PREFACE

The Chinese long ago developed a way of life which has found some favour among visitors to China. The earliest records show that Chinese of the remotest antiquity not only enjoyed the chase; they also had good methods of dealing with the fruits it yielded.

The histories do not state clearly when traditional Chinese cookery methods became fixed, but they do record, in prose and verse, the ecstasies of those men of fine discernment and taste who knew that men ate not merely in order to live. Dr. Johnson's wellknown observation that he could always smell a good dinner may readily find its echo from many Chinese scholars. However, only by a long process of empirical trial and error were those subtle flavours discovered which have made men long exiled from home write wistfully of the province which gave rise to a lordly dish.

The author of the book does not attempt to compete with men like Su Tung-po or Yuan Mei, whose writings on the art of cooking have become classics. Her aim is much more modest and her methods are much more practical. She would tell you how, with the minimum of materials and trouble, you may prepare food as the Chinese do; she would demonstrate that it is worthwhile taking a little time to learn the art; and the results are so much more satisfactory. Those who have had the privilege of tasting a meal prepared by her will suspect magic—but the secret is here. If the garden of good Chinese food is an enchanted land (as many have that is) then the author is a good guide.

F.T.CHENG

Chinese Ambassador in London