Spice and the World

Yu+Xin

（Institute for Advanced Studies in Humanities and Social Sciences，

Chongqing University， Chongqing，400044，China）

JOURNAL OF ETHNOLOGY， VOL. 8， NO.1， 43-49， 2017 （CN51-1731/C， in Chinese）

DOI：10.3969/j.issn.1674-9391.2017.01.05 Abstract：Around 1500， the world experienced an explosion of exploration which greatly transformed the world for the next several hundreds of years. During this time， Christopher Columbus， Vasco da Gama， and other seafaring entrepreneurs sought new routes to Indias Malabar Coast and the Indonesian archipelago. The objective of their efforts was mainly spice specifically pepper， cinnamon， nutmeg， clove， and a few others. In the ensuing years， the Spanish， Portuguese， English， and Dutch would all seek to dominate the spice trade， employing an astonishing amount of bloodshed and brutality to achieve their aims. They were undermined only by pirates， who would occasionally plunder the spice boats， relieving them of their precious cargo.

The reason behind their desire to seek spice， was not only， and in fact， not even primarily， profits. In an age that poured its commercial energies into such un-poetical ends such as arms， oil， and mineral ores， the drive to obtain anything quite so quaintly insignificant as spice must strike us today as mystifying indeed. While historians often point to medieval Europes problems with rancid meat， along with the mind-numbing repetitiveness of its diet， as the source of spices early popularity， the main reason for desiring spice came down to one simple thing： mystery. Spices were， in a sense， magical if not divine， arriving by unknown means from the vast blank spaces on the map， spaces populated by dragons， gods， and monsters. From mystery grew mystique. It was a seductive premise.

This article starts by examining the rise of Europes economy after the first millennium and the subsequent demand for Eastern luxuries. Ginger， mace， and other exotic ingredients quickly became status symbols among noblemen—not unlike furs or jewels—as well as staples in upper-class kitchens， with nearly every dish deluged by seasonings， to the point where the medieval appetite for spice looked less like a taste than an addiction. It was also believed that ingesting spices was a way to improve ones health and that they could cure everything from gangrene and paralysis to constipation and lung disease. Then theres sex. Spice has long been associated with eroticism， including recent examples like the pop-music sex kittens the Spice Girls and the Spice soft-porn cable TV station. In the Middle Ages—when noblemens fear of infertility ran rampant—spices were widely believed to serve as aphrodisiacs. It was these very qualities， that led many medieval Christian leaders to denounce spices—ginger in particular—arguing that their corrupting influence undermined monks vows of celibacy， with one mystic even comparing them to the forbidden apple of Eden. Others claimed their overuse could lead to drying out， derangement， and even death. The most puritanical critics saw spice as nothing less than an affront to God， who had already met mans basic needs by providing local foods， a gift cooks were now tampering with by introducing foreign flavors. Moreover， spice served as a medieval perfume， with the most spicy， most expensive varieties favored among the social elite. And spice was also used in mummification and embalming techniques that continued in future centuries. For instance， the practice dates back to Ramses II， an Egyptian pharaoh who died in 1224 b.c.； an examination of his remains revealed peppercorns stuffed up his large， and crooked nose， a discovery which startled scientists.

Despite efforts by the Dutch to maintain their monopoly over spice plantations and prevent propagation， products like cloves and nutmeg eventually spread to other regions of the world. This was largely due to Spanish and Portuguese smugglers—who reduced them to mere commodities and diminished their intrigue and notoriety， not to mention their cost. By the mid-1600s， pepper in particular had long since become available to the European masses， prompting the nobility to lose interest. At the same time， crops like tomatoes and chilies， brought back from the New World， were broadening the European diet and creating new options for cooks. A shift to simple， fresh， local ingredients—to foods that tasted like themselves—was underway， a transformation nowhere as successful as in Italy， where simplicity remains the quintessence of its cuisine. As a result， the heavily spiced meals of the Middle Ages fell from favor. Once the province of aristocracy， spice became just the opposite. In the modern world， it tends to be the poor， not the rich， who eat spices.

While the history of spice from a Western point of view remarkably transformed the world， it should be noted that spice also underwent a quite different way of becoming modernized. In the respect， spice in Chinese history constitutes a large part of the world history of spice.

Prior to the 15th century， pepper was regarded as a rarity. In China it was as highly valued for medicinal purposes as ginseng and cassia bark are today. During the Tang dynasty， we find pepper mentioned side by side with stalactites， one of the most valuable drugs of the time. This is an indication of how highly valued spice was. From that time onwards， the expression “800 piculs of pepper” came to be synonymous with riches and luxury. In China， the change in the value of pepper from being a precious commodity to one in common use came about as the result of several polices of Ming Emperor， including tribute trade， Zheng Hes voyages， and the scheme of supplying pepper instead of salaries to officials. The advent of direct dealings with the supply sources had a profound effect in China， and the circulation of other foreign commodities generally also increased greatly after these voyages.

From early Ming times， foreign trade， including that in pepper and sapanwood， was an Imperial monopoly， closely guarded to ensure that all the profits went to the Emperor. One inevitable result of the importation into China of such huge amounts of pepper， however， was that hitherto undeveloped exchange relations improved， though the equilibrium between demand and supply remained unsteady because of obstacles in the way of equitable distribution. A sudden expansion of the selling market could only be expected to cause a dramatic fall in the price of pepper. This occurred much earlier than did the discovery of the direct passage to India by Vasco de Gama.

During the reign of the first Ming Emperor， Hong Wu， pepper and sapanwood were frequently given to subjects as a reward for services rendered， a practice first recorded in 1379. During 1391 and 1392， altogether 13，800 naval officers and soldiers on active service， and 12，000 soldiers engaged in ship-building were rewarded in this way， the latter receiving one catty of pepper each. In both cases these rewards， which were small in scale， were for completing tasks assigned. At the time of the enthronement of the second Emperor， Yong Le （1403）， four catties of pepper， the highest pepper reward recorded， in addition to 30 ting of paper money， were given to a minor official for completing the Imperial seal. Considering the high value of paper money at that time， this showed that pepper was still treasured as a scarce commodity， and had not yet fallen into common use.

The effect of Zheng Hes voyages on the distribution of pepper in the Chinese market is reflected by the form payments took in the early part of the Ming dynasty. In the 5th year of Yong Le （1407）， following Zheng Hes return from his first voyage， came the first proclamation of an arrangement to supply the soldiers in all military stations in Peking with sapanwood in lieu of winter clothing. It is estimated that at least 250，000 army servicemen were involved. It was in 1420， after Zheng Hes fifth voyage， that pepper was first announced as a substitute for the clothing due to these same servicemen. However， the amount was by no means large： one catty and six ounces of sapanwood and four ounces of pepper were paid in lieu of a piece of thin silk material， and one catty of sapanwood and three ounces of pepper were paid instead of a piece of cotton cloth. The same scheme of supplying sapanwood instead of winter clothing was employed again the following year， 1421. At the same time it was proclaimed that part of the salary of all civil and military officials in Peking paid in the form of paper money was to be paid in sapanwood and pepper instead. Henceforth it was established that the salary of officials should be paid partly in sapanwood and pepper， and it was clearly the pepper brought back by Zheng Hes fleet that was being used as substitute currency. Silver， paper money， cloth， sapanwood， and pepper were interchangeable as currency.

Except for a very small amount retained for their own consumption， the officials would have had to sell most of their pepper on the market， which would inevitably accelerate the fall in its market price. By the mid-Ming period， spice that had been exclusively enjoyed by the upper classes， began to be popular among the commoners. The frequency of appearance of spice in dietary books， recipes， and daily life guides increased to an unprecedented level. Pepper， especially， was broadly used for cooking， pickling fruits， brewing， and making fragrant tea. The widespread application of perfume， as a typical merchandise from maritime trade， led to a profound transformation in peoples conception and style of everyday life.

Key Words：spice； great， maritime； Europe； China

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