First, from the family feast embodied in the table etiquette
The book of the third, Lin Daiyu in the Jiafu first meal is in the Jia mother, the rules of the table, so that the first time to the Lin Daiyu everywhere carefully, so as not to make a mistake to attract jokes. The book describes: into the back door, there have been a number of people in this waiting, see Mrs. Wang came, Fang set up tables and chairs. Jia Zhu's wife, Li's rice, Xifeng, into the chopsticks, Mrs. Wang into the soup. Jia mother is sitting alone on the couch, four empty chairs on both sides, Xifeng busy pulled Daiyu in the first chair on the left to sit, Daiyu is very pushy. Jia mother laughed and said: "Your aunt and sister-in-law are not here to eat. You are a guest, you should sit like this." Daiyu Fang said seat, sat down. Jia mother ordered Mrs. Wang to sit. The three Yingchun sisters came up after they were seated. Yingchun was seated first on the right hand, Tangchun second on the left, and Xi Chun second on the right. The maids next to them were holding brushes, rinsing pots and handkerchiefs. Li and Feng stood beside the table. Although there were many daughters-in-law and maids waiting outside, not even a single cough was heard. Silent meal, each maid with a small tea tray to bring tea. The day Lin Ruhai teach women to cherish the blessing of health, cloud after the meal to be sure to swallow all the grains of rice, after a moment and then eat tea, so as not to hurt the spleen and stomach. Today Daiyu see here many things do not fit the style of the family, had to follow, had to change one by one, and thus received the tea. Early to see people and hold over the gargle to, Daiyu also rinsed her mouth. Wash your hands after, and hold on to the tea, this party is to eat the tea.
A family dinner, there are so many rules, from which we read out the traditional table manners.
The order of seating from the meal can be seen, the mother is always the first to be seated, and then Mrs. Wang's generation, and then seated in turn. This reflects the family rule of prioritizing elders.
From the description, we see that after the mother of Jia seated, Wang Xifeng pulled as a guest of Lin Daiyu seated next to the mother of Jia; and then the others according to the seniority and then seated one after another. Reflects the guest priority style.
Busy waiting for the elders to eat is always the two granddaughters-in-law, and the granddaughter-in-law must stand and wait. It reflects the strict family style.
As the sister-in-law of Li dan, phoenix standing waiting, and as a sister-in-law of the three Miss Jiafu Yingchun, tanchun, shichun is seated to eat. This reflects the custom of prioritizing the unmarried over the married among the peers.
The order of meals is also very careful, first meal, then gargle, then tea. This reflects the requirements of a refined life.
From the table manners, let us see the rigor of traditional family rules, the elders have absolute authority at home. China's tradition of respect for the elderly, love for the young, courtesy to guests from the Jiafu table manners truly reflected, such table manners reflect the connotation of traditional dining culture.
Second, the connotation of traditional Chinese food culture
1, the way of ritual and filial piety
In traditional culture, food culture is not only the pursuit of food, but also shows the idea of ritual and filial piety of the society at that time, and this idea has become the core of today's food culture. The traditional values conveyed in food culture are extremely rich, and in this food culture food is not the focus, but one of the ways to express rites and filial piety. Etiquette is actually the way of entertaining guests at banquets by treating people with courtesy, etc. Behind this is the traditional Chinese culture of etiquette in food. Filial piety, on the other hand, is based on elders, and demonstrates traditional Chinese culture through a series of rules such as elders eating first. In Dream of the Red Chamber, this idea is shown in detail in the daily diet and some large banquets, for example, there are many detailed descriptions in the first meal of Lin Daiyu in the Jiafu. As an important part of Chinese culture, food culture also reflects a person's cultural cultivation and even the cultural connotation of a family.
2, the concept of aesthetics
The Dream of the Red Chamber has a new realm of the pursuit of beauty, not only in the catering involved in the traditional color and flavor, but also involved in the ingredients, workmanship, containers, order of food and so on. The selection of ingredients has extremely strict rules, only high-quality ingredients can produce high-quality food. The workmanship of the food is also very concerned, especially in the shape of the food, only to create an attractive appearance to attract the attention of diners. Serving utensils are also a beautiful scenery on the table, only to ensure that the exquisite nature of the utensils, in order to better set off the food. On the order of food, through a reasonable arrangement, mobilize the appetite of the diners. To a happy mood dining, which in itself is a kind of beauty to enjoy.
3, the way of health
The description of food culture at the same time conveys a strong idea of health. In "Dream of the Red Chamber", a lot of ink is used to render the content of therapeutic food and health. In Jiafu, there has always been a greater emphasis on health, through the consumption of ingredients with health value, as a way to achieve the goal of health. In addition to the traditional methods of health maintenance, food therapy is also involved in the treatment of illnesses, such as taking the method of purging hunger to treat colds and coughs, and so on. Through the elaboration of the different effects of various diets, it shows the idea of diet and health care in Dream of the Red Chamber.
4, advocating refinement
Rongguofu and Ningguofu as the representative of the aristocracy, the pursuit of refinement in the diet is also manifested to the fullest. Such as in Liu Lou Lou into the Rongguo House, with "replica eggplant" to entertain her, although with a little taste of eggplant, but not like eggplant, in the question of practice, Phoenix through the words of the narrative also fully demonstrated the exquisite production process. In many various banquets in the display of dishes or snacks, all show this exquisite production process, highlighting the traditional food culture concept of advocating exquisite.
In summary, we can see that the reason why "Dream of Red Mansions" is called a classic, the content of its profundity is really worthy of the wonders of the history of literature, seems to be a novel of love, but there are a lot of pages on the display of dietary culture, the author used the banquet description as a narrative subject matter of the novel, describing the colorful banquets of the many characters. Through this series of banquet activities, the author not only outlines the life scene of the ancient feudal aristocratic families to us, but also creates a vivid character in this group activity. As a result, we can truly understand the connotation of traditional Chinese food culture and reflect the traditional Chinese aesthetics and traditional Chinese culture from one side. From ancient times to the present Chinese food culture has been mentioned in many classical literature, perhaps, "Dream of Red Mansions" is the most can be called.