Influenced by many factors such as the philosophy of Yin-Yang and Five Elements, Confucian ethics, TCM nutrition theory, cultural and artistic achievements, food aesthetic fashion and national personality characteristics in China's traditional culture education, China's food culture has created China's cooking skills that will go down in history and formed a profound China food culture.
From the perspective of evolution, China's food culture has lasted for more than 1.7 million years, 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 schools have been introduced, and it has won the reputation of "cooking kingdom".
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.
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 during more than 1 million years of production and life practice.