The Nanking Cook Book

The Nanking Cook Book

NANKING COOK BOOK COMMITTEE, Mrs John H Reisner, Chairman [Bertha Betts née?  (1885- ??)]

The Nanking Cook Book: an enlargement & revision of  The American Red Cross Book of Recipes for the use of Chinese Foodstuffs

Shanghai : The Woman's Auxillary of the University of Nanking with the permission of the Nanking Chapter of the American Red Cross in China, 1924.  Second edition, first edition thus. First published as The American Red Cross Book of Recipes for the use of Chinese Foodstuffs, 1918.  Printed at the Presbyterian Mission Press, Shanghai.

Octavo (210x140mm) original quarter bound narrow brown linen cloth, illustrated printed boards, lettered in red, flush cut edges, sewn, [4],165,v,[4 advertisements], advertisements to the pastedowns.

Edges lightly rubbed, one corner lightly bruised; cloth to bottom of spine wearing. Boards faintly soiled, lightly worn.  Faint occasional signs of use in several places; else internally crisp and clean. Owner's name to the title page "Annie E Irvine, Hankow 1924" [Annie Elizabeth Irvine (b.1887) the wife of the doctor John Irvine].

From the preface:

"The Nanking Cook book is an enlargement and revision of the "American Red Cross Book of recipes for the use of Chinese Foodstuffs" which was gotten out by the Nanking Chapter of the American Red Cross in 1918 during the late war.  This book was definitely a 'war product.' It was prepared with two ideas in view: that of utilizing native products as substitutes for the home imported foodstuffs, and, secondly, that of reducing the cost of living.  It was different from all other cook books which had been published in China for foreigners' use in that it dealt only with native products and recipes which could be made from them.... All products called for in this new edition are easily available in China.

The original edition of the book was quickly exhausted.  The frequent and insistent demands still coming in for it have led the Woman's Auxiliary of the University of Nanking to bring out this second and enlarged edition....The chapter on Chinese recipes has been enlarged with the tested recipes which were used in the course in Chinese cookery given at the Nanking Young Women's Christian Association in the winter of 1923-1924."

Although predominantly an 'adaptive' book for western recipes for missionaries and members of the Shanghai International community, Chinese ingredients are shown in both English and Chinese in the over 500 recipes and there is a very useful index of Foodstuffs with English and Chinese names, as well as a helpful chapter 'Hints for the Housekeeper' with Chinese translations. 

The chapter on Chinese recipes is uncommon for its time, but still small containing only 32 recipes (an increase of 8 from the first edition); there are however additional Chinese recipes not identified as such in other chapters e.g. Glutinous Rice Pudding etc.  A number of recipes are attributed to the donor:  Chinese and non-Chinese contributors are intermingled through the text.  There is a useful explanation of Agar Agar in the confectionery and baking section.

The University of Nanking was a private university established in 1888 and sponsored by American Protestant churches.  The 1938 Nobel prize winning author Pearl Buck (and later, also cookbook author), was connected with the University.  She married her husband John Lossing Buck an agricultural economist missionary in Nanking in May 1917 and contributed several recipes to the first edition of this compilation as Mrs J L Buck, including Bean Flour Spaghetti and the noted entry on Agar Agar. At the time she was living in the village of Suzhou, Anhui Province which was the region she described in her books The Good Earth and Sons.  From 1920 to 1933, the Bucks lived on the University of Nanking campus, where they both had teaching positions and her husband worked with John H Reisner on improving China's agricultural food production.

An unusual example of a Presbyterian fund-raising missionary recipe book from China's capital during its brief period of National government.

Scarce.

§  OCLC records only twelve holdings; none outside the US and UK.
§ Newman; neither in Bitting nor Axford.