You’ve probably tasted fried rice, but you may not know that for some Chinese, the popular, classic dish has potentially political implications?
Chinese internet chef Wang Gang experienced that when he recently published a video recipe for the dish.
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In itself no problem, but the timing of the publication – 27 November – has provoked reactions among Chinese nationalists, writes CNN.
Some have perceived it as a reference to Mao Anying, the son of the Chinese leader and communist revolutionary Mao Zedong.
FATHER AND SON: Mao Zedong (right) is pictured here with his son Mao Anying and his wife Liu Songlin (left) in 1949. In front is Mao Zedong’s daughter La Ni. Photo: Shutterstock / NTB Show more
Was killed in an airstrike
Anying was killed on 25 November 1950 in an American airstrike, when he was an officer in the Chinese army during the Korean War.
The story goes that he refused to obey orders to take shelter, but instead fired up a stove to make fried rice. It is said to have given off smoke, which allowed the American planes to find his position – and bomb him.
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It is admittedly unclear whether the story is true. Chinese authorities have dismissed it as rumours, but the symbolism still hangs heavy among Chinese nationalists.
Wang Gang’s publication was thus perceived as a mockery of Anying, which the popular celebrity chef was eventually forced to apologise.
– I will never make fried rice again, he says in a video he published on Monday this week, reports CNN.
UNDISPUTED LEADER: Mao Zedong led China from 1949 until his death in 1976. Photo: AP / NTB Show more
Have apologized before
Incidentally, it is not the first time that Wang Gang has ended up in fried rice trouble. In 2018, he published a similar recipe video online, then on October 22 – two days before Mao Anying’s birthday.
In 2020, he did the same, but then on his birthday. Even then he had to apologize.
– I only share good food and have no other motives, he said.
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Now he explains that the video was published by his team without his knowledge.
– I have been busy with personal things lately, and did not participate in the publication of the video. That was my biggest mistake, says Wang Gang.
The video has now been deleted.
CULT OF PERSONALITY: Although he died 47 years ago, Mao Zedong is an important figure in China. Here his portrait hangs in Tiananmen Square in Beijing. Photo: Reuters / NTB Show more
Imprisoned for seven months
Chinese authorities are known for cracking down on what they perceive as mockery or criticism of the Korean War.
In May last year, Chinese journalist Luo Changping was sentenced to seven months in prison for insulting “martyrs” who froze to death during the war. According to CNN, he had used a pun on social media suggesting that Chinese soldiers portrayed in a blockbuster film about the war were stupid.
ICONIC: Fried rice is a traditional dish in Asian cuisine. Photo: Shutterstock / NTB Show more
In 2021, a user on Weibo, a Chinese microblogging site, was arrested and detained for ten days for writing that the greatest achievement during the Korean War was fried rice.
“Thanks to fried rice. Without it, we would now be the same as North Korea,” wrote the user.
The comment was perceived as a nod to a widespread belief among many Chinese that Mao Anying would have followed in his father’s footsteps as supreme leader in China, if he had not been killed – not unlike the hereditary dictatorship in North Korea.
2023-12-01 10:51:42
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