Brian R. Dott

Reading, writing and teaching about Chinese history is my passion! I am fascinated by Chinese popular culture, folk religion, gender dynamics, and food. In my earlier book on pilgrimages to Mount Tai, I was able to merge my passion for feet-on-the-ground fieldwork, including, interviewing groups of modern pilgrims visiting the Goddess of Mount Tai, with sifting through historical texts and maps. I travel frequently to China and always miss the food as soon as I return to the States. Knowing chiles originated in the Americas, I decided to write about chile peppers in China while eating spicy Sichuanese food and wondering how Chinese began to eat something novel that was as spicy as chiles. Although chiles did not arrive in China until about 1570, they are now emblematic of the spiciness in Chinese cooking. In addition to loving eating, researching and cooking chiles, a delight of my recent work has been expanding my engagement with food as medicine, and medicine as food.

I received a Master’s degree in Chinese Studies from the University of Michigan and my PhD in Chinese History from the University of Pittsburgh. I teach Chinese history at Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington.