So, uh, yeah. I didn't think this book was literally about salt. I was wrong. It actually is about salt. I think that I'm now pretty well versed on the discovery and uses of salt in the Chinese culture. It is rather alarming how big of an effect salt had on that country, though. Today we don't view salt as anything other than a seasoning that sits on our table every night and gives us high-blood pressure when we coat our fatty french fries in it. Back in the day (ie. hundreds of years ago in ancient China), salt was very important. It also pwn'd slice bread in the face (yeah, I know they didn't have sliced bread back then, but you get the point).
I have to say that I wasn't particularly into the book, though. I'm not a big fan of Chinese culture. At all. I was so excited when I finished The Joy Luck Club in English last week because I thought, "Hey, no more reading about the Chinese!" Then we get Salt. I was so unsuspecting, innocently starting to read the first chapter. It was a slap in the face. I guess if you want to be more accurate, and cute and clever with a pun, it was the equivalent of salt in a wound. Talk about a opening a lot of pun doors. Salt has a lot of sayings, probably because it was so important.
It is so strange to think that something as simple as salt had such a big effect on a culture. It opened moral dilemmas and major political issues. Are we talking about the same thing that I carelessly tossed on my baked potato last night? Back then, salt was HUGE. It was the Angelina Jolie of seasonings/condiments. These delightful, white granules caused major rifts in China. It is so hard to imagine that salt was so important to the Chinese. Or that it seemed like such a discovery to them. Today we go buy it by the pounds in Giant Eagle. Salt...Changing the world one fry at a time!
The Best Is Yet to Come Film à Regarder
4 years ago
10 comments:
Hahaha..you a good blogger Megan!
I thought Salt would symbolize something but it's actually about salt. It is kind of crazy to see how much China realied on salt though because today salt is just overlooked..until we have heart attacks.
I almost cried once I saw it was about the Chinese. I don't know why teachers are torturing us with all this Chinese culture. But I don't think using salt as a pun is a good way to describe how the Chinese thought about it.
I'm not sure I would say I take salt for granted. Back then it was a major discovery but today its like "yeah, pass the salt," not "pass me the crytal sprinkles of life."
Its crazy to think that salt started so many conflicts with the Chinese. I mean the stuff was found everywhere over there but yet they paid so much for it because of the taxes. The government officials were pretty smart though because they knew people would pay that much for the easy to extract salt.
blog ya later :)
mkay...so immma little depressed by the whole chinese culture thing...but i guess salt was important back then too...however i would compare it to paris hilton instead, cause it too is also extremely cheap. wow...that turned into a salt burn, those dont come around too often. anywho, i believe that we didnt get our democracy from the greeks...we got it from the ancient chinese. they were the only jerks smart enough to take adventage of people and make a profit..sound familiar.oh well, i should stop typing soons..laters
p.s. cant wait to see further ugly plant
I was surprised too about how important salt was to the Chinese back then! They really needed it. Today we don't usually think about it because we're not desperate for salt since we have a fairly good supply.
I also didn't like the first chapter that much because early Chinese times don't exactly entertain me...unless it's Mulan. But I really liked how you said about salt and puns.
And I agree with Millie, you're a good blogger!
I loved your pun, and i betthis author agrees with you that salt's importance in history is one of the reason we commonly throw the word around today. I was flipping through the intro, and he talked about how all the salt superstitions we have today are because of salt's historical importance. Apparently, it's all in our salt-ridden subconcious. And here I thought it was only my arteries that were clogged with sodium!
Lul at salt in a wound pun. well played, ma'am, well played.
I was pretty disappointed, too, when i learned that this whole first chapter was on the Chinese again...at least it didn't involve crazy chinese mothers who won't let in the ghosts that say "woo woo" when they want out of the rain.
You are NOT salty. That doesn't exist. It is not a mood. Ask Kinman, she should know the lingo. As i read this i thought about your habit with using that phrase, and i think perhaps i actually cringed. Then i put it in the back of my mind.
Thanks for the reminder, meany.
My comments aren't educational at all.
Slap youuuuu.
You should consider going pro on your blogging. I didnt mind reading the joy luck club, but I have to admit, I am also sort of sick of it. I was sort of excited when we first got the book because I figured salt would be like a symbol for something really interesting in cool, not actually a book about salt. Maybe I am still just in shock that someone actually came up with the idea to write a book about salt. It just seems such a bland thing to write about. I agree with you, though, that its sort of interesting how many things salt is used for. See you in school tomorrow. PS nice plant :)
AH CHINESE. i thought i got away from it leaving honors english
i mean no joy luck club i thought i was in the clear
apparently salt was also a big deal in china
as well as wang lung and the lotus.
yikes please can we never discuss them again?
and i am very guilty of coating my greasy french fries in salt.
I totally agree with you on the trading people thing, and I wrote about that in my blog, too! I laughed out loud at it, a lot. I would hate to be traded for salt, Im pretty sure I would just kill myself. When I read about the camels being from North America I thought about how we should get Camel Crossing signs and I had myself a good laugh. I was way confused over the salt town thing, wouldnt you always be tempted to lick your house? Our blogs are really similar and I'm glad you liked chapter two better :)
LATER!
also, i failed the captcha thing four times so far..
Don't act so shocked. You mean you don't judge a book by it's cover? Perhaps you should in this case.
YOU WROTE:
"Today we don't view salt as anything other than a seasoning that sits on our table every night and gives us high-blood pressure when we coat our fatty french fries in it."
I think Mr. K is trying to explain that something so obvious and common place to us now would be something we take for granted. That said, historically, this was not the case at all.
That's too bad you don't like Chinese culture, because in the spring we'll study China for about 3 weeks straight, so prepare yourself. Sounds like some of your classmates and you have been burned out by P.S. Buck?
YOU WROTE:
"It opened moral dilemmas and major political issues.:
Like what? Some of your ramblings are a bit off topic and not relating to the text. Try and stay focused on the book's content?
Mr. Farrell
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