1. The position of diet in China culture

In Chinese civilization, diet really has its unique position. Many aspects of China's spiritual culture are inextricably linked with diet, ranging from governing the country to interpersonal communication. Philosophy, politics, ethics, military science, medicine, art theory and literary criticism all agree with dietetics and cookery, and borrow concepts and vocabulary from them, and even get inspiration. The ancients said: "The country takes the people as the sky, and the people take food as the sky." "Heaven" is the highest honorific title, that is to say, "everything is long, but this is great". This is the essence of traditional political philosophy. Confucianism believes that the problem of people's food is related to the stability of the country, and Mencius' ideal of "benevolent government" is to let people eat and wear warm clothes, so as to do their duty of "respecting things and neglecting animals" (that is, they can serve their parents and be filial to their parents; Even the symbol of the "great harmony" society dreamed by Confucianism is just to make all the people in the world "have something to support".

China traditional culture pays attention to the society and life from the perspective of diet. The first thing in the daily life of ordinary people is to eat and drink. There is an inherent saying that "there are seven things to open the door, rice, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar and tea". The abbot before eating and Zhong Ming's Dining House regard eating as a kind of enjoyment. Some people who read A Dream of Red Mansions are tired of always writing about eating banquets. In fact, this is not only the aristocratic life itself, but also reflects the author's understanding of life. Even ordinary people's daily meals will make diners feel endless fun.

China people are good at chewing the beauty and meaning of life in a very ordinary diet, especially philosophers. Zhuangzi thought that the ancient society was the most beautiful and worthy of people's memory and pursuit. The most important reason was that people could "feed and laugh, swim with their bellies bulging", that is to say, when they were full and had some leftover food in their mouths, they could fully enjoy the fun of life.

Second, the characteristics of China's food culture

These tangible characteristics, such as dividing food into staple food and non-staple food, using "stir-frying" cooking method and having its own way of naming dishes, have made China's food form a unique culture.

Third, the ideological spirit in China's diet

The "relationship between heaven and man" mentioned in ancient times is not only reflected in sacrifices, but also manifested in China people's emphasis on the coordination and synchronization of eating and cosmic rhythm. The idea of "yin-yang and five elements" makes us divide the taste into "five flavors" and even include a large number of grains into "five grains". The ideas of "zhong" and "he" have also become the concepts of cooking. Therefore, dietary life embodies the characteristics of traditional culture.

(1) The "relationship between man and nature" in ancient times cannot be simply understood as just talking about "heaven" and "humanity", so the "harmony between man and nature" is regarded as the truth of the interdependence between human beings and nature. In fact, what the ancients said about the unity of heaven and man often means that "heaven" has a will, and it controls personnel through the son of heaven, so that people should obey "heaven" to move God's will. Sacrifice is one of the means by which people move heaven.

People feel that the sacrifice (mainly food) is the connection between man and heaven, and even think that it was visited by ghosts and gods (the leftovers after eating by ghosts and gods), so they sanctify the sacrificial food. Until the Qing Dynasty, the Manchu people still called the boiled pork "sacrificed to sleep" as "blessing meat", and the pro-expensive ministers were proud to get a piece (called "eating and eating"). Of course, this only reflects the relationship between heaven and man in the shallow diet life.

(2) China people in ancient times also emphasized that eating should be in harmony with the cosmic rhythm. They should eat different foods in spring, summer, autumn and winter, and even consider factors such as seasons and climate when processing and cooking food. These thoughts had been formed as early as the pre-Qin Dynasty, and they were clearly recorded in The Book of Rites and the Moon Order. This ideology of emphasizing adaptation to the cosmic rhythm is indeed unique to Chinese food culture.

(3) The theory of "Yin-Yang and Five Elements" is a world model set by traditional thought, and it is also considered as the law of the universe. Man is one of the "three talents", and diet is indispensable to human life, so the cooking of making diet must follow this law. Therefore, not only the taste is divided into five, but also the theory of "five flavors" comes into being (in fact, there are more than five flavors that people can feel, but it is not too few to distinguish five kinds two or three thousand years ago), and a large number of grains, livestock, vegetables and fruits are included in the "five grains" and "five meats" respectively.

(4) (3) The beauty of neutralization is the highest aesthetic ideal of China traditional culture. "If you are in the middle, you will be the foundation of the world; He who is in harmony is also the one who is in the world. To be neutral, the status of heaven is unknown, and everything is nurtured "(The Book of Rites, The Doctrine of the Mean). This idea of realizing "the beauty of neutralization" through tuning was inspired and influenced by ancient cooking practice and theory, which in turn affected people's whole diet life, especially for ancient literati who pursued artistic life and artistic life.

Fourth, the tableware of the past dynasties in China's food culture

Food culture is something that China should be proud of and most easily accepted by all countries in the world. Delicious food is much enjoyed. Have you ever studied when China people began to get rid of the life of eating and drinking blood? When did you start cooking on the stove? When do the dumplings and wonton that you often eat appear? How did it evolve from a separate meal system to eating around the table? ..... In the "Gourmet Beautifying Instruments-China Dietary Instruments Exhibition in Past Dynasties" being held in Hongkong, we can not only get the answer, but also understand the changing relationship between China's diet preference and instruments in a simple way.