Ask Mang | Why do many Chinese vegans and vegetarians also abstain from garlic and onions?
** “Ask Mang” is the China Vegan Society's Q&A series. "Mang" is the Romanization of 茻, the Chinese character which the China Vegan Society uses to represent veganism. Email Mang with your questions about veganism in China and she'll do her best to answer you!
Dear Mang: Why do so many vegans in China abstain from garlic and onions, as well as animal products?
Maybe you've ordered a vegan meal in China and been asked, "Are garlic and onions ok?" (葱蒜可以吗？). Maybe you've eaten in a vegan restaurant and noticed some differences—the stirfried veggies aren't studded with garlic mince, there are no leeks in the dumplings, and there are no green onions garnishing the soups. Maybe you've offered your homemade hummus or curry to Chinese vegan friends and had them turn it down because it contained garlic. What's going on? Are garlic and onions not vegan?
Relax—garlic and onions are definitely plants, not animal products! Based on the definition of veganism from the Vegan Society, they are vegan. But within the doctrines of Buddhism and several other Eastern belief systems, garlic and onions belong to a special class of plants called the "five pungent spices" or "five pungent plants" (五辛 or 五荤), and are often excluded from traditional diets which also exclude animal products and alcohol.
The five pungent plants are onions, garlic, chives, scallions, leeks, and asafetida. In China, a Buddhist vegan diet that also excludes the five pungent plants is often called 纯净素 (chun jing su), or "pure vegan".
China is not the only place where you will find that vegan diets often also exclude the five pungent plants. The Buddhist "pure vegan" diet is also practiced by Mahayana Buddhist monastics in Korea, Vietnam, and Japan. In India, practitioners of Jainism and Hinduism may also abstain from garlic and onions, as well as other plants which are associated with impurity.
So why do many Chinese vegans abstain from garlic and onions?
In China, there are an estimated 185 to 250 million practicing Buddhists. Several Buddhist sutras explicitly state that practitioners who hope to attain enlightenment should not consume the five pungent vegetables because they stimulate the mind and body in disruptive ways—eaten cooked, they are aphrodisiac, and eaten raw, they cause irritability. The smell of these pungent plants on the breath can also cause distraction during meditation and sutra chanting. In short, consuming the five pungent plants may negatively impact mindfulness. MinorityNurse.com explains the Buddhist diet in detail here.
The monastic traditions of Taoism, which originated in China, also prescribe abstaining from garlic and onions because of their potential to interfere with mental clarity. The Taoist version of "five pungents" includes garlic, onions, coriander, rapeseed plant, and Chinese chives.
Are there any health benefits to excluding garlic and onions from the diet?
Western medicine often touts garlic and onions as superfoods with myriad health benefits, citing studies showing that they can suppress harmful bacteria, reduce blood pressure, and even fight cancer. Onions and garlic are also nutrient-dense and low in calories, making it possible to cook flavorful dishes without relying on oil, salt, sugar, or artificial flavorings. So why do so many people believe they should be avoided?
One reason is that, for some people, they may irritate the gut. Garlic and onions are high in short-chain carbohydrates, which some people have difficulty digesting. For people with a sensitivity, removing garlic and onions from the diet may alleviate gastrointestinal problems.
Another reason is that they are believed to overstimulate the mind. Many practitioners who have switched from a standard vegan diet to a Buddhist vegan diet report feeling more calm and serene afterward. Beijing-based food blogger Vegan Lisa (全蔬食丽萨), originally from Germany, shares her personal experience with the Buddhist vegan diet here.
In fact, Eastern traditional diets restricting the consumption of garlic and onions don't necessarily deny the health-supporting properties of these plants; rather, they regard them as potent medicine that can affect the body in complex ways, not as food.
How do "pure vegans" make flavorful, satisfying dishes without garlic and onions?
Instead of garlic and onions, Chinese pure vegan restaurants use a variety of spices, herbs, and aromatic vegetables, including cilantro, ginger, cumin, turmeric, Chinese celery, fresh and dried peppers, Sichuan peppercorns, Chinese toon, and more.
Why are only alliums like garlic and onions considered "pungent"? Why not other strong-tasting plants like chili peppers, ginger, or durian?
Buddhist doctrine about the five pungent plants generally holds that although there are many strong-tasting and strong-smelling edible plants in the world, their stimulating effects are fleeting. Onions, garlic, chives, leeks, and asafetida are believed to be unique in that they have a lasting impact on mental focus, to the point where consuming them is detrimental to spiritual practice. This is why they are separately categorized as "pungent" and restricted accordingly.
Do you have any questions about veganism in China? Ask Mang!