FoodCultureinChinaWord格式.docx

FoodCultureinChinaWord格式.docx

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thewaysinwhichitispreserved,cutup,cooked（ifatall）;

theamountandvarietyateachmeal;

thetastesthatarelikedanddisliked;

thecustomsofservingfood;

theutensils;

thebeliefsaboutthefood’sproperties-theseallvary.Thenumberofsuch“foodvariables”isgreat.

Ananthropologicalapproachtothestudyoffoodwouldbetoisolateandidentifythefoodvariables,arrangethesevariablessystematically,andexplainwhysomeofthesevariablesgotogetherordonotgotogether.

Forconvenience,wemayusecultureasadividerinrelatingfoodvariables’hierarchically.Iamusingthewordculturehereinaclassificatorysenseimplyingthepatternorstyleofbehaviorofagroupofpeoplewhoshareit.Foodhabitsmaybeusedasanimportant,orevendetermining,criterioninthisconnection.Peoplewhohavethesameculturesharethesamefoodhabits,thatis,theysharethesameassemblageoffoodvariables.Peoplesofdifferentculturessharedifferentassemblagesoffoodvariables.Wemightsaythatdifferentcultureshavedifferentfoodchoices.（Thewordchoicesisusedherenotnecessarilyinanactivesense,grantingthepossibilitythatsomechoicescouldbeimposedratherthanselected.）Whythesechoices?

Whatdeterminesthem?

Theseareamongthefirstquestionsinanystudyoffoodhabits.

Withinthesameculture,thefoodhabitsarenotatallnecessarilyhomogeneous.Infact,asaruletheyarenot.Withinthesamegeneralfoodstyle,therearedifferentmanifestationsoffoodvariablesofasmallerrange,fordifferentsocialsituations.Peopleofdifferentsocialclassesoroccupationseatdifferently.Peopleonfestiveoccasions,inmourning,oronadailyroutineeatagaindifferently.Differentreligioussectshavedifferenteatingcodes.Menandwomen,invariousstagesoftheirlives,eatdifferently.Differentindividualshavedifferenttastes.Someofthesedifferencesareonesofpreference,butothersmaybedownrightprescribed.Identifyingthesedifferences,explainingthem,andrelatingthemtootherfacetsofsociallifeareagainamongthetasksofaseriousscholaroffood.

Finally,systematicallyarticulatedfoodvariablescanbelaidoutinatimeperspective,asinhistoricalperiodsofvaryinglengths.Weseehowfoodhabitschangeandseektoexplorethereasonsandconsequences...

Myowngeneralizationspertainabovealltothequestion:

WhatcharacterizesChinesefood?

...Iseethefollowingcommonthemes:

1.Thefoodstyleofacultureiscertainlyfirstofalldeterminedbythenaturalresourcesthatareavailableforitsuse....ItisthusnotsurprisingthatChinesefoodisaboveallcharacterizedbyanassemblageofplantsandanimalsthatgrewprosperouslyintheChineselandforalongtime.Adetailedlistwouldbeoutofplacehere,andquantitativedataarenotavailable.Thefollowingenumerationishighlyimpressionistic:

StarchStaples:

millet,rice,kao-liang,wheat,maize,buckwheat,yam,sweetpotato.

Legumes:

soybean,broadbean,pea-nut,mungbean.

Vegetables:

malva,amaranth,Chi-nesecabbage,mustardgreen,turnip,radish,mushroom.

Fruits:

peach,apricot,plum,apple,jujubedate,pear,crabapple,mountainhaw,longan,litchi,orange.

Meats:

pork,dog,beef,mutton,venison,chicken,duck,goose,pheasant,manyfishes.

Spices:

redpepper,ginger,garlic,springonion,cinnamon.

Chinesecookingis,inthissense,themanipulationofthesefoodstuffsasbasicingredients.Sinceingredientsarenotthesameeverywhere,Chinesefoodbeginstoassumealocalcharactersimplybyvirtueoftheingredientsituses.Obviouslyingredientsarenotsufficientforcharacterization,buttheyareagoodbeginning.Compare,forexample,theabovelistwithoneinwhichdairyproductsoccupyaprominentplace,andoneimmediatelycomesuponasignificantcontrastbetweenthetwofoodtraditions.

Oneimportantpointaboutthedistinctiveassemblageofingredientsisitschangethroughhistory.Concerningfood,theChinesearenotnationalistictothepointofresistingimports.Infact,foreignfoodstuffshavebeenreadilyadoptedsincethedawnofhistory.WheatandsheepandgoatswerepossiblyintroducedfromwesternAsiainprehistorictimes,manyfruitsandvegetablescameinfromcentralAsiaduringtheHanandtheT’angperiods,andpeanutsandsweetpotatoesfromcoastaltradersduringtheMingperiod.TheseallbecameintegralingredientsofChinesefood.Atthesametime,...milkanddairyproducts,tothisdate,havenottakenaprominentplaceinChinesecuisine....

2.IntheChineseculture,thewholeprocessofpreparingfoodfromrawingredientstomorselsreadyforthemouthinvolvesacomplexofinterrelatedvariablesthatishighlydistinctivewhencomparedwithotherfoodtraditionsofmajormagnitude.Atthebaseofthiscomplexisthedivisionbetweenfan,grainsandotherstarchfoods,andts’ai,vegetableandmeatdishes.Toprepareabalancedmeal,itmusthaveanappropriateamountofbothfanandts’ai,andingredientsarereadiedalongbothtracks.Grainsarecookedwholeorasflour,makingupthefanhalfofthemealinvariousforms:

fan（inthenarrowsense,“cookedrice”）,steamedwheat-,millet-,orcorn-flourbread,ping（”pancakes”）,andnoodles.Vegetablesandmeatsarecutupandmixedinvariouswaysintoindividualdishestoconstitutethets’aihalf.Eveninmealsinwhichthestaplestarchportionandthemeat-and-vegetableportionareapparentlyjoinedtogether,suchasin...“wonton”...theyareinfactputtogetherbutnotmixedup,andeachstillretainsitsdueproportionandowndistinction....

Forthepreparationofts’ai,theuseofmultipleingredientsandthemixingofflavorsaretherules,whichaboveallmeansthatingredientsareusuallycutupandnotdonewhole,andthattheyarevariouslycombinedintoindividualdishesofvastlydifferingflavors.Porkforexample,maybediced,sliceshredded,orground,andwhencombinedwithothermeatsandwithvariousvegetableingredientsandspiceproducesdishesofutterlydiverge,shapes,flavors,colors,tastes,andaromas.

Theparallelismoffanandts’aiantheabove-describedprinciplesofts’ai’preparationaccountforanumber（otherfeaturesoftheChinesefoodculture,especiallyintheareaofutensilTobeginwith,therearefanutensilsandts’aiutensils,bothforcookinganforserving.Inthemodemkitchen,fankuo（”ricecooker”）andTs’aikuo（”wok”）areverydifferentandasarulenotinterchangeableutensils....

Asacountrythatpaysgreatattentiontocourtesy,ourcuisinecultureisdeeprootedinChina’shistory.AsavisitororguestineitheraChinesehomeorrestaurantyouwillfindthattablemannersareessentialandthedistinctivecourtesiesdisplayedwillinvariablyaddtotheenjoymentofyourmealsandkeepyouinhighspirits!

（A）RespectFirst

Itisreallyanadmirablecustomtorespectothersatthetable,includingtheaged,teachersandguestswhiletakinggoodcareofchildren.

Chinesepeoplestressfilialpietyallthetime.Thepracticeofpresentingthebestorfinefoodfirsttotheseniormembersofthefamilyhasbeenobservedforcountlessgenerations.Inancienttimesthecommonpeopleledaneedylifebuttheystilltriedtheirbesttosupporttheeldermotherorfatherwhotookitforgranted.

AlthoughthehostsinChinaareallfriendlyandhospitable,youshouldalsoshowthemrespect.Beforestartingtoeatdinner,thehostmayoffersomewordsofgreeting.Guestsshouldnotstarttoeatuntilthehostsays,‘Pleaseenjoyyourself’orsomethinglikethat,otherwiseitsuggestsdisrespectandcausesdispleasure.

Whenhostsplacedishesonthetable,theywillarrangethemaincoursesatthecenterwiththesupportingdishesevenlyplacedaroundthem.Whenthemaindishesarepreparedinadecorativeformeitherbycutorothermeanstheywillbeplacedfacingthemajorguestsandelderpeopleatthetable.Thisalsoembodiesvirtue.

（B）OnChopsticks

TheChopstickisamiracleamongthecreationsofChinesefoodculture.Thisutensilhelpsthedinnertoreallyrelishhisorherfood.Theuseofchopstickswitheasewilladdtotheenjoymentofthedelicacies.Howtousethemmaybeaproblemandhereareoursuggestionsthatmaybehelpful:

First,holdtheuppersticklikeapenwithyourthumbandmiddlefinger.Second,taketheloweronewiththethumbandsetitontheringfinger.Finally,trytomovethetwosticksandpickupyourfavoritedish.

Itisconsideratelyconvenienttohavenoodleswithchopsticks.Thenyoucanwindnoodlethreadslightlybutfirmly,toavoidsplatteringsouporsaucesinthebowl.Forthefirstt