On the cultural characteristics of China's diet

Diet is the first need for human survival and development, and it is also one of the basic forms of social life. However, different cultural backgrounds have different dietary concepts and customs, which eventually form different dietary cultures.

China's food culture has a long history, extensive and profound. After thousands of years of historical development, it has become an important part of China's traditional culture. During the long-term development, evolution and accumulation, China people have gradually formed their own unique food folklore from the aspects of food structure, food preparation, food utensils, nutrition and health care, and food aesthetics, and finally created China's food culture with unique flavor, which has become a bright pearl in the treasure house of world food culture. Some western countries gather immigrants from all over the world, are deeply influenced by the food culture of various countries, learn from others, and combine their own eating habits to form a sophisticated and self-contained food civilization.

the differences between Chinese and western cultures have created the differences between Chinese and western food cultures, which mainly come from different ways of thinking and philosophy of life.

1. Diet structure

China has a long history, vast territory, diverse geographical environment, rich climatic conditions and a wide variety of animals and plants, which provide a solid material foundation for our diet. In the long life practice, our ancestors constantly bred and created a variety of food resources, which made China's food sources extremely extensive. From the pre-Qin period, the dietary structure of China people was based on plant food such as grain, beans, vegetables, fruits and cereals, and the boundaries between staple food and non-staple food were clear. The staple food is grain, the non-staple food is vegetables, plus a small amount of meat. According to a feast recorded in Old Wulin, there are more than 2 dishes. Among them, 41 dishes are made of pigs, ducks, fish, shrimps and other things by roasting and cooking, 42 dishes are made of fruits and preserves, 2 dishes are made of various vegetables, 29 dishes are made of dried fish, 17 drinks and 59 snacks. There are many kinds of foods involved, such as aquatic land and all kinds of creatures in the sky and underground, which almost eat everything, forming a dazzling diet. It can be seen that in the Southern Song Dynasty, China's food culture became mature. According to a survey, people in China eat more than 6 kinds of vegetables, six times more than those in the west. In fact, vegetarian dishes are common food in China. China's staple food is mainly rice and wheat, and millet, corn, buckwheat, potatoes, sweet potatoes and all kinds of sweet potatoes also occupy a place. In addition to rice noodles, all kinds of pasta, such as steamed bread, noodles, fried dough sticks, porridge, cakes and varied snacks make people's dining tables colorful.

Westerners inherit the cultural lineage of nomadic and maritime peoples, mainly fishing, hunting and breeding, supplemented by gathering and planting. They eat more meat, wear and use it from animals, and even western medicine is refined from animals. Pay more attention to protein and fat intake of animals. In terms of diet structure, most of them are animal dishes, mainly beef, chicken, pork, mutton and fish. Therefore, the proportion of meat in the diet has always been high. In modern times, the proportion of planting has increased, but the proportion of meat in the diet is still higher than that of China people.

second, food production

China traditional dishes are very particular about cooking methods, and the common methods are: boiling, steaming, burning, stewing, roasting, cooking, frying, frying, stewing, frying, boiling, boiling, marinating, grilling, crisp, stewing and mixing. Moreover, for a long time, due to the differences in products and customs, the eating habits and tastes of different places are very different. The long-standing cooking techniques have been created by the people of past dynasties, forming rich and colorful local cuisines, such as Fujian cuisine, Sichuan cuisine, Guangdong cuisine, Beijing cuisine, Shandong cuisine, Jiangsu cuisine, Hunan cuisine, Anhui cuisine, Shanghai cuisine, Hubei cuisine, Liaoning cuisine and Henan cuisine. Various cuisines have their own characteristics in making methods, such as simmering and smoothing in hubei cuisine, rinsing and roasting in Beijing cuisine, etc., and Sichuan cuisine is famous for its rich, wide, thick and varied tastes, and is known as the story of "one dish is unique, and all kinds of dishes are delicious".

The key to China's unique charm lies in its exquisite taste. The production of delicious food mainly lies in the harmony of five flavors. At the same time, pursue the organic unity of color, fragrance, taste, shape and art. In the preparation of colors, auxiliary colors are used to set off, highlight, embellish and adapt to the main ingredients, so as to form dishes with uniform and soft colors, clear priorities, appropriate shades, set each other off as interesting, harmonious and pleasing to the eye. In the matching of tastes, it emphasizes the aroma, highlights the main taste, and assists with seasonings to enhance the fragrance and taste. In the preparation of shape, we pay attention to plastic arts, and use embellishment, embedding and other techniques to integrate sculpture and dishes to form a harmonious and beautiful shape. China's diet combines color, shape, fragrance, taste, nourishment, so that people can enjoy sight, touch and taste comprehensively, which constitutes China's cooking characteristics with delicacy as the core and health as the purpose. It has an indisputable historical position because of its careful selection of materials, fine knife work, realistic modeling, bright colors and clever combination.

Western diets and steaks have only one flavor, and there is no art to speak of. As a dish, chicken is chicken, and steak is steak. Even if there is a match, it is done in the plate. A plate of "French lamb chops" is served with mashed potatoes, lean against the lamb chops, boiled green beans and a few slices of tomatoes on the other side. The colors are in sharp contrast, but the various raw materials are irrelevant and harmonious in taste, each with its own flavor, which is simple and clear.

compared with western food, Chinese food culture is unique and delicious.

Third, food utensils

The diversity of food utensils is also a major feature of China's food culture. In particular, eating with bamboo chopsticks is easy to use, economical and convenient, and is praised by Europeans and Americans as an artistic creation. China's tableware can be divided into beans, cans, cups, pots, bowls, boxes, urns, pots, retort, plates and so on. From the material point of view, there are ceramic products, porcelain products, metal products and bamboo products, etc. With the improvement of productivity and the continuous progress of human living standards, new changes have taken place in the materials, quality and shape of tableware. Since the Sui and Tang Dynasties, tableware made of precious metals such as gold and silver has been widely used, and ceramic utensils have been widely used among the people. By the Tang and Song Dynasties, China porcelain was well-known overseas. Until modern times, ceramic tableware is beautiful and brilliant, which has become a bright spot and feature in China's food culture. Westerners use metal knives and forks, as well as various cups, plates, cups and plates, and the types of tableware are very monotonous.

Fourth, nutrition and health care

Mainly focus on cereals and pay attention to diet and health care. That is, grain is the main food, with less meat and more food, supplemented by vegetables. This is a typical meal structure. Among them, rice is the staple food, while vegetables are for the next meal, that is, to help the rice swallow. People in China pay great attention to the nutrition and health care of diet, and advocate reasonable collocation of nutrients and balanced diet. By blending foods with different smells and functions, such as five grains, five fruits, five livestock and five vegetables, the purpose of balancing yin and yang, coordinating viscera, replenishing essence and qi, and keeping fit can be achieved. As early as the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, Confucius put forward the dietary concept of "not being tired of fine food, not being tired of fine food", and also summarized ten scientific dietary rules of "not eating" and paying attention to hygiene, observing seasons, paying attention to nutrition, and being moderate and not excessive.

West Renye Fang pays attention to the science of diet, pays attention to the food preparation, and strictly follows the scientific norms. It requires the addition of spices to be accurate to grams and the cooking time to be accurate to seconds, making the kitchen like a chemistry laboratory, and the taste of steak is the same from new york to San Francisco.

V. Diet Aesthetics

China's diet has formed a "ten-beauty style" in its continuous development: it pays attention to the harmony and unity of taste, color, fragrance, quality, shape, order, container, suitability, environment and interest. China's cooking is not only skillful, but also pays attention to the aesthetic feeling of dishes, and pays attention to the harmony of color, fragrance, taste, shape and utensils of food. There are many ways to express the aesthetic feeling of dishes. No matter whether it is a carrot or a cabbage heart, all kinds of shapes can be carved, which is unique and achieves the harmonious unity of color, fragrance, taste, shape and beauty, giving people a special enjoyment of high spiritual and material unity.

For westerners, diet is only a necessary physiological activity, but the pursuit of beauty is neglected.

The differences between Chinese and western food cultures are obvious, and each has its own advantages. With the acceleration of economic globalization and information exchange, Chinese and western food cultures will merge in collision and complement each other in integration. Now China people are increasing the proportion of meat and dairy food on the dining table; Similarly, western food has begun to develop into the realm of color, fragrance, taste, meaning and shape of Chinese food. Chinese and western catering cultures will develop together in communication, and people will enjoy more delicious, faster and more nutritious food.

References:

1. Wang Xinting, Jin Mingjuan, Yao Wanxia. Introduction to China's traditional culture. Beijing: China Forestry Publishing House, 24

2. Zhao Hongen, Li Baoxi. General introduction to China's traditional culture. Beijing: People's Publishing House, 24

3. Yao Weijun. Exploration of China's food culture. 1988

4. Yi Yanping and Ma Yinchu. Selected lectures on western cultural background knowledge. Changsha: Hunan Normal University Press, 1999

5. Xu Wangsheng. Food is the most important thing for the people-Chinese food culture. Hainan Publishing House, 1993.