Cannibalism: A Perfectly Natural History(56)

Another form of cannibalism in China had nothing to do with persecution and punishment. Key Ray Chong reported that, “children would cut off parts of their body and make them into soup to please family members, particularly their parents.” This last example, and many others like it, led him to study what he considered a truly unique aspect of learned cannibalism among the Chinese—its association with the Confucian philosophy of filial piety. In general terms, filial piety is a highly regarded virtue in which it is the duty of younger family members to demonstrate respect, obedience, and care for one’s parents and elderly family members. In this case, however, it refers to an extreme act of cannibalism-related self-sacrifice, with relatives providing parts of their own bodies for the consumption and benefit of their elders.

Although by no means meant to be a complete list, Chong came up with a total of 766 documented cases of cannibalism-related filial piety, spanning a period of over 2,000 years. The practice took place primarily between sons and fathers, sons and mothers, and daughters and mothers.33 The most commonly consumed body part was the thigh, followed by the upper arm, both of which were prepared in a rice porridge called congee. Far less frequent, but recorded nonetheless, were instances in which a young person volunteered a part of their liver, breast, finger, or even eyeball.34

In each case, the practice was intended to provide nutrition to a starving loved one or as a treatment of last resort, to afford the sufferer some medical benefit. The concept of medicinal cannibalism will be discussed further in Chapter 15.

So is there any link between the practice of filial cannibalism in humans and that exhibited in the animal kingdom by species like mouth-brooding cichlids? One similarity is that, in both instances, the parent gains a benefit at the expense of the offspring. In humans, though, culture dictates that the offspring consciously initiate the act of filial cannibalism. Alternately, in animals it’s the parents that do the initiating—regarding their offspring as a handy food source should their numbers drop too low to expend further energy on them, or when other forms of nutrition are unavailable.

In addition to the historical record of cannibalism contained within China’s dynastic histories, the behavior in its various incarnations is also abundantly documented in plays, poems, and other works of fiction. For example, the 15th-century play, Shuang-zhong ji (Loyalty Redoubled) tells of a general coming up with the idea of turning his concubine into soup to feed his besieged and starving troops. Happily, for the general at least, the concubine volunteers for this duty, thus sparing the general from having to murder an innocent woman. The concubine’s devotion spurs the soldiers to fight on, which leads another servant (this one a boy) to volunteer his own body.

According to numerous sources, then, the practice of cannibalism in China was more or less accepted as a necessity during times of famine, as a right to be exercised during warfare and acts of vengeance, and as a way of honoring one’s relatives. And even though cannibalism wasn’t something the majority of Chinese ever looked forward to, the behavior apparently never had the same stigma attached to it that it did in Western cultures.

Many cultural and physical anthropologists vehemently disagree with writers such as Bill Arens that examples of cultural or ritual cannibalism were made up. They cite reams of ethno-historical data as well as physical evidence as proof that this type of behavior occurred across the entire span of human existence. But whether various acts of culturally sanctioned cannibalism existed or not (and it seems absurd to consider that they never did), the fact remains that for the vast majority of Westerners, our feelings regarding the practice have resulted (at least in part) from our exposure to a long list of influential writers beginning with the Ancient Greeks and extending into the 21st century.

In China there were no such widespread taboos regarding the behavior—which was carried out for a variety of reasons. Eventually, though, Western civilization came to dominate much of what the world saw and often emulated and, as Western influences made their way into Chinese society, the Greek and Judeo-Christian abhorrence for cannibalism began to rub off—at least outwardly. This may explain the current silence and stigma in China about the survival-related cannibalism practiced during China’s Great Leap Forward.

But if I’ve given you the impression that cannibalism did not occur in the West, that would be an error. It was actually a common practice in places like Europe, where it was carried on in various forms into the 20th century. It is also being practiced today here in the United States.



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30 In one of the most well-known TV episodes of all time, humanity realizes too late that the intentions of an advanced race of alien visitors are somewhat less than benevolent.



31 These authors include Key Ray Chong (1990), Jasper Becker (1996), Zheng Yi (1996), Lewis Petrinovich (2000), and Yang Jisheng (2008).



32 Another of Mao’s brainstorms led to war being declared on sparrows, with the subsequent success of farmers’ efforts reflected by a concurrent increase in crop-munching insect populations.



33 Rarely, this exchange took place between daughters-in-law and fathers-in-law, and between daughters-in-law and mothers-in-law.



34 Although “an official edict in 1261 banned cutting out the liver or plucking out the eyeballs.”





15: Chia Skulls and Mummy Powder


The ancients were very eager to embalm the bodies of their dead, but not with the intention that they should serve as food and drink for the living as is the case at the present time.