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Section1TheDieteticCultureChineseCulinaryArtsChineseculinaryartsarerathercomplicated,andindifferentplaces,therearedifferentwaysforpreparingdishes.Manydifferentcuisinesuniquetocertainareasareformed,forinstance,Shandongcuisine,Beijngcuisine,Shanghaicuisine,Sichuancuisine,Jiangsucuisine,Zhejiangcuisine,Anhuicuisine,Hunancuisine,Hubeicuisine,Fujiancuisine,Shannxicuisine,Henancuisine,north-easternChinacuisine,royalstylecuisine,Muslimstylecuisineandvegetariancuisine.Eachcuisinehasitsownspecialty.Forexample,theFujiancuisinehasadishcalled“happinessandlongevity”.Itspreparationislikethis:firstputsomeofthemostnutritiousingredients(seacucumber,driedscallop,shark’sfin,ham,tendonsofbeef,dove’seggs,chicken,duck,etc)intoajar,thenaddsomebonebroth,Shaoxingricewineandspices,next,coverthemouthofthejarwithalotusleaf,andlast,simmeritonthestove.It’snothardtoimaginehowdeliciousandnutritiousthedishwouldbe.Thisdishhasanotherwell-knownname—“Buddhajumpingoverthewall”.Itmaysoundstrange,butthere’saninterestingstorybehindit.ItissaidthatduringtheQingDynasty,arestaurantinFuzhou(thecapitalcityofFujianProvince)wasveryfamousforitsdishes.Oneday,therestaurantmadethedish“happinessandlongevity”,thearomaofthedishwassoappetizingandspreadsofarthatamonkinanearbytemplejustcouldn’tresistthetemptation.Intheend,heputasidetheBuddhistdiscipline,jumpedoverthewallintotherestaurant,andatetohisheart’scontent.Whathappenedtothemonkafterwards,wedonotknow,butthereputationofthedish“Buddhajumpingoverthewall”spreadafar.Generallyspeaking,therearethreeessentialfactorsbywhichChinesecookingisjudged,namely:“color,aromaandtaste”.“Color”referstothelayoutanddesignofthedishes.“Aroma”impliesnotonlythesmellofthedish,butalsothefreshnessofthematerialsandtheblendingofseasonings.“Taste”involvesproperseasoningandfineslicingtechniques.Thesethreeessentialfactorsareachievedbycarefulcoordinationofaseriesofdelicateactivities:selectingingredients,mixingflavors,timingandcooking,adjustmentoftheheat,andlayingoutthefoodontheplate.Whatisworthmentioningisthatthere’salotofculturalbackgroundknowledgeinvolvedinthenamingofChinesedishes.Often,it’shard,evenfortheChinesepeoplethemselves,totellwhatisactuallyinacertaindishuntilitisservedonthetable.Ofcourse,onecanalwaysturntothewaiterorwaitressforexplanation.Inmostcases,waitersandwaitressesarereadytosatisfyone’scuriosity.Apartfromhavingregardfortheabove-mentionedthreeessentialfactors—“color,aromaandtaste”,Chinesecuisineattachesgreatimportancetonutrition.Asamatteroffact,ChinesecuisinehaslongbeencloselyrelatedtotraditionalChinesemedicine.Ginseng,walnut,ChineseangelicaandthefruitofChinesewolfberryareoftenusedasingredientsincertainChinesedishes.ChineseChopsticksSimilartopeopleofothernationalities,ancientChinesepeoplegraspedortorefoodwiththeirbarehandsatthebeginning.Chopsticks,forks,knivesandspoonswereusedmuchlater,ofwhichchopsticks,withahistoryofthousandsofyears,areawonderofChinesediningutensils.ChopsticksarethediningutensilsmostfrequentlyusedinChinesepeople’sdailylife.InancientChina,theywerecalledzhu.Theirupperpartsaresquareandlowerpartsround,ortheyareallroundwiththickerupperpartsandthinnerlowerparts.Whatevertheirshapes,thepairmustbeidenticaltoeachother.Normallypeopleholdchopstickswiththerighthandtopickupfood.TheinventionofchopsticksfullydisplayedthedexterityandintelligenceoftheChinesepeople.AccordingtosomeJapanesescholars,toproperlyhandlechopsticksrequiresthecoordinationofover80jointsand50muscles,what’smore,certaincranialnervesarealsoinvolved.Therefore,usingchopstickscanhelpmakepeoplemoredexterousandintelligent.ZhengQuanyinandZhangJianmadeasuccinctsummaryabouttheinventionanddevelopmentofchopsticksintheDictionaryofChineseFolkCustoms,“Chopsticks,afoodpickingutensilmadeofbambooorwood,iswidelyusedbytheHansandsomeminorityethnicgroups.Inremoteages,theyweremadeofbranches,bambooornaturalanimalbones.Latertheyweremadeofscrapedbambooorwood.IvoryandjadechopsticksappearedduringtheXiaandShangdynasties;bronzeandironchopsticksemergedduringtheSpringandAutumnPeriod.LaquerchopsticksdidnotappearuntiltheHanDynasty.Latersilverandgoldchopsticksweremade.Amongallkindsofchopsticks,theonesmadewithrhinoceroshorns,jadeorebonyinlaidwithgoldweretherarest.”ItisgenerallyheldthatchopsticksbegantobecalledkuaizisincetheMingDynasty.InSoybeanGardenNotesbyLuRong,“Differentareashavedifferenttaboos.InthecentralareaofJiangsuprovince,Peopleabstainfromsayingzhu(homonymofchopsticks,meaningstop),insteadtheysaykuaier.InnorthChina,chopstickswerecalledkuaizi.ButinthedocumentsoftheMingandtheQingdynasties,kuaiziwasseldomused,instead,zhuwasoftenusedtorefertochopsticks,especiallyinliteraryworks.Asastorygoes,“Apersoninvitedhisfriendstodinnerbutmiscountedthenumberofzhu.Whenthedisheswereserved,everybodypickedtheirzhuandstartedeatingexceptonewhoonlywatchedanddidnotmove.Afterawhile,hesaidtothehost,‘Pleasegivemeabowlofwater.’Thehostasked,‘Whatfor?’Heanswered,‘TocleanmyhandssothatImaypickupfoodwiththem.’”Thetermkuaiziwasnotwidelycalledtillthemoderntimes.Meanwhile,thetermzhubecameobsolete.TheEtiquetteofChineseBanque