The history of China cuisine

Food is the most important thing for people, and diet is related to people's survival. For thousands of years, doctors, health preserving scientists, Confucians, Taoists, Buddhists and the general public in China, through long-term research and practice, have created China cooking skills in history and formed a profound China food culture under the influence of many factors such as the philosophy of Yin-Yang and Five Elements, Confucian ethics and morality, TCM nutrition theory, cultural and artistic achievements, food aesthetic fashion and national personality characteristics.

China is a big country of food

1. Characteristics of China's food culture

China is a country with a long history of food culture. Food culture has the following characteristics:

1. Variety of flavors. Because China has a vast territory, vast territory and abundant resources, there are differences in climate, products and customs, and many flavors have been formed in diet for a long time. There has always been a saying in China that "south rice is north", and the taste is divided into "sweet in the south, salty in the north, sour in the east and spicy in the west", mainly including Bashu, Qilu, Huaiyang, Guangdong and Fujian.

2. Four seasons are different. Eating according to seasons all year round is another major feature of China cooking. Since ancient times, China has been seasoning and side dishes according to seasonal changes, with strong flavor in winter and light and cool in summer; Stew more in winter and freeze more in summer. 3. Pay attention to aesthetics. China's cooking is not only skillful, but also has a tradition of paying attention to the aesthetic feeling of dishes, and paying attention to the harmony of color, fragrance, taste, shape and container of food. There are many ways to express the aesthetic feeling of dishes. No matter whether it is a carrot or a cabbage heart, it can carve various shapes and be unique, so as to achieve the harmonious unity of color, fragrance, taste, shape and beauty and give people a special enjoyment of high spiritual and material unity.

4. Pay attention to interest. China's cooking has long paid attention to taste, which has strict requirements not only on the color, aroma and taste of snacks, but also on their naming, taste methods, rhythm during meals and entertainment. The name of China cuisine can be said to be superb, refined and popular. The names of dishes are not only named according to the realism of the main ingredients, auxiliary ingredients, seasonings and cooking methods, but also according to historical anecdotes, myths and legends, celebrities' tastes and dishes' images, such as' family portrait',' general crossing the bridge',' lion's head',' beggar chicken',' auspicious dragon and phoenix',' Hongmen banquet' and' Dongpo meat' ... < P > China's cooking technology is closely related to medical care. Thousands of years ago, there were sayings that' medicine and food are of the same origin' and' medicine and food work together', which used the medicinal value of food raw materials to make various delicious dishes to achieve the purpose of preventing and treating certain diseases.

Second, the development of China's traditional food culture

1. The traditional food culture of Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasties

From the Neolithic Age to the Yin and Shang Dynasties, people's processing of grains has been relatively primitive and simple. The ancestors roughed the grain by grinding plates, rods, Chu Jiu, etc., and it was difficult to provide a large amount of hulled rice to meet the needs of meals. Only a few nobles had the right to enjoy hulled grain. In the Zhou dynasty, the appearance of stone was a leap in the primary processing method of grain. Moreover, as the primary processing of meat, it is as important as the later cooking.

There were very few cooking methods in Xia and Shang Dynasties. By the Zhou Dynasty, with the rapid development of productivity, cooking methods were very diverse, mainly including boiling, steaming, roasting, moxibustion, frying and frying. Among them, frying and frying are brand-new cooking methods after the bronze culture of Zhou Dynasty entered its heyday. Most of the cooking utensils unearthed in the Zhou Dynasty belong to cooking utensils, etc.

With the development of productivity, the variety of food is increasing, and the invention of various cookers, the update and the emergence of more advanced cooking methods are also logical, such as frying, frying, stewing, stewing, stewing, boiling and the method of pickling dishes such as wax, vinegar and preserved fruits, which have laid the foundation for the development of China's cooking skills.

The appearance of "Eight Treasures" in the Zhou Dynasty marked the formation of Chinese cooking as an important art, showing the superb skills of Zhou people and the scientific nature of eating and drinking.

2. Food culture in the Spring and Autumn Period, the Warring States Period and the Qin Dynasty

During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, with the decline of the authority of the Zhou royal family, it has been a history of the annexation of small countries by powerful countries for hundreds of years. The mutual annexation of various governors and the integration of various nationalities gradually formed two major flavors in food culture.

in the north, ancient Qilu is one of the cradles of ancient Chinese culture. Its food culture has a long history and its cooking technology is relatively developed, forming the embryonic form of Shandong cuisine, the earliest local flavor dish in China.

in the south, the Chu people are the crown, unifying half of the country in the southeast, which has the widest and far-reaching influence on the culture of the Central Plains. "There are swordfish in spring, herring in summer, fat ducks in autumn and vegetables in winter", and aquatic animals, poultry and vegetables are listed all year round, which provides superior material conditions for the development of cooking technology. Gradually formed the embryonic form of today's Jiangsu cuisine.

in the west, Qin occupied the ancient countries of Pakistan and Shu, and then sent Li Bing to transform the flooded land into a land of abundance. In addition, the arrival of a large number of Hanzhong immigrants, combined with the local climate, customs and traditional diets of the ancient countries of Pakistan and Shu, produced the predecessor of Sichuan cuisine, which has a great influence so far. After the unification of Qin Dynasty, Sichuan cuisine, Shandong cuisine and Jiangsu cuisine were formed in China.

Up to now, the most influential local cuisines in China are Shandong cuisine (including the cuisines of northern areas such as Beijing and Tianjin), Jiangsu cuisine (including the cuisines of Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui), Guangdong cuisine (including the cuisines of Fujian, Taiwan, Chaozhou and Qionglai) and Sichuan cuisine (including the cuisines of Hunan, Hubei, Guizhou and Yunnan)

3. The diet culture in the Han and Tang Dynasties and its great blend with the diet of the surrounding ethnic groups

During the Han and Tang Dynasties, the Central Plains introduced many kinds of vegetables and fruits through communication with the ethnic minorities in the northwest, such as alfalfa, spinach, Brassica, cucurbit, cowpea, garlic and coriander, grapes, almonds, watermelons and pomegranates, and pepper as seasonings. At the same time, the cooking methods of the Western Regions were also introduced to the Central Plains, such as cheese, Hu cake, Qiang cooking and roasting, Hu roasted meat, Hu soup, sheep dish sausage and so on.

Chang 'an in the Tang Dynasty was the center of world culture at that time, and China gradually formed into a country with many ethnic groups, which provided convenience for the exchange and integration of various ethnic food cultures. The specialties of the western regions were introduced to the mainland first, which greatly enriched the food and cultural life of the mainland ethnic groups; And the exquisite dishes and cooking skills of the mainland ethnic groups have gradually spread to the west and are liked by the local people. In the process of mutual communication, all ethnic groups constantly innovate the Chinese nation's food culture.

The prosperous Tang Dynasty is also a prosperous time in food, and the barbecue is the highest representative of this.

4. Food culture in the Song, Liao, Jin and Yuan Dynasties

During the same period, Shandong cuisine (including the cuisines in northern areas such as Beijing and Tianjin), Jiangsu cuisine (including the cuisines in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui) and Guangdong cuisine (including the cuisines in Fujian, Taiwan, Chaozhou and Qionglai) were the four most influential cuisines in China.

5. Food culture in Ming and Qing Dynasties

The court food in Ming Dynasty was extravagant. With the further development of the catering industry, some local cuisines became more and more unique and formed their own factions. In this way, in the late Qing Dynasty, Zhejiang, Fujian, Hunan and Huizhou local cuisines became the "eight major cuisines", and then Beijing and Shanghai were added, which was called the "ten major cuisines".

The extreme development of China's food culture is the Manchu-Chinese banquet. Man-Han Banquet is a grand banquet with both Manchu and Han flavors. It is a banquet hosted by the royal family and nobles and the government in the Qing Dynasty, which is rare among the general public. Grand and noble in scale, complicated in program, full of Chinese delicacies, with both North and South flavors, and more than 311 kinds of dishes, it has the best reputation as an ancient banquet in China.

From the perspective of evolution, China's food culture has lasted for more than 1.7 million years, divided into four development stages: raw food, cooked food, natural cooking and scientific cooking. More than 61,111 kinds of traditional dishes, more than 21,111 kinds of industrial foods, colorful banquets and colorful flavor schools have been introduced, and it has won the reputation of "cooking kingdom".

In terms of connotation, China's food culture involves the development and utilization of food sources, the application and innovation of tableware, the production and consumption of food, the service and reception of catering, the operation and management of catering and food industry, and the relationship between catering and national security, catering and literature and art, and catering and life realm.

from the extension, China's food culture can be classified from the perspectives of times and techniques, region and economy, nationality and religion, food and tableware, consumption and level, folk customs and functions, showing different cultural tastes and reflecting different use values.

In terms of characteristics, China's food culture highlights the theory of nourishing and supplementing health (vegetarian diet, emphasizing medicinal diet and tonic), and pays attention to "color, fragrance and taste". Four attributes, namely, the theory of harmonious five flavors (distinctive flavor, delicious taste, and the reputation of "tongue dishes"), the cooking method of changing the odd and the right (kitchen rules-based, flexible and flexible), and the food concept of pleasing the mind (gentle and elegant, educating and eating), are different from the natural beauty of food culture in overseas countries. China's food culture not only pays attention to the bright and picturesque color matching of dishes, but also matches the interest generated by the dining atmosphere. It is the personality and tradition of the Chinese nation, and it is also a prominent way of Chinese traditional etiquette.

From the perspective of influence, China's food culture directly affects Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, Thailand, Singapore and other countries, and is the axis of the oriental food culture circle; At the same time, it also indirectly affects Europe, America, Africa and Oceania, such as China's vegetarian culture, tea culture, sauce and vinegar, pasta, medicated diet, ceramic tableware and soybeans, all of which benefit billions of people all over the world.

In ancient China, people especially emphasized that eating should be synchronized with the cosmic rhythm. They should eat different foods in spring, summer, autumn and winter, and even consider factors such as season and climate when processing and cooking food. These thoughts had been formed as early as the pre-Qin period, and they were clearly recorded in the Book of Rites and the Moon Order, and they opposed the reversal of seasons. For example, there would be disasters in spring, summer, autumn and winter. Of course, we are also opposed to eating out-of-season food. Confucius said that "don't eat from time to time" has two meanings: one is to eat regularly, and the other is not to eat out-of-season food. Contrary to contemporary people's consciousness, some people eat out-of-season food to show off. In the Western Han Dynasty, the palace began to grow "onion and leek shavings" in greenhouses, and Shi Chong, a rich man in the Western Jin Dynasty, also had greenhouses. This ideology, which emphasizes adapting to the cosmic rhythm, is indeed unique to Chinese food culture. The only thing that remains of this consciousness in modern times is holiday food customs.

The beauty of neutralization is the highest aesthetic ideal of China traditional culture. The idea of realizing "the beauty of neutralization" was inspired and influenced by ancient cooking practice and theory, which in turn affected people's whole diet life.

In a word, I think diet brings people both material and spiritual enjoyment.

China has a long history, a vast territory and a large population, thus forming a rich and colorful food culture. We can understand the types of food culture in China from three angles: dieters, regions and seasons.