搜索
OnthedifferencesbetweenChineseandwesternfoodcultureChaptr1IntroductionFoodisthemostimportantmaterialinmaintainingourlifeandimprovingthequalityofourbodies,andisbasicforthedevelopmentaswell.Anoldsayinggoeslikethis“foodistheheaventothepeople”,whichmeansthatfoodranksthefirstinallourneeds.weshouldeatanddrinkbeforeweengageourselvesinthecourseofpolitics,science,art,andreligionact’sallproducingactivitiesofhuman,especiallyfoodproductionbecomeabasicconditionofthewholehistory.Foodissofundamentaltoourlifesothatalltheotheraspectsofourlivingaredeterminedbyit,builtonit,andlimitedbyit.Sincethehumanbeingcookwithfireforthefirsttimeandcometoacivilianage,thefoodweeathasbeguntobeofculturalproperty.Itisnotahistoryofsub-humaneatinganddrinking,butahistoryinwhichthehumanbeingconquersthenature,changethenature,andgetadaptedtonaturetoexistanddevelop.Andinthishistoricprocess,thehumangraduallyformeditsfoodculture.Foodasacategoryofculture,helpsustounderstandeveryareaoftheorientalandoccidentalworld.WithChineseentrytotheworld,plentyofthingswhicharefreshtous,atonceflocktoourcountry.Amongthem,ofcourse,foodcultureofothernationscomeintoourtoo.Nowadays,manypeopleoutofcuriosity,tastedifferencesortoffoodofothercountries.Butfewofthemthesepeoplereallygrasptheessenceofthefoodculture.Whilethefoodofoneplacecanreflectitsculture,soitisnecessaryforustolearnthedifferencesbetweenChineseandwesternfoodculture.Chapter2DefinitionoffoodcultureFoodcultureisanimportantpartofhumanculture.Ithastwodefinitionsinbroadsenseandnarrowsense.Inthebroadsense,foodculturehassomethingincommonwithcookingculture,anditisconsideredasthecounterpartofthelatter.Generallyspeaking,cookingculturereferstothetotalamountofmaterialandspirittreasurewhichiscreatedandaccumulatedduringthelongperiodoffoodproductionandprocessionbythehumanbeing.Itisaboutwhatfoodhumanmakes,andhowtomake.Itincludesthefoodingredient,cookingtool,cookingskillandsoon.Inthenarrowsense,foodculturereferstothesum-upofmaterialandspirittreasurecreatedandpasseddowninthelongperiodofhumaneatingthefoodproduct.Itisaboutwhathumaneat,andhowtoeatandwhyeatsuchfoodetc.Itincludesthevarietyoffood,thetoolusesineating,thecustomsofeating,andtheserviceofeatingact.Inaword,cookingculturecometobirthinthecourseoffoodproductionandprocession.Itisaproductionculture,whilefoodcultureinthenarrowsenseisakindofconsumingculture,whichcometobirthinthecourseoffoodconsuming.Theproductionandtheconsumingistightlyconnectedtoeachother.Ifthereisnocookingculture,theywillbenofoodculture.Thefirstoneisthepremiseofthelatter.Thelatterisderivedfromthefirstone.Thus,weusuallydefinefoodcultureinbroadsensethatisthesum-upofcookingcultureandeatingculture.Chapter3ThedifferencesbetweenChineseandwesternfoodcultureChinahasalonghistoryof5000years,whilethewesthasoneofaboutsixhundredyears.Chinahasafoodculturethatiscolorful,profoundandexcellent,whilethewesthasitsownspecialculture.Nowwe’dliketotalkaboutthedifferencesbetweenthesetwoculturesfromthefollowingaspects.3.1thedifferenceofideaaboutfoodWhatChinesepeoplecareaboutisthedeliciousnessoffood.Theyemphasizetheideaofusingsomecookingskillstouniteandharmonizethetastesoffoodswhichhavedifferentnaturalproperties,Chinesepeoplevaluethesimilarityofdifferentthings.Accordingtotheirtraditionalidea,theytendtoseektherelationshipbetweentwodifferentobjects,andmakethemchangetoeachother.Sotheyvaluetheunityofdifferenttastesandtheyalwaystrytoharmonizefoodofdifferentnaturalpropertiesintoone.Forexample,inShandongdishes,porkandsoybeanoilareinterdependentandtheircombinationcanalmostmakealldishesbeoffantasticsmellofporkandcolorofsoybean.Itthusmakefoodofdifferentnaturesgetunification.Sowesee,mediocrityisthethemeofChinesecookingculture.Sincethewesternersbelieveinseparationoftheuniverseandhumanintheirculturalspiritandthinkingmodel,emphasizetheformandstructureandvaluetheclearness,theyformaspecialideaaboutthefoodscience.Theveryideaisthatecologicalbeliefinseparationoftheuniverseandhumanworld,properideaofbalancednutrient.Intheiropinion,oneshouldchoosehisfoodonlyaccordingtohisneedasanindependentindividualandthebalancedrequirementofallkindsofnutrientsforeachpartofhisbody.Theyconsideritisimportanttomakethepropermatchoffoodbythecriterionofvarietyandquantity.Throughcookingoftherawmaterials,theydisplaythenicetasteofallkindsofmaterials.Whattheywantistomeetthephysiologicalneedofthebody.Forexample,thetasteofcrablobsterandseafishlivecompletelydifferent,thewesternerswilldefinitelynotmixthetastesofthemwhentheypreparethedishwiththem.3.2ThedifferencesofcookingskillTheso-calledChinesemeditationoffiveflavorsreferstotheoriginaltasteofthefoodafterheatedandcooked,andtheflavorsofingredientsandcondimentsmixtogetherandmeltintoeachotherandcomplementeachother.Chinesepeoplemoreoftenthannotaddtwoormorecondimentsintothefoodandbythisrealizetheperfectharmonyofthetasteofthearterialandcondiments.Theultimateendofmeditationistocookdeliciousfood.Therefore,Chinesepeoplewillsurelyaddtwoormorekindsofingredientsandcondimentstoalmosteverydishtheycook,evensomecommonhome-madedishes,suchasslicedmeat,stir-frie