China

Human history has witnessed two grand civilizational and cultural experiments: China and Europe. As Jared Diamond suggests, the Neolithic Revolution—the dawn of agriculture and settled life—occurred independently in three major regions: the Fertile Crescent (around modern-day Baghdad), the Yellow River basin in China, and the Andean highlands.

Of these, only the first two were able to evolve uninterrupted into enduring civilizations. The Andean experiment, like other emerging cultural developments in Africa and Australia, was crushed by European colonial expansion before it could grow powerful enough to resist.

A Dialogue Between Worlds

Europe also attempted to suppress Chinese civilization. But unlike others, China—with its immense cultural resilience and demographic strength—endured. Until as late as 1820, it remained the world’s largest economy. Although the following 150 years brought humiliation and exploitation at the hands of European powers, China began to reassert itself after 1945. Today, it is reclaiming its historical role on the world stage—an ascent grounded in both culture and population.

/We are passionate tasters, and much of what we write celebrates the pleasures of food, wine, cooking, and culinary culture. Yet, from time to time, we may venture into the broader realms of art, science, and philosophy—pillars of culture in their own right.

This blog is above all a space for joy and exploration. If our thoughts diverge from your own, we ask for your understanding. We believe that diversity is not a threat, but a strength—and that the beauty of human culture lies in its endless variety.

This blog is the joint work of a European and a Chinese author—each deeply appreciative of the other’s heritage. The European loves China, the Chinese loves Europe. But neither will abandon the core values of their respective civilizations: the Daoist reverence for the path and harmony on one side, and the pre-socratic Greek-rooted demand for individual freedom and inquiry on the other. We believe a respectful merging of these traditions could enrich humanity and create a more harmonious world.