爲什麼美國猶太人聖誕節期間吃中國菜

If there's a single identifiable moment when Jewish Christmas—the annual American tradition where Jews overindulge on Chinese food on December 25—transitioned from kitsch into codified custom, it was during Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan's 2010 confirmation hearing.

如果有什麼標誌性的時刻來表明猶太人的聖誕節——這是一種年度性的美國傳統，美國猶太人會在12月25號這天大吃特吃中國食物——從低級趣味轉變成一個既定的傳統的話，那這個時刻就非大法官艾蕾娜·卡根2010年的一次審議聽證會莫屬了。

During an otherwise tense series of exchanges, Senator Lindsey Graham paused to ask Kagan where she had spent theprevious Christmas. To great laughter, she replied: "You know, like allJews, I was probably at a Chinese restaurant."

在這次看似緊張的聽證會上，參議員Lindsey Graham詢問卡根她是怎麼慶祝前一年的聖誕節的。她的回答是：“你知道，像所有猶太人一樣，我可能在一家中國餐館裏吃中餐。”她的回答引起了人們的大笑。

Never willing to let a moment pass without remark, Senator Chuck Schumer jumped in to explain,"If I might, no other restaurants are open."

而從來不會讓一個時刻留有空白的參議員Chuck Schumer則馬上解釋道，“如果是我，我也會這麼幹，因爲其他餐館都沒開。”

And so goes the story of Jewish Christmasin a tiny capsule. For many Jewish Americans, the night before Christmasconjures up visions, not of sugar plums, but plum sauce slathered over roastduck or an overstocked plate of beef lo mein, a platter of General Tso's, and(maybe) some hot and sour soup.

所以小空間裏的猶太人聖誕節就是這樣展開的。對於許多美國猶太人來說，聖誕夜讓人充滿了想象，並不是想象小糖果，而是撒上梅子漿的烤鴨亦或滿滿一盤的牛肉撈麪，一盤左宗棠雞，以及或許還有一些熱酸湯。

But Schumer's declaration that Jews and Chinese food are as much a match of necessity as sweet and sour are, is onlyhalf the wonton. The circumstances that birthed Jewish Christmas are also deeply historical, sociological, and religious.

但是Schumer認爲猶太人和中國食物的搭配就好比酸甜的搭配，這種看法其實只對了一半。猶太人聖誕節期間之所以會吃中國食物，這其實還有歷史、社會學和宗教方面的原因。

The story begins during the halcyon days of the Lower East Side where, as Jennifer 8. Lee, the producer of The Search for General Tso,said, "Jews and Chinese were the two largest non-Christian immigrant groups" atthe turn of the century.

這個故事還要從下東區（紐約市曼哈頓區沿東河南端一帶，猶太移民聚居地）的平靜的日子裏開始說起，來自這裏的Jennifer 8. Lee（她是《尋找左宗棠雞》的製作人）說，“世紀之交之時，猶太人和中國人是兩支最大的非基督徒移民團體”。

So while it's true that Chinese restaurants were notably open on Sundays and during holidays when other restaurants wouldbe closed, the two groups were linked not only by proximity, but by sh affinity for Chinese food "reveals a lot about immigration history and what it's like to be outsiders," she explained.

中國餐館確實在周天或者假期的時候還開着，而其他餐館一般都是關門。中國人和猶太人不僅是因爲靠近而產生聯繫，還因爲二者之間的差異性而產生聯繫。猶太人對中國食物的喜愛“披露了有關移民歷史的很多內容以及作爲局外人是怎樣的一種感受，”她解釋道。

Estimates of the surging Jewish population of New York City run from 400,000in 1899 to about a million by 1910 (or roughly a quarter of the city's population). And, assome Jews began to assimilate into American life, they not only found acceptance at Chinese restaurants, but also easy passage into the world beyond Kosher food.

據估計，在紐約的猶太人口從1899年的40萬上升到1910年的大約100萬（或者說紐約市總人口的將近四分之一）。隨着一些猶太人開始融入美國生活，他們不僅發現自己可以在中國餐館裏受到認可和接納，而且還能在中餐館裏輕易的吃到猶太食品以外的其他食物。

"Chinese restaurants were the easiest placeto trick yourself into thinking you were eating Kosher food," EdSchonfeld, the owner of RedFarm, one of the most laureled Chineserestaurants in New York, said. Indeed, it was something of a perfect sh law famously prohibits the mixing of milk and meat just as Chinese foodtraditionally excludes dairy from its dishes. Lee added:

“在中國餐館裏，你會非常容易的以爲自己吃的就是猶太食物（符合猶太教教規的食物），”RedFarm的所有者Ed Schonfeld如是說，這是紐約最著名的中餐館之一。二者之間在某種程度上確實是天作之合。衆所周知，猶太律法是禁止把奶製品和肉類放在一起的，而中國食物傳統上也不包含奶製品。Jennifer 8. Lee補充道：

If you look at the two other main ethniccuisines in America, which are Italian and Mexican, both of those combine milkand meat to a significant extent. Chinese food allowed Jews to eat foreigncuisines in a safe way.

如果你看看美國另外兩個主要的少數族裔餐飲，即意大利和墨西哥，你會發現他們會把牛奶和肉放在一起。而猶太人在吃中國食物時，既能吃到異國風情的食物，又不用擔心這些食物是否符合猶太教規。

And so, for Jews, the chop suey palaces anddumpling parlors of the Lower East Side and Chinatown gave the illusion ofreligious accordance, even if there was still treifgalore in the form of pork and shellfish. Nevertheless, it's more than a curiositythat a narrow culinary phenomenon that started over a century ago managed togrow into a national ritual that is both specifically American andcharacteristically Jewish.

所以，對於猶太人來說，紐約下東區和唐人街裏的(美式中國菜)炒雜燴菜和餃子店給他們一種宗教和諧之感的幻覺，儘管不符合猶太教規的食物也會以豬肉和殼類海鮮的形式出現。無論如何，100年前的一個小小的烹飪現象演變成了如今的一個全國性的節日，即猶太人的聖誕節——這是美國人的，更是猶太人的。

"Clearly this whole thing with Chinese foodand Jewish people has evolved," Schoenfeld said. "There's no stmas was always a good day for Chinese restaurants, but in recent years,it's become the ultimate day of business."

“顯然，中國食物和猶太人之間的關係在不斷的演變着，”Ed Schonfeld說。“毫無疑問，一直以來聖誕節對中國餐館來說都是個好日子，但是最近幾年，從根本上變成了一個商業日。”

But there's more to it than that. Ask a foodpurist about American Chinese food and you'll get a pu-pu platter ofhostilerhetoric about its inauthenticity. Driving the point home, earlier this week,CBS reportedon two Americans who opened a restaurant in Shanghai that featuresAmerican-style Chinese dishes like orange chicken, pork egg rolls, and, yes,the beloved General Tso's, all of which don't exist in traditional Chinesecuisine. The restaurant gets it name from another singular upshot ofChinese-American fusion: Fortune Cookie.

不僅如此。如果你問一個食物純粹主義者有關美式中國食物到底怎樣，他可能會抱怨說美式中國食物的不正宗。還有，本週早些時候，哥倫比亞廣播公司對兩名在上海開了一家餐館的美國人進行了報道，這家餐館主營美式的中國食物，包括香橙雞，豬肉蛋卷，以及受人喜愛的左宗棠雞，在傳統的中國菜餚中，這些菜都是沒有的。餐館的名字也非常具有中美融合的特色：福餅。

Schoenfeld, whose restaurant features anegg roll made with pastrami from Katz's Deli, shrugs off the idea thatAmericanized Chinese food is somehow an affront to cultural virtue. "Adaptationhas been a signature part of the Chinese food experience," he said. "If youwent to Italy, you'd see a Chinese restaurant trying to make an Italiancustomer happy."

Schoenfeld店裏的特色菜是雞蛋卷五香菸薰牛肉，五香菸薰牛肉來自著名的Katz's Deli，他認爲美式中國食物並非是對文化美德的侵犯。“適應當地是中國食物歷史中的重要組成部分，”他說。“如果你去意大利，你就會看到那裏的中國餐館也在儘量的讓自己的客人滿意。

"I would argue that Chinese food isthe ethnic cuisine of American Jews."

“我想說的是中國食物是美國猶太人的民族風情美食。”

That particular mutability has a meaningfullink to the Jewish experience, the rituals of which were largely forged inexile. During the First and Second Temple eras, Jewish practice centered around templelife in Jerusalem. Featuring a monarchy and a high priesthood, it bears littleresemblance to Jewish life of today with its rabbis and synagogues.

這種特別的易變性和猶太經驗之間有一種意味深長的關聯，猶太經驗的儀式大部分是在流放中形成的。在第一和第二聖殿期間，猶太人的實踐主要以耶路撒冷的聖殿生活爲中心。在一個君主政體和一個大祭司的顯著特點下，以前的猶太人生活與如今的具備拉比和猶太教會堂的猶太人生活幾乎沒有共同點。

So could it be that Chinese food is amanifestation of Jewish life in America? Lee seems to think so. “I would arguethat Chinese food is the ethnic cuisine of American Jews. That, in fact, theyidentify with it more than they do gefilte fish or all kinds of the EasternEurope dishes of yore.”

所以，中國食物是如今美國猶太人生活的一種表現？至少Lee是這麼認爲的。“我想說的是中國食物是美國猶太人的民族風情美食。對於猶太人來說，中國食物比魚丸凍或者所有其他的東歐飲食都更受到他們的認同。

Over the centuries, different religiouscustoms have sprung up and new spiritual rituals have taken root, many of whichdraw on the past. Jewish Christmas, in many ways, could very much be seen as amodern affirmation of faith. After all, there are few days that remind AmericanJews of their Jewishness more than Christmas in the United States.

幾個世紀以來，不同的宗教風俗如雨後春筍般涌現，而新的精神儀式已經紮根，其中很多以過去爲基礎。從許多方面看，可以將猶太人的聖誕節看成是對信仰的現代性肯定。畢竟，在美國，很少有其他日子能像聖誕節那樣讓美國猶太人想起自己所具備的猶太性了。