Chinese food culture and system existed as early as the Western Zhou Dynasty.

The Zhou Rites-Tianguan Tsukazai said, "The Cuisinier was in charge of the king's food and drink, meals and shyness, to feed the king and the queen and the sons of the world." Others, such as the Book of Rites, the Analects of Confucius, the Spring and Autumn Annals of Lu Shi, and the Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine, have all left important chapters on food and drink. During the Western Han Dynasty, Zhang Qian passed through the Western Regions, bringing a large number of exotic ingredients.

At that time, sugar was only used in the Lingnan region to make sweet flavors, and the use of sugar for flavoring was not common until after the Tang Dynasty. During the Song Dynasty, the abolition of the liangfang system and the curfew in cities brought prosperity to the urban economy and promoted the popularization of the three-meal system. The prosperity of the catering industry also made people realize the differences in taste between different places. During the Ming Dynasty, exotic ingredients such as tomatoes, sweet potatoes, pumpkins, corn, chili peppers and garlic entered China.

In the mid-Qing Dynasty, Chinese society established the use of chili peppers and cane sugar as the main flavorings. Industrialization, which has continued since the late Qing Dynasty, has led to the emergence of new food and cooking methods. The large-scale population movement that accompanied industrialization led to the construction of a modern restaurant industry with the participation of outsiders, and made it possible for city dwellers to taste foreign cuisine.

Republican period, the term "help mouth" to distinguish between local flavors, to the contemporary formation of the concept of "cuisine". 1949, Chinese society has long been in a state of material scarcity, after the reform and opening up, the society out of the state of material shortage, the catering industry has made great progress.

Expanded Information:

Cultural Characteristics:

China is an ancient civilization, but also a long history of food culture. The food culture is summarized in the following characteristics:

One, the four seasons are different

All year round, according to the season and eat, is another major feature of Chinese cooking. Since ancient times, China has been seasoned according to seasonal changes to seasoning, food, winter flavor mellow thick, light and cool in summer; winter stew stew simmering, summer more cold frozen.

Two, pay attention to the aesthetic

Chinese cooking, not only skilled, but also pay attention to the aesthetic tradition of dishes, pay attention to the color of the food, aroma, taste, shape, and the coordination of the device. The performance of the beauty of the dishes is multifaceted, whether it is a carrot, or a cabbage heart, can be carved out of a variety of shapes, unique, to achieve the color, aroma, taste, shape and beauty of the harmony and unity, to give a person a high degree of unity of the spirit and the material enjoyment of the special.

Three, pay attention to the interest

Chinese cooking has long paid attention to the taste of interest, not only on the meal snacks of color, aroma, taste have strict requirements, but also on the naming of them, the way to taste, the rhythm of the meal, the entertainment of the interspersed and so on, there are certain requirements. The names of Chinese dishes can be said to be out of the ordinary, elegant and vulgar **** appreciation.

The name of the dish is based on the main, auxiliary, seasonings and cooking methods of realistic naming, but also based on historical stories, myths and legends, celebrities, food interests, dishes named after the image, such as "Family Fortune", "generals across the bridge", "Lion's Head", "Barking Chicken", "Dragon and Phoenix", "Hongmen Banquet", "Dongpo Pork".

Four, the combination of food and medicine

Chinese cooking technology, and health care has a close link, thousands of years ago, there is a 'medical food' and 'medicinal meals with the same function' said, the use of food raw materials of medicinal value, made into a variety of delicious dishes, to achieve the purpose of some disease prevention and treatment. "

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