Why is Lu cuisine the first of the eight major cuisines, rather than Cantonese and Sichuan cuisine?

The cuisine of Chinese food culture refers to a system that has evolved over a long period of time in a certain region due to the differences in climate, geography, history, produce and food customs. As early as in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States period, the food culture of the north and south cuisine flavor showed differences. By the time of the Tang and Song dynasties, the southern food and northern food formed their own systems. In the Southern Song Dynasty, the pattern of northern sweet and southern salty was formed. At that time, there were two main tastes in China, the northern people like to eat sweet, the southern people like to eat salty. There was no "spicy" food in China at that time, because chili peppers had not yet been introduced to China.

The formation of the cuisine is also related to the local products, such as the northern part of China, more cattle and sheep, often with beef and mutton dishes; southern China produces a lot of water, poultry, people like to eat fish, meat; China's coastal seafood, seafood dishes. By the end of the Ming Dynasty and early Qing Dynasty, Lu Cuisine, Sichuan Cuisine, Cantonese Cuisine and Huaiyang Cuisine became the most influential local dishes at that time, which were called the "Four Great Cuisines". To the end of the Qing Dynasty and the early years of the Republic of China, Zhejiang cuisine, Fujian cuisine, Hunan cuisine, Anhui cuisine, four new local cuisine differentiation formation, *** with the composition of the traditional Chinese diet of the "eight cuisines".

Lu Cuisine originated in Shandong, Qilu flavor, is the only spontaneous cuisine in the four traditional Chinese cuisines (also the eight cuisines), is the longest history, the richest techniques, the highest difficulty, the most see the merits of the cuisine. Some people put the "eight cuisines" with anthropomorphic techniques depicted as: Lu Cuisine such as the emperor of the north of the world; Sichuan, Hunan Cuisine is like the connotation of rich and full of talent full of celebrities; Guangdong, Fujian Cuisine is like the flow of elegant gentleman; Su, Zhejiang and Anhui Cuisine is better than the beautiful beauty of the South.

In China's culinary rivers and lakes, in addition to the more influential Lu Cuisine (Shandong), Sichuan Cuisine (Sichuan), Guangdong Cuisine (Guangdong), Su Cuisine (Jiangsu), Fujian Cuisine (Fujian), Zhejiang Cuisine (Zhejiang), Hunan Cuisine (Hunan), Anhui Cuisine (Anhui) eight cuisine, there are also the Northeast Cuisine (Eastern Provinces), Jiangxi Cuisine (Jiangxi), Beijing Cuisine (Beijing), Tianjin Cuisine (Tianjin), Henan Cuisine (Henan), Hebei Cuisine (Hebei), E Cuisine (Hubei), Ben Gang Cuisine (Shanghai), Hakka Cuisine, Halal Cuisine and other local specialties, so it can be said that there are many schools in the jianghu. In the past history, Lu Cuisine has always played the role of the jianghu boss.

In a general sense Lu Cuisine represents the cuisine of the entire northern region, while Szechuan Cuisine is the southwestern region, Cantonese Cuisine represents southern China, and Huaiyang Cuisine represents the eastern region. Experts and scholars recognized as the most influential is Lu Cuisine, Lu Cuisine originated in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States period, flourished in the Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties, location from the center of the Central Plains regime is the closest, because there is also the convenience of the hall on the temple, into the royal dishes, coupled with the four sides of the officials, merchants, scholars in the capital to the court after living in the capital for a period of time will be some of the Lu Cuisine techniques to bring to their hometowns, the eight major cuisines are more or less by the Lu Cuisine The eight cuisines are more or less influenced by the Lu cuisine.

Qilu land is known as the hometown of Confucius and Mencius, the strong Confucian culture, so that the Lu Cuisine on the mainstream cultural train, in the dissemination of a greater advantage, so that its influence and dissemination of the breadth of the unparalleled. Lu Cuisine to Jiao Dong Cuisine, Jinan Cuisine, Boshan Cuisine, Kongfu Cuisine and so on fusion into one, but also to the Kongfu Cuisine heritage is the most systematic, the reason is that the Kongfu as China's largest "family" through the hundreds of generations has been the continuation of inheritance. Kongfu cuisine is the specific embodiment of Confucius "food is not too fine, chopping is not too fine" dietary philosophy, is a typical government food, the selection of fine materials, cooking carefully, containers, dish names far-reaching meaning, simple and elegant, banquet etiquette solemn.

Lu Cuisine is the birthplace of Chinese dietary philosophy, and the Confucian saying that "food is not too refined" and "harmony of the five flavors" has laid down the philosophical orientation and aesthetic standards of Chinese cuisine. Lu Cuisine is the cuisine with the most techniques, there are more than 60 kinds of dishes, and it is difficult to master, it is the most testing of all the cuisines. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, a large number of Lu Cuisine dishes were served in the court, and were characterized by high standards of refinement and elegance. Lu Cuisine is also the most populous cuisine, Shandong, Beijing, Hebei, Tianjin, Shanxi, the northeast provinces of home cooking are Lu Cuisine flavor, which is incomparable to any cuisine.

The famous "Eight Buildings" in Beijing during the Republican era and the famous Lu cuisine restaurants in Beijing nowadays, such as Jingya, Yaxuan, Baorui, Four Seasons Chang'an, Qilu Jingdian, Fengzeyuan, etc., are high-end Lu cuisine hotels, where you can eat formal banquet-level Lu cuisine. The famous dishes of Lu Cuisine are Bird's Nest in Clear Soup, Sea Cucumber with Scallion, Sweet and Sour Carp, Nine Turns of Large Intestine, Double Crisp with Oil Explosion, Pot Roasted Elbow, Four Eating Live Turtle, Bear's Paw with Cloud Slice, Shark's Fin with Three Shreds of Shark's Fin, Slices of Chicken with Hibiscus, Braised Black Crowned Eggs, Diced Chicken in Soy Sauce and Pure Grilled Shark's Fin. ...... These famous dishes are the concrete manifestation of the strength of Lu Cuisine to become the "first of the cuisine. "The first time I saw this, I was in the middle of the night, and I was in the middle of the night.

But realistically, there are so many halo Lu Cai is now in decline, mention Lu Cai everyone is very strange, there are many aspects of the reason, training a Lu Cai chef needs ten years, do a banquet Lu Cai material needs to be prepared for half a month, more than one chef to cooperate with the time, the economy, the cost of labor is too high, can only be used for high-profile banquets. Lu Cuisine has been eating old money, innovation has been stalled, in addition to Lu Cuisine taste salty, not in line with modern eating habits. Some people describe Lu Cuisine as official cuisine, Sichuan Cuisine as commoner's cuisine, Cantonese Cuisine as commercial cuisine, and Huaiyang Cuisine as literati cuisine. Others joked that Lu Cuisine is the first of the eight major cuisines, because at that time the evaluation of the eight major cuisines was in the Qing Dynasty, and the Qing court's palace inside the dishes to Lu Cuisine, naturally, Lu Cuisine to the first place.

After the reform and opening up, the spread of Sichuan cuisine is the most rapid, because of its convenient materials, simple operation, the simplest husband and wife, a pot a table a handful of chili pepper can open the Sichuan restaurant, which, Lu Cuisine is very difficult to do. There is "three years of Sichuan, ten years of Lu Cai," said, meaning that learning to do Sichuan need three years, while learning to do Lu Cai need ten years, in the high cost of manpower today, resulting in Lu Cai is very difficult to promote, which is why the street on the Sichuan Cuisine Museum and Lu Cuisine Museum is one of the reasons for the less. Szechuan spicy flavor for the taste of the northern people quite suitable, it can be said that now Sichuan cuisine in the country is deservedly the first dishes.