https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202311/1302174.shtml
Archeology professor turns to vlogs to raise young people’s interest in
history of food
By Wu JiePublished: Nov 20, 2023 08:56 PM
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[image: Zhang Liangren on a field trip Photo: Courtesy of Zhang Liangren]
Zhang Liangren on a field trip Photo: Courtesy of Zhang Liangren
The Chinese started eating lamb kebab about 2,000 years ago. The invention
of instant noodle was a fluke by a calligrapher in Qing Dynasty
(1644-1911). Deep-fried dough sticks have something to do with a
treacherous chancellor from the Song Dynasty (960-1279)."
These are some of the inspiring remarks from a Chinese professor who
endeavors to impart historical and archaeological knowledge to the public
through food vlogs.
His short videos have taken China's social media by storm as netizens
applaud the professor's distinctive approach to sharing the seemingly
mundane information in a transformative way that allows viewers to
experience various cuisines as inroads into history.
Zhang Liangren, a professor at the department of archaeology and cultural
relics at the School of History in Nanjing University, told the Global
Times that the motivation behind his food vlogs is to raise funds for his
overseas archaeological projects while sharing culinary history knowledge
with the public in the hopes of arousing young people's interests in
archaeology.
"Giving a lecture about archaeology on social media is boring. But combing
archaeology with cuisine makes it accessible to the public. I'm not only a
professor who 'produces' knowledge. I have the obligation to share
knowledge with the public and I can also learn from the public," said the
54-year-old professor.
Global contribution
Zhang started shooting videos in July and began to combine food tasting
with relevant history, transforming complex knowledge into interesting
topics allowing his informative vlogs to resonate with a large number of
netizens.
He has since shared his video clips on China's major short video platforms
including Douyin to his 470,000 followers.
From selecting restaurants and writing scripts, to shooting and editing, it
takes about three days for Zhang and his team to produce an episode. Zhang
has posted 48 episodes, covering a diverse range of foods mostly found in
Nanjing, such as crispy duck, steamed buns stuffed with juicy pork, and
boiled fish with Sichuan pickles.
Zhang, whose expertise is prehistoric archeology in Northwest China and
Eurasia, told the Global Times that posting the food vlogs helped him clear
up public misconceptions about archaeologists and expressed his wish to
bring China's advanced archaeological technology to the world.
"Archaeologists are neither cultural relic appraisers nor tomb diggers.
Excavating ancient burial grounds is only part of the job and the most
important thing is to share scientific information with the public," noted
Zhang who has worked on overseas archaeology projects in Iran and Russia.
"One of the projects I have been involved in, in Iran, for example, is to
discover and study relics for evidence of cultural exchanges between
Northwestern China and Central Asia, providing concrete proof about the
history of the Silk Road," he said.
China is at the forefront of archaeological research with a strong capacity
in cross-discipline research. "We are happy to share our technology with
foreign counterparts and contribute to archaeology at the international
level," he said.
Being involved in overseas archaeological projects is much like foreigners
studying the Chinese culture and language. "We also need professionals to
study the history of foreign countries and it is part of our mission to
promote cultural exchanges with foreign counterparts," said Zhang who has
considered adding overseas archaeological highlights to his vlogs.
Not alone
Zhang, who has over 30 years of experience in archaeology, said his foray
into food vlogging has made him a more interesting individual and he looks
forward to extending his culinary exploration to other cities.
"I was pedantic and not used to speaking in front of camera. But my family
members were pleasantly surprised to see a humorous and talkative professor
in my videos," he said.
In preparation for filming, the professor received training from a
professional broadcaster about how to present himself and neutralize his
accent.
"The new adventure has made me more outgoing and energetic. I'm happy to
see more students develop an interest in archaeology," he said.
Archaeology has enjoyed rapid development in recent years thanks to China's
enhanced efforts in preservation of cultural relics. The number of colleges
with archaeology majors has increased from 10 to 38 so far.
"Archaeology is highly compatible with other subjects like architecture and
chemistry. We welcome students from other majors to pursue their studies in
archaeology and enrich this subject," Zhang said.
Zhang is not alone in making elusive knowledge accessible to the public. Su
Dechao, another professor at the School of Philosophy in Wuhan University,
also made the headlines with his soul-searching questions to students in
class.
Some of Su's questions include, "Would you swap the entirety of your
seemingly ordinary life for 100 days of a spectacular life? On what does
the happiness and joy of our lives depend? Why do we feel tired even though
we haven't done anything? What is long-lasting happiness?"
Su has been using accessible language and vibrant metaphors since May 2022,
to elucidate philosophy on life topics for netizens. His pragmatic approach
to philosophy has attracted over 360,000 followers on his social media
accounts with many netizens sharing their reflections on life with him.
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