When did China's food culture really take shape?

China had its own food culture and system as early as the Western Zhou Dynasty.

"Zhou Li Tianguan Zhong Kui" said: "The banquet is the king's diet to support the king and his descendants." Others, such as The Book of Rites, The Analects of Confucius, Lu Chunqiu and Huangdi Neijing, all left important chapters for diet. During the Western Han Dynasty, the communication between Zhang Qian and the western regions brought a lot of exotic elements.

At that time, only the Lingnan area used sweet sucrose, and sucrose was widely used for seasoning until after the Tang Dynasty. In Song Dynasty, the Li Fang system and curfew were abolished in cities, which brought about the prosperity of urban economy and promoted the popularization of the three-meal system. The prosperity of the catering industry has also made people aware of different tastes in different places. In the Ming Dynasty, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, pumpkins, corn, peppers, garlic and other exotic ingredients entered China.

In the middle of Qing Dynasty, China society established the use of main seasonings-pepper and sucrose. The continuous industrialization since the late Qing Dynasty has promoted the emergence of new food and cooking methods. With the large-scale population movement brought by industrialization, the construction of modern catering industry with the participation of foreigners also makes it possible for urban residents to taste foreign cuisine.

During the Republic of China, the word "Bangkou" appeared to distinguish local flavors, and the concept of "cooking" was formed at present. After 1949, China society was in a state of material deprivation for a long time. After the reform and opening up, the society got rid of the state of material shortage, and the catering industry developed by leaps and bounds.

Extended data:

Cultural characteristics:

China has an ancient civilization and a long food culture. Summarize the following characteristics of food culture:

One, four seasons are different.

Eating according to seasons all year round is another major feature of China cooking. China has been seasoning dishes according to seasonal changes since ancient times, with strong winter and light summer; Stewed in winter and frozen in summer.

Second, pay attention to aesthetic feeling.

China's cooking is not only superb, but also has a tradition of paying attention to the aesthetic feeling of dishes and the harmony of color, fragrance, taste, shape and container of food. There are many ways to express the beauty of dishes. No matter carrots or cabbage hearts, they can be carved into various shapes and have a unique style, achieving a harmonious unity of color, fragrance, taste, shape and beauty, giving people a special enjoyment of a high degree of unity of spirit and material.

Third, pay attention to interest.

China's cooking has a long history of paying attention to taste and interest. It has strict requirements not only on the color, aroma and taste of snacks, but also on their naming, taste methods, eating rhythm and interspersed entertainment. The name of China cooking can be said to be exquisite, exquisite and popular.

The names of dishes are not only named according to the realism of main ingredients, auxiliary materials, seasonings and cooking methods, but also according to historical anecdotes, myths and legends, celebrities' eating tastes and dishes' images, such as "family portrait", "general crossing the bridge", "lion's head", "beggar chicken", "dragon and phoenix", "Hongmen banquet" and "Dongpo meat".

Fourth, the combination of food and medicine.

China's cooking technology is closely related to medical treatment. Thousands of years ago, there was a saying that "medicine and food are homologous" and "medicine and food are homologous". Using the medicinal value of food raw materials, various delicious dishes were made to achieve the purpose of preventing and treating certain diseases. "

References:

Baidu Encyclopedia-China Food Culture