保定饮食文化的 “味道之道”、文化叙事与身份建构 ——   基于地理根基与权力场域的机制分析

First Author; PORADEE  PANTHUPAKORN; BUNCHOO BUNLIKHITSIRI

Authors

First Author -Burapha University
PORADEE PANTHUPAKORN
BUNCHOO BUNLIKHITSIRI

Keywords:

Keywords: Baoding food culture; Way of Taste (flavor structure); Zhili official cuisine; cultural narrative; identity construction; intangible cultural heritage, Baoding food culture, Way of Taste (flavor structure), Zhili official cuisine, cultural narrative, identity construction, intangible cultural heritage

Abstract

This study aims to provide an in-depth exploration of the distinctive food culture system of Baoding, Hebei Province, and to examine its underlying formation mechanisms, philosophy of flavor, and social functions. By integrating historical literature research with fieldwork data, the study finds that Baoding food culture is not merely a product of natural resource endowment, but rather a composite system that appeals to both refined and popular tastes, shaped by the political power center of the Zhili Governor-General’s Office during the Qing Dynasty and by the intensive circulation of northern and southern cultural influences. The study further deconstructs the “Way of Taste” in Baoding cuisine, refining it into a systematic flavor structure composed of fermentation culture, techniques of time, and rituals of temperature. Guided by the aesthetic philosophy of “harmony as beauty,” this structure enables the transformation of local flavors into cultural symbols. Finally, this paper argues that, through the “power narrative” embodied in official cuisine and the “memory narrative” preserved in folk snacks, Baoding food culture has been able to reconstruct regional identity in the digital age, thereby offering a theoretical pathway for the living transmission of regional intangible cultural heritage.

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