“Food” and “History”: A Perspective on Paper Hawk

Abstract

Since its publication in 2016, Paper Hawk has been studied by literary critics from different angles, such as its inheritance of the Chinese classical literature tradition, its conception of language and structure form, and even its usage of imagery. The historical imagination in the novel has also attracted great attention in academic circles. As one of the clues in the novel, Chinese cuisine enables the writer to outline the setting of the era and human nature, and reflect on traditional culture with a keen insight. Taking food as a starting point, I explores the path of historical evolution, its development as well as its ups and downs. A warm thanks also goes out to Dr. Xu Shiying for her interview on historical writing (Appendix follows), which represents the historical depth of Paper Hawk in a dialogue format.

Key words： Paper Hawk, Ge Liang, historical writing, cuisine