[War & Business] China's 'Egg Fried Rice' Controversy

The image shows Mao Anying, the eldest son of Mao Zedong. He participated in the Korean War and was killed in November 1950 during a U.S. bombing. His grave is located at the Martyrs' Cemetery of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army in Hoechang County, South Pyongan Province, North Korea.
[Image source: Chinese Academy of History website]

With the upcoming 100th anniversary celebration of the Chinese Communist Party on the 1st of next month, the food item that has taken a hit in China is 'gyeran bokkeumbap' (egg fried rice). Although gyeran bokkeumbap is a basic menu item commonly found even in Chinese restaurants in Korea, it has suddenly become embroiled in a historical controversy due to its unexpected association with the 100th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party.

The reason gyeran bokkeumbap has suddenly become involved in a historical debate is reportedly because of its connection to Mao Anying, the eldest son of Mao Zedong, who is known to have died while participating in the Korean War. It is said that on November 1950, during the Korean War, Mao Anying briefly came out of a trench to cook gyeran bokkeumbap, and upon seeing smoke rising, was killed by a bombing raid from American fighter planes.

However, the controversy began when the Chinese Academy of History suddenly claimed that Mao Anying did not die while making gyeran bokkeumbap and argued that gyeran bokkeumbap should not be linked with Mao Anying. According to the Chinese Academy of History, Mao Anying did not simply come out of the trench because of gyeran bokkeumbap and die; rather, from the beginning, the U.S. military had planned an assassination, succeeded in intercepting radio communications to track his movements, and then carried out indiscriminate bombing that killed him.

The story about the gyeran bokkeumbap originally came from memoirs of Chinese military officers who participated in the Korean War. At that time, the 28-year-old vigorous Mao Anying personally participated in the Korean War despite repeated objections from Chinese military staff, and it is said that he went out of the trench to make breakfast for the soldiers himself, including gyeran bokkeumbap, and was killed. Even on a battlefield where shells could fall anytime and anywhere, this humanizing anecdote shows the son of an absolute ruler sharing life and death with the soldiers, but the historical research institute is trying to forcibly change this narrative.

On October 24th last year, a Chinese chef faced backlash after posting a video of making Yangzhou-style fried rice, a type of gyeran bokkeumbap. Coincidentally, that day was Mao Anying’s birthday, and some Chinese netizens exaggeratedly interpreted the video as an attempt to insult not only Mao Anying but also Mao Zedong. Although the chef insisted that the video was posted without any particular meaning and repeatedly apologized for posting it thoughtlessly, his personal information was revealed, and countless comments with abusive language were posted.

When Mao Zedong actually heard about his son’s death, he said, "War inevitably involves sacrifice," and "All Chinese parents have lost their sons, so I cannot retrieve only my son’s body," leaving not only the funeral but also the grave in North Korea. There was no glorification or exaggeration of his son’s death. Why, then, is 21st-century China losing the grandeur that made the Chinese Communist Party’s 100 years possible?