Regional Oral History Office University of California The Bancroft ...

Regional Oral History Office The Bancroft Library

University of California Berkeley, California

Cecilia Chiang CECILIA CHIANG: AN ORAL HISTORY

Interviews conducted by Victor Geraci, PhD in 2005-2006

Copyright ? 2007 by The Regents of the University of California

Since 1954 the Regional Oral History Office has been interviewing leading participants in or well-placed witnesses to major events in the development of Northern California, the West, and the nation. Oral History is a method of collecting historical information through tape-recorded interviews between a narrator with firsthand knowledge of historically significant events and a well-informed interviewer, with the goal of preserving substantive additions to the historical record. The tape recording is transcribed, lightly edited for continuity and clarity, and reviewed by the interviewee. The corrected manuscript is bound with photographs and illustrative materials and placed in The Bancroft Library at the University of California, Berkeley, and in other research collections for scholarly use. Because it is primary material, oral history is not intended to present the final, verified, or complete narrative of events. It is a spoken account, offered by the interviewee in response to questioning, and as such it is reflective, partisan, deeply involved, and irreplaceable.

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All uses of this manuscript are covered by a legal agreement between The Regents of the University of California and Cecilia Chiang, dated June 3, 2007. The manuscript is thereby made available for research purposes. All literary rights in the manuscript, including the right to publish, are reserved to The Bancroft Library of the University of California, Berkeley. No part of the manuscript may be quoted for publication without the written permission of the Director of The Bancroft Library of the University of California, Berkeley.

Requests for permission to quote for publication should be addressed to the Regional Oral History Office, The Bancroft Library, Mail Code 6000, University of California, Berkeley, 94720-6000, and should include identification of the specific passages to be quoted, anticipated use of the passages, and identification of the user.

It is recommended that this oral history be cited as follows:

Cecilia Chiang, CECILIA CHIANG: AN ORAL HISTORY conducted by Victor Geraci, PhD, 2005-2006, Regional Oral History Office, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley, 2007.

CECILIA CHIANG (photo courtesy of Cecilia Chiang)

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Discursive Table of Contents--Cecilia Chiang

Interview #1: August 4, 2005 ..........................................................................................1

[Audio File 1] ..............................................................................................................1

Birth in Wuxi, China, 1920--Childhood in Beijing--Family background--Mother and father, their work and upbringing--Food, culture, living arrangements-Education--Japanese occupation--Shopping for food in Chinese markets--Meals at home--Seasonal cooking and dining--Drying and pickling meats and vegetables.

Interview #2: September 29, 2005 ..................................................................................37

[Audio File 2] ..............................................................................................................37

Japanese occupation, 1937--Leaving Beijing with sister one cold day--Five months of walking to Chong Qing, "Free China"--New foods in a new region-Meeting future husband, Jiang Liang--Marriage in 1946--Leaving China on the last plane from Shanghai.

[Audio File 3] ..............................................................................................................57

New life in Japan--Work ethic, high standards, great Chinese chefs.

Interview #3: January 31, 2006 .......................................................................................65

[Audio File 4] ..............................................................................................................65

Coming to the United States in 1957--Getting into the restaurant business in San Francisco--Offering Chinese food beyond the usual Cantonese fare--Self confidence and hard work--Moving The Mandarin to Ghirardelli Square--Herb Caen's praise for The Mandarin in 1959; crowds arrive--Financing expansion-Ingredients, cooking techniques, restaurant management, staff

[Audio File 5] ..............................................................................................................84

The Mandarin as a part of Cecilia Chiang--Hospitality and beauty--Educating Americans about Chinese culture--Quality of service and ingredients at The Mandarin.

Interview #4: February 28, 2006 ....................................................................................96

[Audio File 6] .............................................................................................................96

Customers at The Mandarin: writers, rock stars, opera singers, politicians; Japanese and Chinese visitors--Getting good ingredients--Starting cooking classes in 1972--Marion Cunningham, James Beard, Julia Child: students at Chiang's

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