hundred years, though, and chillies were nowhere to be found. Unlike ginger and Sichuan peppers, which are native to the region and widely used, chilli peppers were brought to China from the Americas by Portuguese and Dutch explorers only in the 16th century.
然而，回顾几百年前，辣椒无处可寻。生姜和花椒是本土植物，使用广泛，辣椒与它们不同，辣椒是在16世纪才由葡萄牙和荷兰探险家从美洲带到中国。
prize v. 珍视；重视
【例】She prized her family's approval above all else.
她最看重家人的认可。
【近义词】value/cherish v. 重视；珍爱
At first, nobody ate them. For at least 50 years, they were grown as decorative plants, prized for their cheerfully bright colour and tiny white flowers, and occasionally used as medicinal herbs.
起初，没有人吃辣椒。至少50年来，它们被当作观赏性植物种植，因其鲜艳的颜色和小巧的白色花朵而备受珍视，偶尔被用作草药。
prize v. 珍视；重视
【例】She prized her family's approval above all else.
她最看重家人的认可。
【近义词】value/cherish v. 重视；珍爱
During China's last imperial period, a stringent system that taxed salt forced peasants in Guizhou province to look for an alternative to the condiment. They chose chillies, which produce several crops a year and take up little land. From there, a new flavour was unlocked.
在中国最后一个皇朝时期，严苛的盐税制度迫使贵州省的农民寻找盐的替代品。他们选择了辣椒，辣椒一年可多次收获，而且只占用很少的土地。从此，一种新的味道被解锁。
crop n.
1. 庄稼；作物
【例】to grow crops 种庄稼
to harvest crops 收获庄稼
2. 收成；产量
【例】this year’s wheat crop 今年的小麦收成
【近义词】harvest/yield n. 收成；收获量；产量
pungent adj. 辛辣的；刺鼻的
【例】the pungent smell of burning rubber/garlic
烧橡胶的刺鼻气味/大蒜的辛辣味道
【近义词】strong/sharp adj. 味道浓的；味道冲且微苦的
trumpet v. 吹喇叭；宣告；吹嘘
【例】to trumpet one’s success/victory
吹嘘自己的成功/宣告胜利
The pepper steadily spread to other rural regions of China, but its pungent, overpowering flavour barred it from getting near the tables of imperial or upper-class families. For a long time, la was used to describe vicious-natured people, and the few urbanites who enjoyed chillies did not trumpet their taste.
辣椒逐渐传播到中国其他农村地区，但它辛辣、过于强烈的味道使它无法接近皇室或上流家族的餐桌。在很长一段时间里，“辣”被用来形容心狠手辣的人，少数喜欢吃辣椒的城里人也不会宣扬他们的口味。
crop n.
1. 庄稼；作物
【例】to grow crops 种庄稼
to harvest crops 收获庄稼
2. 收成；产量
【例】this year’s wheat crop 今年的小麦收成
【近义词】harvest/yield n. 收成；收获量；产量
pungent adj. 辛辣的；刺鼻的
【例】the pungent smell of burning rubber/garlic
烧橡胶的刺鼻气味/大蒜的辛辣味道
【近义词】strong/sharp adj. 味道浓的；味道冲且微苦的
trumpet v. 吹喇叭；宣告；吹嘘
【例】to trumpet one’s success/victory
吹嘘自己的成功/宣告胜利
But the Communist revolution revolutionised the kitchen. The chefs of nobles were out of favour, and their traditions discontinued. The new leader, Mao Zedong, was the son of a peasant and a fan of chillies.
但共产主义革命也带来了厨房的革命。贵族的厨师不再受欢迎，他们的传统也中断了。新的领导人毛主席是农民的儿子，也很爱吃辣椒。
out of favour 失宠；不再受欢迎
【例】Bell bottoms are out of favor now, but they were all the rage in the 1970s.
喇叭裤现在已不再流行，但在1970年代非常盛行。
【反义词】in favour 偏爱；有利
【拓展】out of fashion 过时的
induce v. 引起；导致
【例】The drug induces sleep/vomiting.
这种药会让人想睡觉/引发呕吐。
【近义词】cause v. 导致；造成
Mao made Russian envoys eat sweat-inducing dishes and laughed when they could not handle the heat. “You can't be a revolutionary if you don't eat chillies," he said. What was once a poor man's food became a symbol of China's working class.
毛主席让苏联特使吃让人冒汗的菜肴，当他们受不了辣时，他笑了起来。“不能吃辣椒就是不能革命哩。”他说。曾经的穷人的食物就变成了中国工人阶级的一个象征。
out of favour 失宠；不再受欢迎
【例】Bell bottoms are out of favor now, but they were all the rage in the 1970s.
喇叭裤现在已不再流行，但在1970年代非常盛行。
【反义词】in favour 偏爱；有利
【拓展】out of fashion 过时的
induce v. 引起；导致
【例】The drug induces sleep/vomiting.
这种药会让人想睡觉/引发呕吐。
【近义词】cause v. 导致；造成
Industrialisation after Mao created the largest migration in human history. Hundreds of millions of migrants poured into big cities, bringing with them the spicy flavours of home. Chillies are now incorporated into street food, fine dining and snacks in regions with little tradition of heat.
毛主席之后的工业化创造了人类历史上最大规模的移民。数百万农民工涌入大城市，也带来了家乡的辣味。如今，在没有什么吃辣传统的地区，辣椒已进入街头小吃、精致餐饮和零食中。
migration n. 迁移；迁徙
【例】The Spring Festival travel rush, also known as Chunyun in Chinese, is the world's largest annual human migration.
春运是世界最大规模的年度人口迁徙。
【拓展】migrate/migrant v./n. 迁徙；移居/流动人口；候鸟
【辨析】immigrant/emigrant n. 移民；移居外国的人
incorporate sth into... 把某物纳入……
【例】to incorporate his advice into the plan
把他的建议纳入计划中
【近义词】include/integrate v. 使包括；使融为一体
endure v. 忍耐；忍受
【例】to endure hardship/pain
忍受艰难困苦/忍受疼痛
【近义词】bear v. 忍受
【辨析】tolerate/put up with 容许（不愉快的事物存在）
【例】I can’t tolerate that noise.
这噪音我忍不了了。
Cao Yu, a food writer and author of "The History of Eating La", argues that part of the chilli's charm also comes from its social function. “If we've had spicy food together, we've endured pain together," he says. “It's just like drinking, it brings us closer to one another.”
美食作家曹雨写了《中国食辣史》，他认为，辣椒的部分魅力来自它的社交功能。“如果我们一起吃了辛辣的食物，那么我们就一起忍受了痛苦，”他说，“这就像喝酒，吃辣让我们彼此更亲近。”
migration n. 迁移；迁徙
【例】The Spring Festival travel rush, also known as Chunyun in Chinese, is the world's largest annual human migration.
春运是世界最大规模的年度人口迁徙。
【拓展】migrate/migrant v./n. 迁徙；移居/流动人口；候鸟
【辨析】immigrant/emigrant n. 移民；移居外国的人
incorporate sth into... 把某物纳入……
【例】to incorporate his advice into the plan
把他的建议纳入计划中
【近义词】include/integrate v. 使包括；使融为一体
endure v. 忍耐；忍受
【例】to endure hardship/pain
忍受艰难困苦/忍受疼痛
【近义词】bear v. 忍受
【辨析】tolerate/put up with 容许（不愉快的事物存在）
【例】I can’t tolerate that noise.
这噪音我忍不了了。
课后练习
How did chillies become a common ingredient in Chinese food?
A. They were consumed by poor people for its healing power.
B. They were initially used as a substitute for salt in rural areas.
C. They were native to the Guizhou region and widely used with ginger.
D. They were introduced by foreign explorers and became a popular spice.
Why were chillies not consumed by imperial or upper-class families in China?
A. Because it was difficult to transport chillies from rural areas.
B. Because the upper-class families considered chillies as evil food.
C. Because the strong flavour was not suited to their refined tastes.
D. Because the chillies were too common and not considered a luxury.
What helped make chillies widely popular in Chinese cuisine?
A. The variety and ubiquity of spicy food.
B. The end of the imperial period of China.
C. The economic growth after industrialisation.
D. The migration from rural areas into big cities.
What is the subject of the text?
A. The reason of street food’s popularity in China.
B. The cultural significance of chillie peppers in China.
C. The impact of industrialization on Chinese cuisine.
D. The evolution of chillie peppers in Chinese cuisine.