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Buddhist Vegetarian Restaurants and the Changing Meanings of Meat in Urban China

Klein, Jakob A.

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Abstract

This article charts the changing meanings of meat in contemporary urban China and explores the role played by Buddhist vegetarian restaurants in shaping these changes. In Kunming, meat has long been a sign of prosperity and status. Its accessibility marked the successes of the economic reforms. Yet Kunmingers were increasingly concerned about excessive meat consumption and about the safety and quality of the meat supply. Buddhist vegetarian restaurants provided spaces where people could share meat-free meals and discuss and develop their concerns about meat-eating. While similar to and influenced by secular, Western vegetarianisms, the central role of Buddhism was reflected in discourses on karmic retribution for taking life and in a non-confrontational approach that sought to accommodate these discourses with the importance of meat in Chinese social life. Finally, the vegetarian restaurants spoke to middle-class projects of self-cultivation, and by doing so potentially challenged associations between meat-eating and social status.

Citation

Klein, J. A. (2016). Buddhist Vegetarian Restaurants and the Changing Meanings of Meat in Urban China. Ethnos, 82(2), 252-276. https://doi.org/10.1080/00141844.2015.1084016

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Dec 28, 2015
Online Publication Date Jan 28, 2016
Publication Date Jan 28, 2016
Deposit Date Feb 8, 2016
Publicly Available Date Aug 14, 2019
Journal Ethnos
Print ISSN 0014-1844
Electronic ISSN 1469-588X
Publisher Taylor and Francis Group
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 82
Issue 2
Pages 252-276
DOI https://doi.org/10.1080/00141844.2015.1084016
Keywords China, Buddhism, vegetarianism, meat, restaurants

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