First, the art

Chinese food has long paid attention to its excellent color, aroma and taste. In The Biography of the Later Han Dynasty, it says: "The tripod of a cow is used to cook chicken, but it is juicy and inedible, and it is not cooked with little juice." The names of Chinese dishes are colorful, such as Dragon and Tiger Club, Phoenix Claw Dragon Clothes, Lion's Head and Buddha Jumping over the Wall, and those named after people, such as Dongpo Meat, Song Saoyu Soup and kung pao chicken.

Emperor Tang Yizong of the Tang Dynasty ordered the imperial palace to prepare various delicacies for Princess Tongchang to eat, among which "Lingxiao Roast" was made of magpie tongue, sheep heart tip and other materials.

second, literature

Chinese cuisine records many famous dishes in different historical periods in literary works, such as A Dream of Red Mansions, Jin Ping Mei, etc. Modern gourmets can often find ways to innovate and restore ancient dishes from these works. "A Dream of Red Mansions" Chapter 61 Milk Poria Cream: "... Only yesterday did an official from eastern Guangdong come to worship and sent two small baskets of poria cream to the top.

There are the most pines and cypresses in this place for thousands of years, so I only took the semen and medicine of this poria cocos, and somehow I got this strange white cream. It is said that the first person is breastfeeding, and getting up early for one hour every day is the most tonic; Second, use milk; Never, roll white water. We thought, it is suitable for my niece to eat. ……”。

III. Philosophy

China's food culture is reflected in various aspects. Ancient philosophers often use cooking methods to make metaphors. For example, "Lu Chunqiu Cha Jin" contains: "You can know the taste of a wok by tasting the meat, and the tone of a tripod."

Lao Tzu also mentioned in the Tao Te Ching: "To govern a big country, if you cook small and fresh". Confucius once mentioned: "You are never tired of eating fine food, and you are never tired of cooking fine food" and "You don't eat meat if it is not right" as a metaphor for being upright and strict with yourself. Ban Gu also wrote in Hanshu: "The king is people-oriented, and the people take food as the sky", and regards diet as the primary problem in governing the country.

"Knowing cows by skillful hands" comes from "Zhuangzi", which is about the natural way of keeping in good health. "A gentleman cooks far away" comes from The Book of Rites. A broad-minded person should be kind and should not go into the kitchen to slaughter animals for food. Traditional Chinese medicine doctors believe that diet is the foundation of health. Sun Simiao, the king of medicine, said: "The way to save the emergency lies in medicine, and the foundation of living is food." And Li Shizhen, the author of Compendium of Materia Medica, also said that "medicine is better than food".

Extended information:

The history of a country is long and short, the territory is large and small, the strength is strong and weak, the population is large and small, and the ethnic composition, religious beliefs, political power and economic structure are also different, so the food culture of each country is different.

From the perspective of evolution, China's food culture has lasted for tens of thousands of years (the discovery of pottery and rice species in Hunan), which is 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 genres have been introduced.

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 a word, China's food culture is a long-standing regional culture with wide vision, deep level, multi-angle and high taste. It is the material wealth and spiritual wealth that people of all ethnic groups in China have created, accumulated and influenced neighboring countries and the world in the aspects of food source development, tableware development, food conditioning, nutrition and health care and food aesthetics in more than 5,111 years of production and life practice.

Reference: Baidu Encyclopedia-Chinese Food Culture