Vortrag von Ronald C. Po: The Making of a Delicacy – Shark Fin and Maritime China in the Ming and Qing Dynasties

Die HSG lädt alle Interessierten zu einem Vortrag von Ronald C. Po (London School of Economics and Political Science ) mit dem Titel “The Making of a Delicacy: Shark Fin and Maritime China in the Ming and Qing Dynasties" ein:   

Today shark fin remains closely associated with Chinese banquet culture. Yet its rise to culinary prominence was neither ancient nor inevitable. This paper examines how shark fin became one of the most coveted luxury foods of late imperial China.

Drawing on a wide range of Ming and Qing sources, I argue that shark fin was more than a delicacy: it was a maritime commodity that connected fishing grounds, merchants, and consumers across the empire. Its growing popularity reveals how the sea entered theeconomic and cultural life of late imperial China through practices of trade, dining, and distinction. 

The paper offers a preview of my forthcoming monograph, The Silver Thread of the Deep: A Cultural History of Shark Fin in China and Beyond, which will be published later this year.

Mittwoch, 24.06.2026, 18 Uhr

Asien-Afrika-Institut, Raum 123

Edmund-Siemers-Allee 1 – Flügel Ost