The core of Confucius's thought is that "the benevolent love others." Because of their benevolence, the Chinese implemented a multi-son inheritance system, which on the one hand allowed property to be dispersed and on the other hand restricted long-distance migration, which was closely related to the Chinese people's resettlement. This inheritance system restricted the development of commerce, thus giving rise to the idea of ??having many children and being blessed. The idea of ??having many children and being blessed increased the population of the society and gave birth to more children and being blessed. The pressure on social population will always exist as long as There will be as many people as the society's productivity can support. Many characteristics of Chinese food culture are reflected in food culture and directly affect the development of Chinese food culture. First of all, due to population pressure and various other reasons, the Chinese diet since the pre-Qin Dynasty has been based on grains, with less meat and more grains, supplemented by vegetables. This is a typical meal structure. Among them, rice is the staple food, and vegetables are used to accompany the meal, that is, to help the meal be swallowed. Why do we need to help the food go down? That's because staple food is not palatable, and there must be a substance to assist it so that people can eat it. Of course, the functions of vegetables and salt are completely similar, but they are not the same as salt. In this way, the primary purpose of Chinese cooking is to decorate food and make unpalatable food exquisite; secondly, due to the pursuit of clothing in Chinese culture and the development of China's handicraft industry, the food processing technology in cooking is second to none in the world, reflecting the Characteristics of shirts in Chinese culture. All these make Chinese food culture have the following characteristics. First, China’s cooking technology is so advanced that many items that seem inedible to Westerners have become appetizing at first sight through the work of Chinese chefs. Second, the Chinese have a wide range of recipes and can be eaten by anyone who can eat them. , there are no taboos; thirdly, there are many writings on famine relief in China, so as to prepare for famine years and use wild vegetables to satisfy hunger; fourthly, Chinese people pursue the pursuit of food as the happiness of life, and eating becomes the first requirement. Because Chinese people cannot eat as they wish, there is a poem to prove it:

The red sun scans the sky after noon, and you know what is in your belly.

It is not difficult to have a full life, only when the weather is good.

Therefore, it has long been difficult to have enough food and clothing. Therefore, eating occupies a special position in the lives of Chinese people, and there are numerous evidences.

In addition, we can analyze some characteristics of Western food culture, which may be able to deepen our understanding of Chinese food culture. Western diet was originally based on animal husbandry, and the natural delicacy of internal food limited the development of cooking. When Europeans showed their wealth, they mostly expressed it through food tools, such as the number and luxury of various utensils. Pay attention to the content. In addition, we do not pursue things that are easy to satisfy in life, such as eating, as the ultimate happiness in life. The life pursuits of Westerners can be highly summarized by the same Chinese proverb, that is, "when you are full and full of lust, you think about lust." They pursue love more. Western culture embodies a "love culture", while Chinese culture embodies a "eating culture".

But we would also like to point out that many characteristics of Chinese food cannot be seen in the daily lives of ordinary people. Palace diet and store diet can better and more comprehensively express these characteristics. Common people's festival foods, such as the Spring Festival, may partially express these characteristics, but the Spring Festival is, after all, a short moment in the 365 days of the year, like a flash in the pan.

There is no good or bad culture, and there is no good or bad food culture. The difference is just the way of life or the way of eating under different environmental conditions. But how to understand and analyze this difference is very important. The purpose of this book is to make a small attempt based on this point. It is not known whether it can be recognized by most readers. In most cases, I am one of those "cooks from far away". I don't know how to cook, and I am not a gourmet. However, I know that "a meal and a porridge are hard-earned". In this sense, I think of China as a whole. Some views on food culture are put into practice in writing, and I hope to get guidance from the Fang family.