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id	eprints-21946
recordtype	eprints
institution	SOAS, University of London
collection	SOAS Research Online
language	English
language_search	English
description	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.
format	Journal Article
author	Klein, Jakob A.
author_facet	Klein, Jakob A.
authorStr	Klein, Jakob A.
author_letter	Klein, Jakob A.
title	Buddhist Vegetarian Restaurants and the Changing Meanings of Meat in Urban China
publisher	Taylor and Francis
publishDate	2016
url	https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/21946/