(东西问)海南鸡饭缘何风行东南亚经久不衰？
中新社海口1月28日电 题：海南鸡饭缘何风行东南亚经久不衰？
中新社记者 王辛莉 张茜翼
在东南亚，尤其新加坡和马来西亚，品尝“海南鸡饭”是众多华侨华人欢度新春佳节的传统习俗。
海南鸡饭在海南人迁移到南洋的过程中产生。历经一个多世纪，鸡饭由海南本地常见饮食，逐渐演变为东南亚华侨华人的特色饮食文化，最终成为新加坡、马来西亚的“国菜”。
海南鸡饭风行东南亚的文化密码是什么？对海南自贸港建设文化软环境，以及中外跨文化交流有何启示？
新马“国菜”海南鸡饭
在新加坡，海南鸡饭非常大众化。从街边咖啡店、购物商场到高档酒楼，都有鸡饭踪影。
新加坡新瑞记鸡饭店经营20多年，营运总监庞艺玲介绍，该店的传统白斩鸡融合了广式做法，让鸡饭成为庆祝节日的食物。
新加坡三喜海南鸡饭店股东代表何瑞州祖籍海南文昌。他父亲1930年前后从海南来到新加坡，从厨师开始打拼，之后开了这家店。“大多数外国游客来新加坡旅游，都会点上一份海南鸡饭。”何瑞州说。
马来西亚槟城也有多家鸡饭店。林日丹先生是老字号“文昌海南鸡饭店”第二代传人。为适应年轻人和当地马来人、印度人口味，他们改良传统海南鸡饭，创新烧鸡做法，颇受民众青睐。
同时，海南鸡饭作为东南亚的美食代表，受到文化界关注。
知名电影人张艾嘉曾拍摄电影《海南鸡饭》，讲述一位中国移民新加坡单身母亲，依靠经营“海南鸡饭”餐厅，独自将3个儿子抚养成人的故事，让海南鸡饭深入海内外观众脑海。
此前新加坡将海南鸡饭定为“国菜”，并申请世界非物质文化遗产。此举引起东南亚多国民众关注，数马来西亚反应最强烈。
美食背后的文化印迹
中国社会科学院民族学与人类学研究所民族社会研究室主任、国际人类学与民族学联合会CC理事长张继焦教授对海南鸡饭在东南亚盛行颇有切身体会。
In 2005, when he visited Malacca, Malaysia, a Qiong nationality tried his best to recommend Hainanese chicken rice.
When he visited Hong Kong, a Canadian professor knew that he was born in Haikou, Hainan, and praised the world-famous Hainanese Chicken Rice from Singapore and Malaysia.
The Hainanese chicken rice set menu provided by Wenchang Hainanese Chicken Restaurant, a long-established restaurant in Penang, Malaysia, has a variety of side dishes.
Photo by Zheng Xiangpeng issued by China News Agency
Hainan is a well-known hometown of overseas Chinese in China, with 3.9 million overseas Chinese of Qiong nationality, distributed in more than 50 countries and regions.
Zhang Shuoren, dean of the School of Nationalities of Hainan Tropical Ocean Institute and professor of Hainan University, introduced that after the signing of the Sino-British Tianjin Treaty in 1858, Hainan began to migrate overseas on a large scale.
Most of Hainanese overseas immigrants settled in Southeast Asia.
Hainanese chicken rice was originally a staple in their households, and has since become a means of livelihood in Singapore and Malaysia.
As more and more Hainanese migrate to Southeast Asia, more Hainanese are investing in the chicken rice industry.
As a result, Hainanese chicken rice has become an indispensable part of the dietary structure in Singapore and Malaysia, and has begun to have more commercial value.
Since the 1970s, tourism in Southeast Asia has boomed.
The catering industry is the pillar industry of tourism, and many countries realize that the construction of highly recognizable local cuisine will not only enhance the national pride of local residents, but also enhance the tourism popularity of the country.
For example, countries such as Singapore and Malaysia have recognized the international value of Hainanese chicken rice and have successively defined it as their "national dish".
Since then, the structure and function of Hainan Chicken Rice, the "national dish", has changed again, integrating into the global food market as a local food in Southeast Asia.
Hainan chicken restaurants with different styles have sprung up in Chinatowns of various countries.
Through commercial packaging, marketing and other means, Singapore and Malaysia continue to explore the intrinsic value and influence of chicken rice, especially to discuss and argue about its "authenticity" and "copyright" in order to expand its influence and attract more overseas tourists. Come and taste.
Customers line up to buy Hainanese chicken rice at Sanxi Hainanese Chicken Restaurant in Singapore.
Photo courtesy of He Ruizhou issued by China News Agency
Zhang Jijiao believes that in the face of fierce market competition, the degree of commercialization of Hainanese chicken rice has continued to increase in recent years.
Operators continue to innovate and explore new functions and new values to meet the new needs of consumers and the times.
Through the continuous transformation of structure and function, not only the traditional food culture has been inherited, but also the Hainan chicken rice culture has also achieved vigorous development.
"The 'copyright dispute' of Hainanese chicken rice makes us think again about what cultural heritage is and how we should excavate, protect and utilize cultural heritage." Zhang Jijiao believes that cultural heritage is not only the continuation and inheritance of traditional cultural roots , but also a renewable endogenous developmental power.
Hainanese Chicken Rice is based on Wenchang Chicken in Hainan.
Wenchang Chicken ranks first among the four major delicacies in Hainan.
Zhang Shuoren said that Wenchang Chicken was recorded for the first time in the Kangxi local chronicle "Wenchang County Chronicle".
In the mainstream culture of Hainan, there is no feast without chicken in Hainan, and the banquet does not have this dish, which is called "the talk of no chicken".
Especially for ancestor worship, you must offer chickens.
He said, "Hainan chicken rice embodies the tenacious fighting spirit of Hainan's ancestors to survive and grow in a foreign land, and is a nostalgic bond and cultural messenger connecting Hainan and Southeast Asia."
Zhang Yonghong, the chef of Longquan Fishing Village Hotel in Haikou, makes Hainan Wenchang Chicken.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Luo Yunfei
Hainan Free Trade Port needs to tap cultural soft power
Hainan is building a free trade port with Chinese characteristics, which has attracted worldwide attention.
"The exploration and protection of culture cannot be ignored in the economic construction of Hainan Free Trade Port!" Zhang Jijiao believes that over the past 100 years, Hainan has maintained a relatively close relationship with overseas because of the millions of overseas immigrants. Compared with many places in the mainland, Hainan is not a closed island, on the contrary, it has a certain degree of internationalization.
Since 2016, Zhang Jijiao led the team to conduct field research in Haikou.
He was delighted that "many cultural heritages in Hainan are well preserved".
"Hainan Free Trade Port is creating an international tourism consumption center, and the soul of tourism is culture," he said.
Zhang Shuoren believes that the local culture is an important aspect of the soft environment and another manifestation of competitiveness in the construction of Hainan Free Trade Port from attracting investment to attracting talents.
The state plans to build a foreign cultural trade base in Hainan.
In this regard, Zhang Shuoren said that Hainan should focus on improving the cultural soft power of the free trade port and build it into an important window for international cultural exchanges.
In September 2021, aerial photography of the construction site of the Li'an International Education Innovation Pilot Zone in Lingshui, Hainan.
The park is one of the key parks of Hainan Free Trade Port, with a planned area of 12.72 square kilometers.
In June 2019, the Ministry of Education of China and the Hainan Provincial Government proposed to build the "Hainan International Education Innovation Island", and the Li'an Pilot Zone has become an important platform.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Luo Yunfei
"Hainan's overseas Chinese culture, marine culture, ancestor worship culture, Li and Miao culture, and open culture are all Hainan's characteristic cultures." Zhang Shuo suggested that the government can integrate social forces to explore and promote Hainan's local culture.
"Hainan can learn from the inclusion of 'Singapore Hawker Culture: Community Dining and Culinary Customs in a Multicultural Urban Environment' on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity," said Zhang Jijiao.
Hawker culture originated from the diverse street cooking practices of Singapore's early immigrants, carrying the people's daily memories and reflecting the multicultural integration of Singapore's urban society.
The Enlightenment of Hainanese Chicken Rice on Intercultural Communication
当今世界，跨文化交流已成为人们生活中不可或缺的一部分。张朔人表示，跨文化交流增进世界相互了解，尊重文化差异，人们享受不同文化带来的不同感受，从而促进本土民族文化的发展。
饮食在人类日常生活中充当重要角色。中国有古语“仓廪实而知礼节，衣食足而知荣辱”。饮食体现某个地域、民族乃至国家的文化特色。
饮食文化交流通常是双向的。海南移民将海南鸡饭传到东南亚，也将东南亚饮食文化引回海南。海南民间流行喝老爸茶和咖啡的习俗即来自东南亚。广西因为毗邻东南亚，近些年，南宁街头随处可见越南、柬埔寨、马来西亚等东南亚菜馆。
2011年4月，在海南著名侨乡文昌市老街，市民们悠闲地喝着“老爸茶”，成为一道独特的风景线。中新社记者 张茜翼 摄
张继焦说，随着人口流动以及旅游业发展，饮食作为人类生存基本需求，是“跨文化”交流的较好媒介。
张继焦强调，一个地区对外开放，必须要有文化自信。从世界各个国家和地区对文化的挖掘保护看，也是从反思到挖掘再保护的过程。在亚洲，日本从欧洲发展的经验中看到欧洲本土文化遭受冲击。日本作为后发展起来的国家，还保留着很多自己的本土文化，于是，大力挖掘和保护本国物质和非物质文化遗产，如饮食、建筑等。
“开发海南鸡饭品牌很有潜能。”庞艺玲介绍，该店已在文莱、卡塔尔签订了加盟特许经营商。海南鸡饭有着南洋饮食“中国化”和海南侨乡饮食“南洋化”的特点。她看好市场发展前景，计划到中国发展鸡饭店。
民族的也是世界的，“海南和新加坡、马来西亚‘共吃一碗海南鸡饭’，值得期待！”张继焦称。(完)
专家简介：
张继焦。本人供图
张继焦：中国社会科学院民族学与人类学研究所民族社会研究室主任、国际人类学与民族学联合会CC理事长。长城学者。中国民族学学会副会长。主要从事社会学、人类学等领域研究。
张朔人。中新社记者 林士杰 拍摄
张朔人：海南热带海洋学院民族学院院长、海南大学教授，海南省领军人才，海南省史学会副会长。主要从事海南区域史、海洋文化、华人华侨历史等研究。