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REVIEW article

Front. Mar. Sci.

Sec. Marine Fisheries, Aquaculture and Living Resources

Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmars.2025.1556758

The connotation of Chinese crab culture: a comprehensive perspective of literature, art and diet

Provisionally accepted
Xiaodie Yan Xiaodie Yan 1Zhang Cong Zhang Cong 2*
  • 1 East China Normal University, Shanghai, Shanghai Municipality, China
  • 2 Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Crab is a traditional Chinese culinary ingredient with significant cultural, archaeological, and artistic research value. As a prized aquatic product in China, it has become a cornerstone of the nation's aquaculture industry. Throughout history, crab culture has evolved, developing distinct temporal characteristics and cultural connotations. However, controversies surrounding the cultural significance of crabs and the disorganization of related research materials have hindered the study and dissemination of crab culture. This paper systematically reviews and analyzes crab culture data from various historical periods, exploring cultural features in ancient literary works, artistic appreciation, and crab-eating customs. It reexamines the cultural connotation of Chinese crabs from a novel perspective encompassing literature, art, and culinary practices, aiming to enrich the temporal aspects of crab culture and promote the harmonious development of crab culture alongside the modern aquaculture industry.

    Keywords: Chinese crab, Culture connotation, social cognition, Literature, Art, Aquaculture

    Received: 14 Jan 2025; Accepted: 26 Feb 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Yan and Cong. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Zhang Cong, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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