Embracing Italy: A Chinese American Perspective
Ringing in the Year of the Dragon across cultures
I’m often asked what I miss the most about living in America. Without question, it’s ethnic diversity, especially coming from New York City. Ethnic and race-based statistics are not permitted in Italy; the census notes people’s citizenship and place of birth, which means I am counted here as an American. So, while I can’t give numbers for people like me of Asian heritage, I am sorry to say that, among my circle in Rome, I have just one close friend who is not of European heritage.
That said, being an ethnic minority hasn’t been a problem in terms of fitting in or being accepted by the wonderful communities in which I live—not in Rome, nor in my town on Lake Bracciano, and not even in Ceri, the medieval village (Wikipedia calls it a “hamlet”) of 84 people that was my home for over a year.
The worst discrimination I’ve experienced was at the very beginning of COVID-19. Even before two tourists from China became the first to test positive in Italy, Rome’s Santa Cecilia music conservatory suspended lessons for all “oriental” students from class, regardless of whether they had recently been in Asia. Two days later, I had just boarded a public tram when two young women looked me up and down, then quickly pulled their collars up over the mouths and noses and rushed to the other end of the car. I was interviewed about it in a blog for la Repubblica, though—a sign of how afraid I was of things going downhill—I asked the writer to use my Chinese name.
As we know, once the U.S. was overtaken by what Donald Trump called the “Chinese virus” and “kung flu,” racist harassment and physical assaults against Asians surged. Sadly, even with bigger and more active communities of color, the situation grew dramatically worse in America.
Anti-immigrant attitudes have been found to be higher in Italy than in the rest of Western Europe, especially against refugees and religious minority groups. But there are plenty of people who are eager to learn more about other cultures, and I’ve been fortunate to have been welcomed into their homes and lives. These last two weeks, numerous friends and acquaintances have approached me with questions about the Lunar New Year, such as why the Year of the Dragon is so lucky and why you don’t see Chinese dragons breathing fire. I tell them that the dragon, as the only mythical creature in the zodiac, holds a special place in Chinese culture. Chinese dragons breathe clouds, not fire, and are considered to be benevolent.
Having hosted not one, but two banquets during these two weeks of the Spring Festival, I’m happy to report that there is no shortage of top-notch Chinese restaurants in Rome. (Purists undoubtedly frown upon those that serve a combination of Chinese, Japanese and Thai food in a single establishment, but many focus on creatively and expertly prepared Chinese specialities.) Just over 50% of Italians now express a preference for ethnic food at least part of the time, a huge change for a country traditionally known for its preponderance of restaurants serving only Italian food—and where food is well, everything. You can see the change on supermarket shelves as well.
That means that it is easy to find all the symbolically lucky (and tasty!) foods for the Lunar New Year, from whole fish for abundance, to jiǎozi dumplings for wealth, to chángshòu noodles for longevity. As Lorenzo Giacomella wrote in Italics Magazine,
“In Italy, just like everywhere else, new food comes with new behaviors, new traditions, and new people.”
Next month, the two chefs--one from the north of China, one from the south—at Rome’s Green T. restaurant, which has been awarded the Michelin Bib Gourmand, will be joined by a third whose speciality is serving dumplings in the Shanghainese style. I am Shanghainese, and I can’t wait!