Chinese food culture
Influenced by the philosophy of Yin-Yang and Five Elements, Confucian ethics and traditional Chinese medicine nutrition theory, as well as cultural and artistic achievements, food aesthetic fashion and national personality characteristics in China's traditional cultural education, China's cooking skills were created in history, and a profound China food culture was formed.
From the perspective of evolution, China's food culture has lasted for more than 1.7 million years, divided into four stages: raw food, cooked food, natural cooking and scientific cooking. There are more than 60,000 kinds of traditional dishes and more than 20,000 kinds of industrial food, with colorful banquets and various flavor genres, and it has won the reputation of "cooking kingdom".
In terms of connotation, China catering culture involves the development and utilization of food sources, the use 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, the relationship between catering and national security, catering and literature and art, and catering and life realm.
From the perspective of extension, China's food culture can be classified from the perspectives of times and technology, 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.
Specifically, China's food culture highlights the theory of nourishing and tonifying (mainly vegetarian, paying attention to medicinal diet and tonic) and paying attention to "color, fragrance and taste". The four attributes, namely, the harmonious theory of five flavors (unique flavor, delicious taste, and the reputation of "tongue dishes"), the changing cooking method (kitchen rules-based, flexible), and the pleasing diet concept (Wen Ya, food education), are different from the natural beauty of overseas food culture.
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 vegetarian culture, tea culture, sauce and vinegar, pasta, medicated diet, ceramic tableware and soybeans in China, which have benefited billions of people all over the world.
In a word, China food culture is a regional culture with a long history, with broad vision, deep levels, many angles and high taste. It is the people of all ethnic groups in China who have created, accumulated and influenced the material wealth and spiritual wealth of neighboring countries and the world in the aspects of food source development, tableware development, food preparation, nutrition and health care, food aesthetics and so on in the production and life practice of more than 6,543,800 years.
Characteristics of China's Food Culture
China is a country with a long history of food culture. I have lived in this world for more than 20 years, eating, drinking and learning something. Now I would like to sum up the following characteristics of food culture, and I hope you can give me your advice:
First, the flavor is diverse. Because China is vast in territory and abundant in natural resources, with different climate, products and customs, it has formed many flavors in its diet for a long time. There has always been a saying in China that "southern rice goes north", and the tastes are divided into "sweet in the south, salty in the north, sour in the east and spicy in the west", mainly in Bashu, Qilu, Huaiyang, Guangdong, Fujian and other places.
Second, the four seasons are different. Eating according to seasons all year round is another major feature of China cooking. China has been seasoning dishes according to seasonal changes since ancient times, with strong winter and light summer; Stewed in winter and frozen in summer.
Third, pay attention to beauty. China's cooking is not only superb, but also has a tradition of paying attention to the aesthetic feeling of dishes and the harmony of color, fragrance, taste, shape and container of food. There are many ways to express the beauty of dishes. No matter carrots or cabbage hearts, they can be carved into various shapes and have a unique style, achieving a harmonious unity of color, fragrance, taste, shape and beauty, giving people a special enjoyment of a high degree of unity of spirit and material.
Fourth, pay attention to interest. China's cooking has long paid attention to taste, and it has strict requirements not only on the color, aroma and taste of snacks, but also on their naming, tasting methods and the rhythm of dining and entertainment. China dishes can be said to be superb, appealing to both refined and popular tastes. The names of dishes are not only named according to the realism of main ingredients, auxiliary materials, seasonings and cooking methods, but also according to historical anecdotes, myths and legends, and the images of famous people's food interests and dishes names, such as family portrait, general crossing the bridge, lion's head, beggar chicken, auspicious dragon and phoenix, hongmen banquet and Dongpo meat.
Fifth, the combination of food and medicine. China's cooking technology is closely related to medical treatment. Thousands of years ago, there was a saying that "medicine and food are homologous" and "medicine and food are homologous". Using the medicinal value of food raw materials, various delicious dishes are made to prevent and treat some diseases. "
In ancient China, people also emphasized that diet should be in harmony with the cosmic rhythm. They should eat different kinds of food in spring, summer, autumn and winter, and even consider factors such as season and climate when processing and cooking food. These thoughts were formed as early as the pre-Qin period, and they were clearly recorded in the Book of Rites and the Moon Order, which opposed the reversal of seasons. For example, there will be disasters in spring, summer, autumn and winter. Of course, we are also opposed to eating out-of-season food. Confucius said, "Don't eat when you can't" has two meanings: one is to eat regularly, and the other is not to eat out-of-season food. Contrary to contemporary consciousness, some people eat out-of-season food to show off. In the Western Han Dynasty, the palace began to plant "leeks and shavings", and Shi Chong, a rich man in the Western Jin Dynasty, also had greenhouses. This ideology, which emphasizes adapting to the rhythm of the universe, is indeed unique to China's food culture. This kind of consciousness remains in modern times only about holiday eating customs (some in Chinese medicine, but they are not taken seriously).
The theory of "yin-yang and five elements" is a world model set by traditional thought and is also considered as the law of the universe. Man is one of the "three talents", and diet is indispensable to human life, so the cooking of diet must follow this law. Therefore, not only taste is divided into five kinds, but also the theory of "five flavors" came into being (in fact, people can feel more than five kinds of flavors, but it was not too few to distinguish five kinds two or three thousand years ago), and a large number of grain, livestock, vegetables and fruits were classified as "five grains" and "five meats" respectively. This makes people feel ridiculous. What is even more surprising is that "all drinkers raise yang"; Where there is food to eat, Yin Qi has also been nourished (The Book of Rites, Suburb Sacrifice). It is believed that only when drinking and eating are in harmony with the yin and yang of heaven and earth can we "communicate with God" and achieve the effect of "harmony between heaven and man". Therefore, the theory of yin and yang and five elements should be strictly followed when worshipping heaven. This statement was inherited by later Taoists and became a starting point of their diet theory. For example, eating food can increase the body's yin, such as "grains can not replenish the body but can prolong life" and "people who eat gas can prolong life" To cultivate yang spirit, we should eat as little as possible, and the best state is not to eat, and take the realm of "avoiding the valley".
The beauty of neutralization is the highest aesthetic ideal of China traditional culture. "If you are in the middle, it is the foundation of the world; Harmonious people are also people in the world. To be neutral, the status of heaven is unknown, and everything breeds "("The Book of Rites "). What do you mean "in the middle"? It can't be simply summarized by "zhong". This "medium" means just right and appropriate. It's a bit like "zhong" in Henan dialect. Harmony is also a cooking concept. There is a famous saying in Ancient History, which means that the key to making a good soup is to reconcile the two flavors of salty (salty) acid (plum), which is a metaphor for governing the country. In Zuo Zhuan, Yan Ying also talked with Qi Jinggong about what is "harmony", pointing out that "harmony" is not "sameness", but is based on the coordination of different opinions. Therefore, China philosophers believe that everything in the world finds its place in a "neutral" state, and carries out reproduction and development. The basis of this aesthetic ideal is the harmonious unity of individual and society, man and nature. This idea of achieving "the beauty of neutralization" through tuning has been inspired and influenced by ancient cooking practice and theory, which has further influenced people's whole diet life, especially for ancient literati who pursue artistic life and artistic life.
Contrary to "neutralization", extremes in cooking are not considered authentic. Although those foods that are "too salty, too spicy and too sour" will be sought after by some people with abnormal physical conditions, in the long run, they are harmful to the body. The disadvantages of extremism in social and political life are even more unspeakable.
As mentioned above, the dietary life of the Chinese nation embodies the characteristics of traditional culture. Although some features are incomprehensible or unscientific to modern people (for nearly a century, the word "science" has almost become a religious belief in China, and it is only a yardstick to measure right and wrong in various fields, but it is unquestionable in itself), can it be said only by the word "science"? If we pay more attention to "culture", then studying China people's diet is not only a necessary link to study China culture, but also a key to study China culture.
At present, food culture is still a vague concept. Some researchers generally say that it includes three aspects: what to eat, how to cook and how to eat; Some researchers believe that food culturology has bred six sciences, namely, cookery, food manufacturing, dietotherapy, food folklore, food literature and art, and food manufacturing; Some researchers also advocate adding food aesthetics, food commerce, food utensils and so on. I am too ignorant to dabble in so many subjects. The food culture I understand mainly refers to the relationship between food and people and their social significance. So, although I also discussed food, dishes, food processing, cooking, eating habits and even dining environment, tableware, tableware and so on. In the history of food culture in China, I introduced and commented on their relationships with people and their social significance. As for the pure technological process that has little to do with people, except for the necessary knowledge introduction, most of them have been omitted, aiming at highlighting the material things that diet life brings to people.