Vegetarianism and the Tofu Company: A Look at the Competition

Between Chinese and Western Cultures in Early Republican China

Through Dietary Trends

Miaoyu Yuan

Arts and Cultural Management, Burgundy School of Business, Dijon, France

Keywords: Vegetarianism, Evolution Theory, Cai Yuanpei, Tofu Factory, Sino-Western Cultural Competition.

Abstract: Vegetarianism was popular in the early Republican period, and contemporaries called it “vegetarianism”. In

addition to inheriting religious concepts and Chinese vegetarian traditions, this food culture phenomenon was

also related to the introduction of Western science and the interpretation of evolution theory by some

intellectuals represented by Cai Yuanpei. Contemporaries promoted soy products as outstanding

representatives of Chinese food culture. Sun Yat-sen highly praised soy products, and Li Shizeng once opened

a tofu factory in Paris in an attempt to export Chinese culture in reverse. By the mid to late 1920s, the

vegetarian craze had gradually cooled. “Vegetarianism” returned from the battlefield of Sino-Western cultural

competition to the life-style of those who believe in “not killing and protecting life” as well as some literati

and upper class people.

1 INTRODUCTION

This study focuses on the so-called “vegetarianism”

dietary culture trend that prevailed in the early years

of the Republic of China (1910s and 1920s).

Although this social trend is dressed up in the guise

of dietary culture, it is related to core issues in modern

Chinese ideological and cultural studies, such as

scientific discourse, evolution theory, and

competition between Chinese and Western cultures.

This topic has received little attention from academia,

so there is room for exploration and interpretation.

This study mainly uses a literature analysis

method to connect and analyze relevant statements

scattered in various newspapers, magazines, and

literary collections from the early years of the

Republic of China, with the aim of restoring the

direction of public opinion at the time and the views

of intellectuals on vegetarianism and the reasons for

them.

The ultimate goal of this study is to explain the

socio-cultural and ideological factors behind the rise

of the “vegetarianism” trend in the early years of the

Republic of China, and to provide a clear and

comprehensive account of the intricate and

interwoven cultural context behind this so-cial

phenomenon.

2 TOWARDS MODERNITY: THE

VIEW OF DIET UNDER THE

NARRATIVE OF “SCIENCE”

In early Republican China, “vegetarianism” was a

concept that was “Chinese and Western” and “neither

Chinese nor Western”. China has been an agricultural

country since ancient times, and due to the limited

level of social productivity and the financial

capabilities of the general public, the practice of

vegetarianism can be traced back to ancient times. By

the early 20th century, traditional Chinese concepts

of health preservation had been mixed with Western

scientific knowledge such as nutrition and hygiene,

which together formed the theoretical basis for the

“vegetarianism” trend in early Republican China. It is

worth exploring for the argumentation of the

“vegetarianism” rationality in the almost dominant

“scientific” discourse in the Chinese ideological

community at the beginning of the 20th century.

In fact, since the late Qing Dynasty, Chinese

intellectual circles have been torn between traditional

values and foreign ideas from the West, unsure of the

way forward. Foreign terms such as “constitutional”,

“republican”, “democratic” and “dictatorship” have

emerged in turn, dazzling people and leaving them

unable to agree. There is only one word that stands

352

Yuan, M.

Vegetarianism and the Tofu Company: A Look at the Competition Between Chinese and Western Cultures in Early Republican China Through Dietary Trends.

DOI: 10.5220/0013987300004912

Paper published under CC license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

In Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Innovative Education and Social Development (IESD 2025), pages 352-356

ISBN: 978-989-758-779-5

firm and leads the way, and that is “science”. The

famous thinker Hu Shi mentioned in the 1920s: “In

recent years, there has been a word that has been

almost supreme in China. Whether people understand

this word or not, whether they are conservatives or

reformists, no one wants to publicly express contempt

or insult for the word ‘science’ (Ouyang, 1998).”

The promotion of “vegetarianism” in the early

years of the Republic made full use of the supreme

power of the “scientific” discourse in the diet and

living field. At that time, people found two scientific

concepts, “nutrition” and “hygiene”, as the two major

weapons to support vegetarianism. Newspapers and

magazines published a large number of articles

discussing the pros and cons of vegetarianism and

meat consumption, claiming that from the perspective

of scientific knowledge of nutrition and hygiene,

vegetarianism is healthier than meat consumption.

For example, an article published in “Youth

Progress” magazine in 1920 claimed that a vegetarian

diet can “reduce the burden on the stomach”; slow

down the heart rate, making the heart more “durable”;

and keep the brain healthy and prevent insanity. The

magazine's editorial claims to “encourage our

countrymen with progressive ideas” and “introduce

new theories of the East and West,” and much of the

content of the articles involves Western scientific

theories and technological inventions, which shows

that the editor's promotion of a vegetarian diet is

almost classified as popular science.

By the end of the 1910s, Zhu Kezhen, a

representative figure of modern Chinese science,

meteorologist, geographer and educator, also

intervened in the great debate on dietary concepts in

society. He stated clearly that “the pros and cons of

vegetarian and meat diets are really scientific issues,

not religious or moral issues”, seemingly further

proclaiming that in deciding what to eat and how to

eat, the discourse of “science” enjoys dominant

power, as in other cultural fields (Fan, 2004).

In summary, in modern times, people tend to treat

diet as a scientific problem, quantifying the nutrients

in various foods and pursuing a balanced mix to meet

international dietary nutritional requirements. It is

generally believed that meat contains toxins and

excessive fats, cholesterol and other elements, and is

easily perishable and breeding ground for bacteria,

which is not conducive to human health. In addition,

there are vegetables that are rich in protein and can be

used as substitutes for meat. Meat is in decline under

the shaping of scientific discourse, and a preference

for a vegetarian diet has become a nutritional,

hygienic and healthy eating style advocated by

scientific concepts.

However, the way people at that time conceived

of a vegetarian diet did not stop at the present, but

rather looked towards the future. Under the influence

of social evolution theory, many people adopted a

linear view of social development, and the evolution

of dietary patterns was no exception. It was also

thanks to the influence of evolution theory that the

theoretical basis of the vegetarian diet became more

solid, and it was elevated from a dietary phenomenon

to the height of a theory, which contemporaries

dubbed an “ism”.

3 IMAGINING THE FUTURE:

EVOLUTION AND CAI

YUANPEI'S

“VEGETARIANISM”

In the late Qing Dynasty and early Republican period,

it was fashionable for the Chinese academic

community to discuss evolution. Hu Shi once recalled

that since its publication in 1898, Yan Fu's translation

of Huxley's “The Evolution and Ethics” had been

accepted by the intellectual class. The rich even

reprinted new editions at their own expense to spread

it more widely. At the time, people thought that “its

application in politics and society is a stimulus that is

in line with the development trend of the times for a

nation that has long felt inertia and the stagnation of

Confucianism.” (Ouyang, 1998).

When the theory of evolution was first introduced

in China, the most widely circulated and most

influential slogan was “survival of the fittest”. It was

applied to the natural world and then to human

society, with both countries and their citizens being

told to change and strive for progress, or face the fate

of elimination. Many people believe that the

development of human society presents a single,

linear, phased, teleological model of evolution. The

rise of “vegetarianism” is an inconspicuous but quite

interesting example of the many cases in Chinese

society influenced by the theory of evolution. Cai

Yuanpei's relevant discussions can be used as a basis

for discussion.

Cai Yuanpei was a vegetarian for twelve years. In

his autobiography, he recalled: “I was also a

vegetarian at the time, and it was under the influence

of Mr. Li that I became one while in Leipzig. ... In the

tenth year of the Republic, while in Beijing, I was

advised by a doctor to eat meat due to a foot ailment,

and I deeply felt that I was not as determined as Mr.

Li.”(Cao, 1984) The “Mr. Li” here refers to Li

Shizeng, who at the time was running a tofu factory

Vegetarianism and the Tofu Company: A Look at the Competition Between Chinese and Western Cultures in Early Republican China

Through Dietary Trends

353

in Paris and was known as the “Tofu Doctor”. Cai

Yuanpei wrote at length about his understanding of

“vegetarianism” in a letter to the mathematician and

educator Shou Xiaotian in 1910, much of which

involved the theory of evolution: he believed that the

gradual spread of vegetarianism in the world was

influenced by Darwin's theory of evolution, and that

the so-called “same ancestors for humans and

animals” and even “the same as humans and animals”

was the result. Cai Yuanpei even believed that with

the further development of the theory of evolution,

perhaps one day plants could also be shown to share

a common ancestor with humans or other animals. At

that time, plants would become inedible, and

vegetarianism would become “inorganic

materialism” (Gao, 1984).

The change of human diet from meat to

vegetables, and from vegetables to inorganic

substances, not only conforms to the development of

natural science, but also to the principle of human

aesthetics – or the day when humans can survive by

eating inorganic substances. At that time, the

digestive and excretory organs of the human body

will shrink or even disappear, so that the waist of the

human body will become slim, and the human body

will no longer excrete annoying excrement. If this is

really the case, the current vegan trend is only the

beginning of the evolution of human diet. Cai

Yuanpei said: “What is generally recognized is only

Darwin's theory of biological evolution, which can

only be the starting point of the era of meat-eating and

vegetarianism. Others cannot be denied by future

generations.”

Cai Yuanpei regarded the vegetarian diet as a

“doctrine” based on the theory that “man and beast

share a common ancestor” and thus are equal. This

idea can be seen in the writings of Zhang Taiyan

(1869-1936, Chinese textual critic, philosopher) in

the 1890s and 1900s: they envisaged biological

evolution as a linear sequence of continuity, inorganic

matter – microorganisms – plants – animals –

humans; if you reverse it, then “all living things are

my kindred” (Zhang 1985). Cai Yuanpei thus argued

that eating vegetables but not meat is the practice of

benevolence under the guidance of “scientific

evolution theory”; moreover, humans still have a long

way to go, and plants should also be included in the

category of loving things and cherishing life. In the

future, once conditions permit, nutrients for survival

should be obtained from inorganic substances, and

the lives of plants should not be taken. At that time, it

will be “monism that exclusively eats inorganic

substances.” Thus, human dietary habits, due to the

sequence of biological evolution in nature as

conceived by the bench-marking scholars, also

present a continuous evolutionary clue, that is,

“omnivorous-vegetarian-vegan”. And the

chronological order of following this clue, from

ancient times to the present and the future, shows an

increasingly “progressive”, “civilized” and “moral”

trend. And the “vegetarianism” of exclusively eating

vegetables has become an important part of

mankind's progress towards civilization.

4 “VEGETARIANISM” THE

CHINESE SOLUTION:

REPLACING MEAT WITH SOY

FOOD AND STARTING A TOFU

COMPANY

In fact, at that time in China, one thing that could not

be ignored was that meat was both scarce and

expensive. It was difficult for ordinary families to

have money left over to buy meat, and they could only

fill their stomachs with vegetables and grains.

According to the diary of gentry Liu Dapeng, on

August 15, 1923, “the sales of pork and mutton in the

market were extremely high. The meat that was

prepared was not enough to sell, and more was

slaughtered, but it was still not enough. It can be seen

that there were a lot of meat eaters.” (Liu, 1990) This

shows that, due to the economic level of traditional

Chinese agricultural society, if it was the time of the

year for a festival, every household wanted to buy

some meat to improve their diet, but the supply of

meat was seriously insufficient. The lack of meat led

to a serious lack of protein intake among the Chinese,

which in turn led to malnutrition.

In order to solve this problem, some people

proposed the solution of “replacing meat with soy

products”. Even Li Shizeng (1881-1973), the son of

Li Hongzhao, a senior official in the late Qing

Dynasty, established a tofu company overseas to try

to promote tofu and other soy products – as excellent

representatives of Chinese food culture and excellent

ingredients that meet modern nutritional standards –

to the world. In 1908, he opened a “Chinese Tofu

Company” in the town of Colombes, northwest of

Paris, in an attempt to combine traditional Chinese

craftsmanship with the fruits of the Western industrial

revolution to produce tofu using machines. Domestic

reports described it as “the tofu company that is

unparalleled on the planet” and called tofu “the great

craft of the 20th century that is extremely beneficial

to life all over the world.”(Agricultural and

Commercial News, 1908)

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354

According to the Agricultural and Commercial

News, Li believed that “the nourishing power of

common Chinese foods such as tofu and soy milk is

not inferior to that of milk and meat, and is

unprecedented in European countries.” Therefore, he

wrote an article, arguing that “the benefits of

importing tofu to Europe are that it is better than milk,

which is commonly eaten by Westerners, and has a

hundred benefits and no harm.” It was published in

major daily newspapers in Paris and was very

popular. Li and several of his classmates therefore

decided to apply for a patent in France, return to

China to raise capital, and prepare to open a company.

Soon after, the “Paris China Tofu Company” was

officially established. Even Sun Yat-sen, the

revolutionary and father of the Republic of China,

visited the tofu company in 1990 and spoke highly of

it. In May 1919, Li invited Chinese people from all

walks of life in France to visit the factory. Not only

were various types of snacks made from soy products

such as soy flour on display, but also new machines

for various purposes, such as spreading, mixing,

rolling, forming and printing (Morning News, 1919).

Unfortunately, despite all the efforts, tofu was

ultimately unable to enter the international market

because it did not suit the French palate. A 1946

report in Shanghai's Hai Guang Bao newspaper stated

that “the French initially thought tofu was delicious

and many people bought it to eat. Later, they felt that

it was not very good and no longer visited tofu shops

with pleasure.” However, the reporter did not think

that this was because tofu itself was not good, but that

the French diet only emphasized taste and not

nutrition, and did not understand the benefits of tofu.

The implication is that the failure to export tofu

culture is not blamed on Chinese tofu culture itself,

but rather the image and status of tofu is vigorously

defended. In any case, it is believed that tofu is still

an excellent representative of Chinese food culture.

Li's tofu company served a dual purpose of

promoting national industry and culture. It was an

attempt to industrialize food production and

commercialize food sales, to revitalize national

enterprises and establish a national brand, and to

export Chinese food culture abroad. During the era

when Western trends swept through modern China,

intellectuals in the late Qing and early Republican

periods, while absorbing Western learning, also

explored what their own culture had to offer to

compete with the West. Against this backdrop,

soybean food was transformed from a traditional food

for the common people into a representative of

Eastern culture and a pioneer of the food industry.

This shows the urgency of Chinese culture hoping to

find a place in the tide of Western learning.

5 A GLIMPSE INTO THE

VEGETARIAN PREFERENCES

OF “MODERN” CHINESE

FROM “SHANGHAI

GONGDELIN”

After the repeated emphasis on nutrition and hygiene

in the scientific concept of the 1910s, and attempts to

export tofu culture overseas, since the late 1920s,

vegetarian food has ceased to be a scientific or moral

belief, but has become a symbol of “modern life” and

a way for businesses to market themselves. Many

vegetarian restaurants across the country are doing a

thriving business, and scholars and elites, as well as

the upper classes, have become their guests of honor.

One of the most typical examples is the world-famous

vegetarian restaurant “Shanghai Gongdelin”.

Although the name “Shanghai Gongdelin”

suggests a close connection with Buddhist culture, it

was actually founded in 1920 as a commercial and

marketable success story. The reason for its success

is, firstly, its frequent use of dairy products and its

expertise in cooking “vegetarian meat” dishes. Facing

the Shanghai catering market where Western food

culture is prevalent, it not only sets milk tea, buttered

bread, and milk-based dishes such as cauliflower as

regular dishes, but also vigorously creates various

“vegetarian meat” dishes, such as vegetarian chicken,

vegetarian duck, and vegetarian ham, making

vegetarian dishes look like meat, healthy and full of

flavor. This approach has gradually made vegetarian

food a sought-after “commodity”.

Secondly, this restaurant established itself as a

place for the upper classes to gather and socialize.

Many cultural celebrities such as Yu Dafu (modern

Chinese short story writer and poet), Zheng Zhenduo

(Chinese journalist, writer and scholar), and

Rabindranath Tagore (Indian Bengali polymath),

even if they were not used to vegetarian food, would

patronize this elegant restaurant. Many “modern”

people who considered themselves celebrities and

refined people regarded dining here as fashionable

and extraordinary. In fact, the prices of the dishes at

Gongde Lin are quite expensive. At the beginning of

its opening, the standard was “20 yuan for a full

course, 16 yuan, 12 yuan, 10 yuan, 8 yuan, 6 yuan, 4

yuan for shellfish, 2 yuan for vegetable dishes, 1 yuan

for Western dishes, 70 cents for Chinese dishes, and

a detailed price list for various kinds of noodles and

Vegetarianism and the Tofu Company: A Look at the Competition Between Chinese and Western Cultures in Early Republican China

Through Dietary Trends

355

Chinese and Western pastries”. High prices did not

affect business, but rather consolidated its consumer

base, which was mainly upper class, and its high-end

status and modern image in the eyes of the rich and

famous. Many upper class people even chose to hold

important banquets there. For example, in 1925, the

second son of cultural celebrity Ding Fubao married

the sixth daughter of Huang Hanzhi, who had served

as the Governor of the Ouhai Customs, and the

wedding banquet was held at Gongdelin. In 1926,

Wang Yiting, a celebrity in the painting and

calligraphy circles and social activist, invited

Gongdelin to cater his 60th birthday banquet (Shen

Newspaper, 1922).

At this point, perhaps eating strictly according to

the principles of vegetarianism is still only an option

for a small minority in society, but at least in

Shanghai, going in and out of high-end vegetarian

restaurants and banquets with literary and elegant

guests is completely an upmarket, trendy way of life.

6 CONCLUSION

This article focuses on the “vegetarianism” trend in

China from the 1910s to the 1920s and the cultural

competition between China and the West behind it,

discussing the figures of the Republic of China

related to “vegetarianism”. The advocacy of

vegetarianism is faintly discernible in the various

statements of literati and newspapers, but there is still

a relative continuity and resonance. Under the

influence of the blending of Chinese and Western

cultures, people were keen to introduce Western

scientific concepts and used nutrition and hygiene

knowledge to “package” the ancient tradition of

vegetarianism. A small number of intellectuals,

represented by Cai Yuanpei, interpreted evolution as

“man and beast having the same ancestor” and used

this to champion vegetarianism. From a practical

level, people introduced bean curd in an attempt to

compete with Western meat dishes and to promote it

internationally to demonstrate the superiority of

Chinese food culture. By the end of the 1920s and

thereafter, the various cultural meanings that had

been attributed to vegetarianism, such as scientific, in

line with evolution, progressive, and so on, gradually

fell into disuse. Vegetarianism returned to being a

simple way of eating. Figuratively speaking,

vegetarianism has retreated from the front line of

competition between Chinese and Western cultures,

from the forefront of national culture to the realm of

everyday eating where it belongs. Looking again at

the people who often choose to eat at high-end

vegetarian restaurants, most of them are scholars and

gentlemen. In the 1930s, vegetarianism had become a

modern lifestyle.

In summary, this study mainly shows the

development trend and theoretical support of the

“vegetarianism” trend in early 20th century China.

The conclusion is that the rise and popularity of

“vegetarianism” is closely related to the social and

cultural trend of China at that time, from learning

from the West and introducing Western theories, to

advocating tradition and trying to compete with

Western concepts. Compared with previous studies

on the direction of food culture, this paper uses new

historical materials, opens up new ideas, and provides

a fresh and interesting perspective on how to view the

impact of Western thought on modern Chinese

society.

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Agricultural and Commercial News. 1908.

Fan, H. 2004. Zhu Kezhen Complete Works. Shanghai:

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Gao, S. 1984. Cai Yuanpei Complete Works. Beijing:

Zhonghua Book Company.

Historical Materials on the Movement to Work and Study

in France. Beijing: Beijing Publishing House.

Liu, D. 1990. Tui Xiang Zhai Diary. Taiyuan: Shanxi Peo-

ple's Publishing House.

Ouyang, Z. 1998. Hu Shi Collected Works. Beijing: Peking

University Press.

Preface to the publication of Youth Progress 1917. Youth

Progress.

Shen Newspaper. 1922. Shanghai.

Zhang, T. 1985. Zhang Taiyan Complete Works. Shanghai:

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