Ai Weiwei at the table

The Chinese meal is not divided into starter/main/dessert: it revolves around fàn (the staple starch — rice, noodles, or bread) and cài (the savory dishes placed in the center, shared with chopsticks). Tea accompanies and closes the meal, and between meals circulate zéroshí (零食), small snacks. At Ai Weiwei's table, everything happens around a large round table where everyone serves themselves — conviviality as an almost political act.

The great fermented soybean paste of the North (and its sweet cousin tiánmiànjiàng) is the salty-umami soul of Beijing cuisine: it gives zhájiàngmiàn its depth. Fermentation — transforming time and patience into flavor — is the guiding thread of this table.