The ancients said that "food is the most important thing for the people". When they meet, they often ask "Have you eaten?" It shows the status of food culture. China has a long history of 5,000 years, and has a splendid, rich and profound food culture. People in China attach great importance to food. In The Analects of Confucius, there is an exposition on food "two are not tired, three are moderate, and ten are not eaten", which still has a very high theoretical guidance until now. Yuan Mei, the saint of China's food culture, took 50 years to write his Food List with the Garden, which has the reputation of "food classics" in China's food culture. After the history, a dazzling variety of delicious food has also been born, and the catering industry has become a new business with 360 lines of exhibitions. China's diet is also well-known in the world. Chinese civilization has been shattered by western civilization in modern times. However, China's diet is quite different. It can actually land in Europe and America, spread all over the world, and is invincible. Up to now, there are Chinese restaurants in almost every corner of the world, which can fully explain the spreading and rendering power of China's diet culture. Therefore, we will elaborate China's diet culture from the comparison between Chinese and Western diet cultures.

Key words: contrast between China and the West, characteristics, dish names.

Contrast between China and the West:

1. We now analyze some characteristics of western food culture, which may deepen our understanding of China culture. At first, western food was mainly based on animal husbandry, and meat was in a high proportion in the diet. In modern times, the proportion of planting increased, but the proportion of meat was higher than that of China. Because meat is naturally delicious, it is unnecessary for westerners to decorate the diet, thus limiting the development of cooking, for example, a steak. When Europeans show their affluence, they often show it with the tools of diet, and they don't pursue eating such things that are easy to satisfy in life as the supreme pleasure of life. The pursuit of life of westerners can be highly summarized with the saying of China, that is, "being full of warmth and lust". They pursue love more. Western culture embodies a kind of "love culture", while China culture truly embodies a kind of "eating culture".

2. Why can China culture reflect the culture of eating? It is necessary to understand the early geographical environment of China, because the earlier the culture is, the greater the environmental constraints. China is located in the southeast of Eurasia, with vast desert grassland in the northwest and vast sea in the southeast. Although the land in the Yellow River basin is very fertile, other environments are harsh, windy and rainy, and the living conditions are very bad. China people's food culture is mainly based on grains, with more meat and less food. Supplemented with vegetables, this is a typical meal structure, in which rice is the staple food and vegetables are for the next meal. Why should we help the meal to swallow? That's because the staple food is not delicious, and you must have a substance to help you eat it. The primary purpose of China's cooking is to decorate the diet and make the unpalatable food exquisite. Secondly, China's handicraft industry is developed, so the cooking technology is second to none in the world.

Characteristics of Chinese food:

1. Regional differences make China's diet have formed many flavors, and there is a saying that "south rice is north", which is reflected in the cuisine. There are eight major cuisines in China: Guangdong cuisine, Sichuan cuisine, Shandong cuisine, Jiangsu cuisine, Zhejiang cuisine, Fujian cuisine, Hunan cuisine and Anhui cuisine. In taste, there are "sweet in the south, salty in the north, sour in the east and spicy in the west".

2. Seasonal differences make China cuisine different in four seasons, with strong flavor in winter and light and cool in summer; Stewed in winter and cold in summer.

3. China's diet also pays attention to aesthetic feeling, color, flavor and shape, popular carving, exquisite skills, giving people special spiritual and material enjoyment.

4. There is also a very special point, the combination of food and medicine, cooking technology is closely related to medical care, and the medicinal value of food raw materials is used to make various delicious dishes to achieve the purpose of preventing and treating certain diseases.

China cuisine naming:

A resounding and appropriate dish name can leave a deep impression and lingering aesthetic taste. In order to avoid people's aesthetic fatigue, people in the industry always try their best to give unforgettable names to dishes. China's food culture is full of romanticism (compared with the pragmatism of western food culture), just like the contrast between Asians' introverted temperament and Westerners' flamboyant personality. The mastery of Chinese cooking fire and flavor technology is both empirical and subjective, but lacking the scientific rigor of western cooking, the naming of dishes reflects our unique cultural characteristics and romantic feelings, including metaphor, exaggeration, personification and pun, as well as realistic techniques. Looking at our food culture history, the naming of dishes is actually chapter-based. There are the following rough calculations:-naming by cooking method, which is a very common and widely used naming method, which is very practical and clear to people, such as: fried conch in sauce, boiled shrimp, sliced fish, fried shrimp, salted chicken, steamed turtle, braised saddle bridge and so on. 2. Naming by flavor method This is a naming method that helps consumers to choose dishes according to their personal tastes, such as sweet and sour pork ribs, salted snails, fish-flavored shredded pork, strange chicken, yam in honey sauce, prawns in tomato sauce and so on. 3. Dishes named after (name) are distinguished by different place names, people's names and things. For example, dishes named after place names include Dezhou paji, Liangxi crispy eel, Huai 'an soft pocket, Nanjing dried salted duck, Ningbo glutinous rice balls, etc. There are also many dishes named after people, such as Dongpo pork, kung pao chicken Mapo tofu, Song Saoyu soup, etc., but named after things (the main and auxiliary materials of raw materials). Four. Quasi-color compares the color of finished dishes to the color of rare and precious items, and most of them are named with words such as pearl, agate, hibiscus, jade, glass, gold and silver. For example, egg white is compared to hibiscus chicken slices, and spinach powder is compared to jade roast duck soup. The glittering and translucent shrimp is compared to crystal crystal shrimp, and the steamed dishes wrapped in glutinous rice are called pearl meatballs, and yellow and white are compared to gold and silver with rotten skin. Five. Description This is a way to shape dishes into many specific or auspicious shapes, such as money, Tai Chi, dragon and phoenix, unicorn, peony, bergamot, pipa, hydrangea, purse, etc. For example, Beijing's purse tenderloin, Jiangsu's Sweet and Sour Mandarin Fish, Fujian's Tai Chi taro, Guizhou's golden money meat, and there are also spoonbill shrimp, hydrangea shrimp, unicorn bass and so on. 6. Name dishes with numbers to indicate the proportion, type or auspiciousness of dishes, mostly with one product: Shuangzhen, Sanyuan, Sixi, Five Blessingg, Liubao, Qixing, Eight Immortals, Jiuse, Assorted Lily, Melaleuca, Wanshou, etc. For example, there is a seafood pot, Four Joy Meetballs, Qixing duck, assorted chowder, Melaleuca cake and Beijing's three-non-stick. 7. Make use of the topic. The way to name dishes is mostly for weddings, birthdays and promotions. For example, pine nut corn is called happy ever after. Early birth of your son is a beet made of red dates, peanuts, longan and lotus seeds. fly with me is made of chicken wings boneless and stuffed with eight-treasure stuffing. Finally, there are some ways to name them after the fragrance of utensils, health care and dishes, but they are rare. (Excerpted from "Essays" by Mu Haihong).

Summary: China's diet is extensive and profound. We can only feel it, but we can't control it. It's just that it is being carried forward and carried forward. With its unique charm, it will continue for generations to enjoy the fruits of China's food culture.