為什么美國猶太人圣誕節(jié)期間吃中國菜

If there's a single identifiable moment when JewishChristmas—the annual American tradition where Jewsoverindulge on Chinese food on December 25—transitioned from kitsch into codified custom, itwas during Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan's2010 confirmation hearing.

如果有什么標(biāo)志性的時刻來表明猶太人的圣誕節(jié)——這是一種年度性的美國傳統(tǒng)，美國猶太人會在12月25號這天大吃特吃中國食物——從低級趣味轉(zhuǎn)變成一個既定的傳統(tǒng)的話，那這個時刻就非大法官艾蕾娜·卡根2010年的一次審議聽證會莫屬了。

 

 

During an otherwise tense series of exchanges, Senator Lindsey Graham paused to ask Kaganwhere she had spent theprevious Christmas. To great laughter, she replied: "You know, likeallJews, I was probably at a Chinese restaurant."

在這次看似緊張的聽證會上，參議員Lindsey Graham詢問卡根她是怎么慶祝前一年的圣誕節(jié)的。她的回答是：“你知道，像所有猶太人一樣，我可能在一家中國餐館里吃中餐。”她的回答引起了人們的大笑。

Never willing to let a moment pass without remark, Senator Chuck Schumer jumped in toexplain,"If I might, no other restaurants are open."

而從來不會讓一個時刻留有空白的參議員Chuck Schumer則馬上解釋道，“如果是我，我也會這么干，因為其他餐館都沒開。”

And so goes the story of Jewish Christmasin a tiny capsule. For many Jewish Americans, thenight before Christmasconjures up visions, not of sugar plums, but plum sauce slathered overroastduck or an overstocked plate of beef lo mein, a platter of General Tso's, and(maybe) somehot and sour soup.

所以小空間里的猶太人圣誕節(jié)就是這樣展開的。對于許多美國猶太人來說，圣誕夜讓人充滿了想象，并不是想象小糖果，而是撒上梅子漿的烤鴨亦或滿滿一盤的牛肉撈面，一盤左宗棠雞，以及或許還有一些熱酸湯。

But Schumer's declaration that Jews and Chinese food are as much a match of necessity assweet and sour are, is onlyhalf the wonton. The circumstances that birthed Jewish Christmasare also deeply historical, sociological, and religious.

但是Schumer認(rèn)為猶太人和中國食物的搭配就好比酸甜的搭配，這種看法其實只對了一半。猶太人圣誕節(jié)期間之所以會吃中國食物，這其實還有歷史、社會學(xué)和宗教方面的原因。

The story begins during the halcyon days of the Lower East Side where, as Jennifer 8. Lee, theproducer of The Search for General Tso,said, "Jews and Chinese were the two largest non-Christian immigrant groups" atthe turn of the century.

這個故事還要從下東區(qū)(紐約市曼哈頓區(qū)沿東河南端一帶，猶太移民聚居地)的平靜的日子里開始說起，來自這里的Jennifer 8. Lee(她是《尋找左宗棠雞》的制作人)說，“世紀(jì)之交之時，猶太人和中國人是兩支最大的非基督徒移民團體”。

So while it's true that Chinese restaurants were notably open on Sundays and during holidayswhen other restaurants wouldbe closed, the two groups were linked not only by proximity, butby otherness.Jewish affinity for Chinese food "reveals a lot about immigration history and whatit's like to be outsiders," she explained.

中國餐館確實在周天或者假期的時候還開著，而其他餐館一般都是關(guān)門。中國人和猶太人不僅是因為靠近而產(chǎn)生聯(lián)系，還因為二者之間的差異性而產(chǎn)生聯(lián)系。猶太人對中國食物的喜愛“披露了有關(guān)移民歷史的很多內(nèi)容以及作為局外人是怎樣的一種感受，”她解釋道。

Estimates of the surging Jewish population of New York City run from 400,000in 1899 toabout a million by 1910 (or roughly a quarter of the city's population). And, assome Jewsbegan to assimilate into American life, they not only found acceptance at Chinese restaurants,but also easy passage into the world beyond Kosher food.

據(jù)估計，在紐約的猶太人口從1899年的40萬上升到1910年的大約100萬(或者說紐約市總?cè)丝诘膶⒔姆种?。隨著一些猶太人開始融入美國生活，他們不僅發(fā)現(xiàn)自己可以在中國餐館里受到認(rèn)可和接納，而且還能在中餐館里輕易的吃到猶太食品以外的其他食物。

"Chinese restaurants were the easiest placeto trick yourself into thinking you were eatingKosher food," EdSchonfeld, the owner of RedFarm, one of the most laureledChineserestaurants in New York, said. Indeed, it was something of a perfect match.Jewish lawfamously prohibits the mixing of milk and meat just as Chinese foodtraditionally excludes dairyfrom its dishes. Lee added:

“在中國餐館里，你會非常容易的以為自己吃的就是猶太食物(符合猶太教教規(guī)的食物)，”RedFarm的所有者Ed Schonfeld如是說，這是紐約最著名的中餐館之一。二者之間在某種程度上確實是天作之合。眾所周知，猶太律法是禁止把奶制品和肉類放在一起的，而中國食物傳統(tǒng)上也不包含奶制品。Jennifer 8. Lee補充道：

If you look at the two other main ethniccuisines in America, which are Italian and Mexican, bothof those combine milkand meat to a significant extent. Chinese food allowed Jews to eatforeigncuisines in a safe way.

如果你看看美國另外兩個主要的少數(shù)族裔餐飲，即意大利和墨西哥，你會發(fā)現(xiàn)他們會把牛奶和肉放在一起。而猶太人在吃中國食物時，既能吃到異國風(fēng)情的食物，又不用擔(dān)心這些食物是否符合猶太教規(guī)。

And so, for Jews, the chop suey palaces anddumpling parlors of the Lower East Side andChinatown gave the illusion ofreligious accordance, even if there was still treifgalore in the formof pork and shellfish. Nevertheless, it's more than a curiositythat a narrow culinaryphenomenon that started over a century ago managed togrow into a national ritual that isboth specifically American andcharacteristically Jewish.

所以，對于猶太人來說，紐約下東區(qū)和唐人街里的(美式中國菜)炒雜燴菜和餃子店給他們一種宗教和諧之感的幻覺，盡管不符合猶太教規(guī)的食物也會以豬肉和殼類海鮮的形式出現(xiàn)。無論如何，100年前的一個小小的烹飪現(xiàn)象演變成了如今的一個全國性的節(jié)日，即猶太人的圣誕節(jié)——這是美國人的，更是猶太人的。

"Clearly this whole thing with Chinese foodand Jewish people has evolved," Schoenfeld said. "There's no question.Christmas was always a good day for Chinese restaurants, but in recentyears,it's become the ultimate day of business."

“顯然，中國食物和猶太人之間的關(guān)系在不斷的演變著，”Ed Schonfeld說。“毫無疑問，一直以來圣誕節(jié)對中國餐館來說都是個好日子，但是最近幾年，從根本上變成了一個商業(yè)日。”

But there's more to it than that. Ask a foodpurist about American Chinese food and you'll get apu-pu platter ofhostilerhetoric about its inauthenticity. Driving the point home, earlier thisweek,CBS reportedon two Americans who opened a restaurant in Shanghai thatfeaturesAmerican-style Chinese dishes like orange chicken, pork egg rolls, and, yes,the belovedGeneral Tso's, all of which don't exist in traditional Chinesecuisine. The restaurant gets it namefrom another singular upshot ofChinese-American fusion: Fortune Cookie.

不僅如此。如果你問一個食物純粹主義者有關(guān)美式中國食物到底怎樣，他可能會抱怨說美式中國食物的不正宗。還有，本周早些時候，哥倫比亞廣播公司對兩名在上海開了一家餐館的美國人進行了報道，這家餐館主營美式的中國食物，包括香橙雞，豬肉蛋卷，以及受人喜愛的左宗棠雞，在傳統(tǒng)的中國菜肴中，這些菜都是沒有的。餐館的名字也非常具有中美融合的特色：福餅。

Schoenfeld, whose restaurant features anegg roll made with pastrami from Katz's Deli, shrugsoff the idea thatAmericanized Chinese food is somehow an affront to cultural virtue. "Adaptationhas been a signature part of the Chinese food experience," he said. "If youwent toItaly, you'd see a Chinese restaurant trying to make an Italiancustomer happy."

Schoenfeld店里的特色菜是雞蛋卷五香煙熏牛肉，五香煙熏牛肉來自著名的Katz's Deli，他認(rèn)為美式中國食物并非是對文化美德的侵犯。“適應(yīng)當(dāng)?shù)厥侵袊澄餁v史中的重要組成部分，”他說。“如果你去意大利，你就會看到那里的中國餐館也在盡量的讓自己的客人滿意。

"I would argue that Chinese food isthe ethnic cuisine of American Jews."

“我想說的是中國食物是美國猶太人的民族風(fēng)情美食。”

That particular mutability has a meaningfullink to the Jewish experience, the rituals of whichwere largely forged inexile. During the First and Second Temple eras, Jewish practice centeredaround templelife in Jerusalem. Featuring a monarchy and a high priesthood, it bearslittleresemblance to Jewish life of today with its rabbis and synagogues.

這種特別的易變性和猶太經(jīng)驗之間有一種意味深長的關(guān)聯(lián)，猶太經(jīng)驗的儀式大部分是在流放中形成的。在第一和第二圣殿期間，猶太人的實踐主要以耶路撒冷的圣殿生活為中心。在一個君主政體和一個大祭司的顯著特點下，以前的猶太人生活與如今的具備拉比和猶太教會堂的猶太人生活幾乎沒有共同點。

So could it be that Chinese food is amanifestation of Jewish life in America? Lee seems to thinkso. “I would arguethat Chinese food is the ethnic cuisine of American Jews. That, in fact,theyidentify with it more than they do gefilte fish or all kinds of the EasternEurope dishes ofyore.”

所以，中國食物是如今美國猶太人生活的一種表現(xiàn)?至少Lee是這么認(rèn)為的。“我想說的是中國食物是美國猶太人的民族風(fēng)情美食。對于猶太人來說，中國食物比魚丸凍或者所有其他的東歐飲食都更受到他們的認(rèn)同。

Over the centuries, different religiouscustoms have sprung up and new spiritual rituals havetaken root, many of whichdraw on the past. Jewish Christmas, in many ways, could very muchbe seen as amodern affirmation of faith. After all, there are few days that remindAmericanJews of their Jewishness more than Christmas in the United States.

幾個世紀(jì)以來，不同的宗教風(fēng)俗如雨后春筍般涌現(xiàn)，而新的精神儀式已經(jīng)扎根，其中很多以過去為基礎(chǔ)。從許多方面看，可以將猶太人的圣誕節(jié)看成是對信仰的現(xiàn)代性肯定。畢竟，在美國，很少有其他日子能像圣誕節(jié)那樣讓美國猶太人想起自己所具備的猶太性了。