Lemons and teacups, Archival Pigment Print, 2020 © Chen Ronghui — *Lemons and teacups,* Archival Pigment Print, 2020 © Chen Ronghui

Images and Text by Chen Ronghui

Meyer Lemons

My hobby is cooking, and I cook every day for my family. When I was in New Haven, my classmates often took me to Trader Joe's to see if anything was interesting. There, I found a lemon called Meyer lemon. I had never heard of this lemon before, so I googled it and found out that it comes from China. From what I remember, there are no local lemons in China. Most of the lemons in Chinese supermarkets came from the United States or New Zealand. My classmate Mickey said, “Ronghui, eat a lemon and take a photo.”

Meyer lemon was introduced to the United States in 1908 as S.P.I. #23028 by the plant hunter Frank Nicholas Meyer, an employee of the United States Department of Agriculture. At the beginning of the 19th century, the U.S. Department of Agriculture sent some plant hunters to East Asia to increase the diversity of species. He came to China four times and obtained more than 2,000 plants and seeds. Including Meyer lemon, named after him. “The fruit is large, very smooth, very juicy, only slightly sour, and is practically seedless,” Meyer wrote of the discovery. When I returned to China, my wife took me to the supermarket to buy food. I looked for this lemon, but couldn't find it. My wife came to me with an American lemon and said, “Ronghui, eat a lemon and take a photo.”

Behind the attractive appearance and taste of Meyer Lemon, is the globalization of capitalism. Meyer could study, collect species, and ship them overseas. He and his discoveries could travel freely in Asia and return to the United States. At the same time, Chinese workers working on farms in the United States were restricted due to the Chinese Exclusion Act. If they left the United States, they couldn’t enter the country again. And in the largest lemon factory in California, Chinese workers picked lemons from China. At night, I dreamed that I was in a lemon factory and my colleagues and I were picking up lemons. My colleague said to me, “Ronghui, eat a lemon, and take a photo.”