Fuchsia Dunlop

Chilli con carnage: the red hot pepper and communism

He who can’t endure chilli is also unable to fight, declared Mao, ensuring the spice’s revolutionary symbolism throughout China

The Chinese flag made from chillies and corn cobs. Credit: Alamy
  • Comments

  • The Chile Pepper in China: A Cultural Biography

    Brian R. Dott

    Colombia University Press, pp. 296, £28

Already a subscriber? Log in

This article is for subscribers only

Get a free bottle of Johnnie Walker Black Label when you subscribe to The Spectator for just £12 in our Black Friday sale

  • Free bottle of Johnnie Walker Black Label whisky, worth £30
  • Unlimited access to our website and app
  • Enjoy Spectator newsletters and podcasts
  • Explore our online archive, going back to 1828

Read next

Trending

Alexander Larman

What on earth is Jaguar thinking?

Along with Aston Martin and Rolls Royce, Jaguar is, for most people, one of the great British blue chip motoring brands. When Inspector Morse drove around the not-so-mean streets of Oxford in his burgundy Jaguar Mark II, the implicit association between the terribly English detective and the quintessentially stylish car was one that lingered on

More on chairman mao

Also by Fuchsia Dunlop

Latest

Comments

Black Friday sale: Get 10 weeks for just $1

Unlimited access to the The Spectator, online and via the app

Already a subscriber? Log in