Chinese food culture rambles
Chinese food culture is profound, far-reaching, and enjoys a high reputation in the world.
Chinese people talk about eating, not just three meals a day, to quench their thirst and hunger, it is often embedded in the Chinese people to recognize things, understand the reasoning of things, a small child is born, friends and relatives to eat red eggs to express the joy of celebration. "Egg" represents the continuation of life, "eating eggs" symbolizes the Chinese people's high hopes for the succession of generations. When a child turns one year old, "eat", eighteen years old, "eat", when you get married, "eat", to the 60th birthday, and more to drink and celebrate. This "eat", on the surface is a physiological satisfaction, but in fact, "drunkenness is not wine", it ate this form of expression of a rich psychological connotation. The culture of eating has transcended the "eating" itself and gained a more profound social significance. Through the exchanges between the East and the West, our food culture has developed new characteristics. Such as in color, aroma, taste, shape and pay attention to nutrition, is a kind of progress of the times. The reform of the practice of ten bowls and eight plates is also very welcome. However, the Chinese food culture in the cultural collision with other countries around the world, there should be a solid fulcrum, so that it can be perfected and developed in the process of adopting the best of the best, to maintain the vitality. In my opinion, this pivot point is the excellent traditional cultural traits, which is the basic connotation of Chinese food culture that needs to be explored. Therefore, the examination of the basic connotation of Chinese food culture not only helps to deepen the theory of food culture, but also has far-reaching positive significance for Chinese food culture to occupy the world market. In my opinion, Chinese food culture can be summarized into four words in terms of its deeper connotation: refinement, beauty, love and etiquette. These four words reflect the unique cultural connotations of food quality, aesthetic experience, emotional activity and social function in the process of dietary activities, as well as the close connection between dietary culture and the excellent traditional Chinese culture.
Essence. It is a generalization of the intrinsic qualities of Chinese food culture. Confucius said: "food is not too fine, chopping is not too fine". This reflects the consciousness of the ancestors about the fine quality of food. Of course, this may only be limited to certain aristocratic classes. However, as a cultural spirit, this sense of excellence has become more and more widespread, more and more y penetrated into the entire process of dietary activities. The selection of ingredients, cooking, preparation and even the dietary environment, all reflect a "fine" word.
Beauty, reflecting the aesthetic characteristics of food culture. One of the important reasons why Chinese food can conquer the world lies in its beauty. This beauty refers to the perfect unity of the form and content of Chinese food activities, refers to the aesthetic pleasure and spiritual enjoyment it brings to people. First of all, it is the beauty of taste. Mr. Sun Yat-sen said that "if you are not good at identifying taste, the art of cooking is not good", and regarded the aesthetics of "taste" as the first key point of cooking. Yan's Spring and Autumn Annals says: "It is like a soup. Water and fire and minced meat and salt and plums to cook fish and meat, blanch the salary, Zai Fu and the, Qi with flavor." Speaking of the same meaning.
Beauty as a basic connotation of food culture, it is the charm of the Chinese diet, the beauty of the process of dietary activities throughout each link.
Emotion, which is a generalization of the psychosocial function of Chinese food culture. Eating and drinking, can not be simply regarded, it is actually a medium of emotional exchange between people, is a different kind of social activities. While eating, chatting, you can do business, exchange information, interviews. Friends clutch, send and welcome, people are accustomed to the table to express farewell or welcome mood, emotional storms, people also tend to borrow wine and food to calm down. This is the dietary activities for the social psychology of the regulatory function. In the past, the teahouse, we sit down to drink tea, listen to books, swing the Dragon Gate or vent their dissatisfaction with the court, is really an excellent psychological massage.
The reason why the Chinese diet has a "lyrical" function is because of the philosophical idea of "drinking virtue and food, all nations are happy together" and the emergence of the national characteristics of the diet.
The emotional culture of dietary activities, there is a problem of guidance and enhancement of taste. We want to promote a healthy and beautiful, upward cultural mood, the pursuit of a noble sentiment.
"Manners" refers to the ceremonial nature of dietary activities. Chinese food is concerned about "etiquette, which has a lot to do with our traditional culture. Birth, old age, sickness and death, sending and welcoming, and sacrificing to the gods and ancestors are all rituals. In the Book of Rites - Rites of Passage, it is said: "The beginning of the rites, the beginning of the diet." There is not a single page in the "Three Rites" that does not mention wine and food in rituals. Ritual refers to a kind of order and standardization. The direction of seating, the arrangement of art and spoons, and the order in which food is served ...... are all examples of "rites".
When we talk about "rites", we should not simply see it as a ritual, but should understand it as a spirit, an inner ethical spirit. This spirit of "etiquette" runs through the process of dietary activities, thus constituting the logical starting point of Chinese dietary civilization.
Precision, beauty, emotion and etiquette summarize the basic connotation of Chinese food culture from different angles, in other words, these four aspects organically constitute the overall concept of Chinese food culture. Refinement and beauty focus on the image and quality of food, while sentiment and etiquette focus on the mentality, customs and social functions of food. However, they do not exist in isolation, but are interdependent and causal. Only its "essence" can have complete "beauty"; only its "beauty" can inspire "emotion"; only its "emotion", can have complete "beauty"; only its "beauty", can inspire "emotion". Only with "love" can there be "rituals" that are in line with the fashion of the times. The four are interlocking, perfect unity, will form the highest state of Chinese food culture. We can only accurately grasp the "essence, beauty, love, etiquette", in order to y understand the Chinese food culture, because it can also better inherit and promote the Chinese food culture.