06/10/2026
The Thing That Made the Empire
Lee Man Fong’s encounter with a Dutch tradition
To foreign eyes, there is something distinctly unusual about the Dutch way of eating a herring. The fish is held by its tail, the head is tilted backwards, and the herring is lowered into the mouth, bite by bite. No knife, fork or plate is required. This curious and unmistakably Dutch ritual is the subject of a remarkable painting made by Lee Man Fong around 1949, during his years in the Netherlands.
What appears to be a simple scene of everyday life is connected to a much larger history. For centuries, herring was of enormous importance to the Netherlands. Dutch fishermen perfected methods of cleaning, salting and preserving their catch at sea, allowing herring to be transported over great distances. From the fifteenth century onwards, the industry grew into what became known as the Groote Visscherij — the Great Fishery — and contributed substantially to Dutch trade and prosperity.
Its importance was such that an old saying claimed:
‘Holland was built upon herrings’ bones.’
The phrase was quoted in 1920 by the British writer Robert Blatchford in an article with the striking title ‘The Thing That Made the Empire.’ Blatchford described how the Dutch developed their herring fisheries, built fleets of fishing vessels and subsequently warships to protect them, eventually becoming, in his words, ‘the foremost sea Power.’
The humble fish had become entangled with the economic and maritime rivalry between England and the Dutch Republic. Blatchford summarised its extraordinary historical role in a memorable sentence: ‘All this was brought about by the humble herring.’ and argued that the migration of herring shoals from the Baltic towards the North Sea had ‘changed the history of the world.’
Something of this history survives in the Dutch custom of haringhappen — literally, ‘herring biting’. The herring traditionally eaten in this manner is lightly salted and matured, giving it an exceptionally soft texture. Holding it by the tail and eating it with the head tilted backwards has become one of the most recognisable images of Dutch food culture.
For Lee Man Fong, as a Chinese-Indonesian, the spectacle must have been particularly striking when he encountered Dutch life at close quarters. In 1949 he transformed this everyday ritual into a compelling painted image.
Seen in this light, his Herring Eater is more than an observation of an amusing local custom. The man holds above his mouth a small silver fish that had helped feed a nation, generate fortunes, build fleets and shape the struggle for mastery of the seas.
A humble herring, perhaps — but one with an extraordinary history.
Sources: Robert Blatchford, ‘The Thing That Made the Empire’, 1920; A.M. Samuel, The Herring: Its Effect on the History of Britain, London, 1918.
