The pre-Qin period (1) Cooking in the Neolithic Age Since there are no words in the Neolithic Age, the general situation of cooking evolution can only be inferred by the unearthed cultural relics, myths and legends and the historical records of later generations. Cooking in this era is like a newborn baby, which is weak, naive and full of vitality, laying a good foundation for the prosperity of food civilization in Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties. (2) The cooking 1 and cooking materials of the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties increased significantly, and they were used to naming them "Five". Such as "five grains" (millet, millet, wheat, rice, hemp seed), "five vegetables" (sunflower, hopus, head, onion and leek), "five animals" (cattle, sheep, pigs, dogs and chickens) and "five fruits" (jujube, plum, chestnut, leek). "Five Grains" is sometimes written as "Six Grains" and "Hundred Grains". In short, raw materials can be named as "Five", which shows that food resources were abundant at that time, artificially cultivated raw materials became the main body, and these raw materials were among the best, and some experience was accumulated in material selection. 2. Cooking and drinking utensils have been innovated, and thin and exquisite bronze utensils have entered the cooking stage. There are more than 4,000 Shang and Zhou bronzes unearthed in China, most of which are cooking utensils. The appearance of bronze eating utensils not only limited to heat transfer, but also improved the cooking efficiency and food quality, and also showed etiquette and decorated banquets, showing the special temperament of slave owners and nobles' food culture. 3. The quality of dishes has improved rapidly, and the famous "Eight Treasures of the Zhou Dynasty" has been launched. Due to the enrichment of raw materials and the improvement of cookware, the cooking technology has made great progress at this time. On the one hand, rice, porridge, cakes, snacks and other food varieties are at the beginning of the wind, and there are as many as 100 kinds of meat sauce products and soup dishes, and the variety of colors has greatly increased; On the other hand, various methods such as baking, simmering, roasting, roasting, boiling, steaming and pickling can be better used to cook high-grade dishes such as bear's paw, suckling pig, turtle and swan, resulting in far-reaching "Eight Treasures of Zhou Dynasty". "Eight Treasures of the Zhou Dynasty", also called "Eight Treasures for Precious Use", is a feast specially prepared for the Emperor of Zhou. It consists of 2 meals and 6 dishes, and its specific names are: "Chunkao" (rice with meat sauce), "Chunmu" (millet with meat sauce), "Cannibal" (stewed suckling pig with simmering roast), "Cannibal" (stewed ewe lamb with simmering roast) and "Daozhen" (cooked with cattle, sheep and deer) After the introduction of "Eight Treasures of Zhou Dynasty", successive dynasties scrambled to follow suit. "Eight treasures in the north of the Yuan Dynasty" and "Eight treasures in the heavenly kitchen", "Eight treasures in the ginseng wing" and "Eight treasures in the barbecue" in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, as well as "Eight treasures in the mountain", "Eight treasures in the water", "Eight treasures in the poultry", "Eight treasures in the grass" (mainly referring to precious edible fungi), "Eight treasures in the Shang Dynasty" and "Eight treasures in the grass". 4. New achievements have also been made in the diet system. For example, since the Xia dynasty, the palace first set up a food officer, equipped with a royal chef, took the first step of combining food and medicine, and attached importance to the diet health care of the empress dowager. This system continued until the late Qing Dynasty. Another example is a banquet, which is also classified according to the level of honour. In addition, among the people, the early catering industry with the combination of slaughtering, brewing and cooking came into being, and the wineries in Daliang, Yancheng, Hanhan, Xianyang, Linzi and Yingdu flourished. Therefore, the Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasties made a good start in the history of China cuisine, and later generations have the comment that "the art of three generations has been passed down from generation to generation, and the foundation of cooking altar has opened a new chapter". (3) Cooking in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period is a turbulent period of transition from a slave society to a feudal society in China. Fighting for years, standing side by side. The war caused frequent population migration, stimulated the rapid development of agricultural production technology, and the academic thought was extremely active. At this time, many new factors appeared in cooking, which attracted the attention of later generations. During the Qin, Han, Wei and Six Dynasties, Qin, Han, Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, Qin Shihuang annexed the six countries in 22 1 year BC, and ended in 589 AD when Emperor Wen of Sui unified the north and the south, * * * 81year. This period was the early period of China's feudal society, and agriculture, handicrafts, commerce and towns all developed greatly. Communication and foreign exchanges between ethnic groups are also increasingly frequent. In the feudal country where absolutism is centralized, new characteristics of cooking culture are constantly emerging. In the second half of this period, wars were frequent, the regime was divided, the regime was changed quickly, the ruling class was drunk and decadent, and sought novelty and excitement in diet. As a result, cooking has evolved in this great social change, absorbing the essence of various ethnic groups in various regions, ready to change, and glowing with new vitality. Sui, Tang, Song and Yuan Dynasties belong to the middle period of feudal society in China. It has experienced more than 20 dynasties, including Sui, Tang, Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, Northern Song, Liao, Xixia, Southern Song, Jin and Yuan Dynasties. It is the second climax in the history of China's culinary development with long unification, short division, stable political situation, rapid economic development and remarkable achievements. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the social rule in the late Qing Dynasty declined day by day. Due to the intrusion of imperialism, China was shackled by semi-feudalism and semi-colonialism. The ruling class is arrogant and extravagant, greedy and insatiable, cooking develops rapidly, and palace dishes and official dishes flourish. Super feasts marked by "Man-Han Banquet" are active in the north and south, and China's catering bears huge flower buds, reaching the highest level in ancient society and gaining the reputation of "culinary kingdom". Man-Han banquet, as a large banquet in China in the Qing Dynasty, has a history of more than 200 years, but not many people have really seen it. It can be said that people only know its name, but never see its face. "Man-Han Banquet is the most famous and largest classical banquet in China. It is mainly composed of Manchu barbecue, refreshments and classic dishes of Han nationality. The dishes are more than 100. If you eat three meals a day, you usually have to eat nine meals every three days. Coupled with the luxurious raw materials, exquisite cooking skills, grand scenes and grand etiquette, the Manchu-Han banquet became the crown of China's classical banquet. Manchu-Han banquet has a strong national color, and its distinctive cultural characteristics not only endow Manchu-Han banquet with a unique charm, but also make Manchu-Han banquet a treasure of Chinese food culture. During the period of the Republic of China-the introduction of new food and western food, since the 20th century, imperialist powers have dumped a large number of goods to China for huge profits. Among them, there are new foods processed by machinery, such as monosodium glutamate, jam, fish sauce, snake oil, curry, mustard, cocoa, coffee, beer, cream, baking soda, essence, artificial synthetic pigment and so on. After the introduction, these foods have been gradually applied in food industry and catering industry, which has changed the flavor and improved the quality of some foods, which is more obvious in large and medium-sized coastal cities. The introduction of new ingredients has had a "collision" with traditional cooking techniques (for example, monosodium glutamate gradually replaces the delicious original soup carefully filtered with chicken, duck, meat, bone and other materials in broth), and some cooking procedures have changed accordingly. After the founding of New China in the People's Republic of China, the development of cooking was not smooth sailing. It can be roughly divided into three stages, each with different characteristics. The first stage is from 1949 to 1956, which belongs to the recovery period. Due to the stable political situation and the economic recovery, cooking has gradually restored some good traditions in history. At this stage, it is an uphill road, and all aspects have achieved initial results, laying the foundation for great development. The second stage is from 1957 to 1976, which is a turbulent period. Due to frequent political movements and natural disasters, the economy stagnated, and the development of cooking was frustrated. In the past 20 years, it fell into a trough and was greatly damaged. The third stage is 1977, which belongs to the leap period. After the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee of the Communist Party of China was held, with the reform and opening up, the economy grew rapidly, and "the old look changed into a new look", China cuisine ushered in the golden spring, and the great achievements in the past 20 years exceeded the 100 year in history. Judging from the current trend, it is still in a good state of accelerated operation and will produce more plump buds.