As early as the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, China's food culture had been formed, with Taigong Wang as the most representative. Then, in the Qi Huangong period of the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the flavors of northern and southern dishes in the food culture showed differences. In the Tang and Song Dynasties, southern cuisine and northern cuisine formed their own systems.

The Southern Song Dynasty formed a pattern of sweet in the south and salty in the north. In the early Qing Dynasty, Shandong cuisine, Sichuan cuisine, Guangdong cuisine and Jiangsu cuisine became the most influential local cuisines at that time, and they were called "four major cuisines". By the end of the Qing Dynasty, four new local cuisines, namely, Zhejiang Cuisine, Fujian Cuisine, Hunan Cuisine and Anhui Cuisine, were differentiated and formed, which together constituted the "eight major cuisines" of traditional China cuisine.