Gastrodiplomacy and China’s Global Influence

Karen Christensen, CEO of Berkshire Publishing Group, will speak on gastrodiplomacy and China at Simon's Rock on Thursday, January 30, accompanied by Professor Zhao Rongguang, professor and director of the Chinese Food Culture Institute at Zhejiang Gongshang University. Christensen will talk about Chinese food diplomacy from 1575 to the present and how food has influenced her work in China since 2001. She will explain how Chinese cuisine offers a compelling opportunity for soft-power diplomacy, and has a role to play in combating climate change and improving public health. Professor Zhao will talk about two traditional Chinese approaches to food: the advice to “eat well” and the notion of “mindful eating.” Karen Christensen is co-editor of the Encyclopedia of Modern Asia and Asian Cuisines, publisher of the Berkshire Encyclopedia of China, and is now developing the Encyclopedia of Chinese Cuisines with Oxford University Press. Sponsored by the Center for Food Studies. Contact Maryann Tebben, mtebben@simons-rock.edu, for more information.

This lecture is free and open to the public. ACE credit available for students.