AdvertisementTrending in ChinaPeople & CultureHistory of chilli peppers in China: first used as ornamental plants, later as ‘poor man’s spice’
Zesty ingredient with a punch was initially thought to boost the sexual desire of women; today indulging is seen as a form of social bonding
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Alice Yanin Shanghai
It is not an exaggeration to say that chilli peppers and spicy food are available on pretty much every street in China.
The pungent, heat-infused foodstuff is so ubiquitous people joke that if a person does not indulge, they will starve, or at best lose friends, because eating spicy things fosters social bonding.
However, the popular ingredient has only been around in China for a relatively short time.
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It first entered the country 400 years ago and people have been eating it for about three centuries.
This is revealed in a book titled The History of Chinese People Eating Chili Peppers, written by Cao Yu, a researcher from Sun Yat-sen University in southern Guangdong province.
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