Superstitions, Frauds and Transactions Behind Bird's Nest

Recently, Zhejiang Province has detected a “problem of blood swallowing” containing nitrite, and more media said that 100% of the “blood swallows” on the market are fake products. The State Administration for Industry and Commerce finally took action on the 16th and decided to conduct a special inspection of the bird's nest market throughout the country, showing that the issue of bird's nest has received considerable attention.

To say this bird's nest, it is full of streets, but it does not do ordinary people's affairs. The price of blood swallows is at least five or six hundred yuan per gram, which is much more expensive than gold. In terms of social reality, it is that "people who buy do not eat, and those who eat do not buy," and can only be eaten by officials. If the "blood swallow" containing nitrite is carcinogenic, and the harm is naturally a social elite, a special inspection of the bird's nest market will be conducted nationwide to reflect the concern for elite health. Its significance should not be underestimated.

According to the famous counterfeiter Dr. Fang Zhouzi, the bird's nest and shark's fin have no special nutrients and their nutritional value is even worse than that of the eggs. It is only because of the rareness that they are valuable that they have become the best health foods that the Chinese people admire. In fact, the bird's nest and shark's fin are neither in the national pharmacopoeia's drug catalog nor in the country's recognized health foods, but are ordinary foods and are China's unique "traditional nourishing foods." Completely useless things, whose prices are more expensive than gold, must have subtleties that are not covered by "tradition."

The imaginative use of bird's nest and shark's fin is, of course, related to the "traditional" nature of Chinese health and treatment. In the ancient times, witch doctors did not divide. It is probably the wizard who casts a spell and tries various herbs at the same time. By the Qin Dynasty, the alchemists had begun to look for various kinds of elixir for the First Emperor. Later, the emperor will begin to eat bird's nest, shark fins in order to maintain health, and this habit has also affected the arrival of officials. When imperial officials and noble officials were in great need, counterfeit goods on the supply appeared. The elixir of immortality and elixir had never been true. Bird's nest and shark's fin were themselves the devil's trick. Over time, deception became a “cultural tradition.” Now that bird's nest and shark's fin have been eaten, it has become a “traditional nourishing food”.

Now where shopping malls, supermarkets, must be attached to a gift shop, people are eyeing the eye, wine will Maotai, Wuliangye, nourishing products but nothing more than bird's nest, Cordyceps sinensis, shark fin. All such stores must be deserted. However, due to their wide distribution, it can be seen that the relevant market is large and the profit is thick. Bird's nest and Cordyceps is a rare thing. Now it has been flooded in China. The result must be fake and shoddy. If we take a different perspective, we can also find that the operation of power has become a normal state relying on the “health” of bird's nest, Cordyceps sinensis and shark fin.

Those who are qualified to eat “blood swallows” have been exposed to a higher risk of cancer because they have eaten “blood swallows”. This is a risk that the Chinese have not previously expected. In ancient times, there were quite a few emperors who died while eating elixir, but there was no record that Daguan nobles had eaten bird's nests and shark fins and were sick or dead. Bird's nest and shark's fin contain nitrite, which may cause cancer to the eater. This is a “modernity” issue, and behind it is the excessive consumption of bird's nest and shark fin, and the source of excessive consumption is more expensive than the official. It has become more greedy, and it has resulted in counterfeiting.

The word “health” has exposed the depth of Chinese superstitions. It first superseded mung bean health and later superseded muddy health. However, the Chinese people's greatest superstition is a superstition of bird's nest and shark's fin nourishing and health care. Some people praised the “food culture” and “health culture”, but it was just a mixture of superstition, fraud and power trading. Moreover, the superstition of bird's nests and shark's fins is mainly manifested in the so-called Daguan nobles. We can infer from its superstitious belief that its rationality is low. This shows that China’s modernization process still has a long way to go and the road ahead is long. We must not be complacent about the high GDP growth.