On the Differences of Dietary Cultures between China and the West.docx

On the Differences of Dietary Cultures between China and the West.docx

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OntheDifferencesofDietaryCulturesbetweenChinaandtheWest

OntheDifferencesofDietaryCulturesbetweenChinaandtheWest

1.Introduction

Inourdailylife,weoftenhearasaying“Foodisthefirstnecessityofthepeople”.Sofoodisanindispensableconditionforhumansurvivalanddevelopment.Thedietisactuallyinourdailylives,butwhydowecallitculture?

ThisisbecausethediethasaspecialstatusinChineseculture.AmericafamousnewlychemicalrepresentativefigureWhiteiscalled“fatherofculturology”,heputthecultureasakindofspecialandobjectivesocialphenomenon,andasacompletesystem（White,1949）.ItalsohasabigdifferencebetweenChinaandtheWest.Chinahasalongandrichhistoryonitsculture.InChinaalmosteverythingiscloselyrelatedtoeating.Whiledietarycultureinwestisnotaswell-developedasthatinChina.Besides,westerncountriesarenotparticularaboutcookingasChina.

KnowingthedifferencesofdietaryculturesbetweenChinaandtheWestisgoodforEnglishlearnerstohavemorecompleteunderstandingofbotheasternandwesterncultures.ItalsopromotesculturalcommunicationbetweenChinaandtheWestandhelpspeopleavoidunnecessarymisunderstandings.AsChinesecultureisoneoftheancientcivilizationsintheworld,ChinesedietaryfoodisalmostaslongasthehistoryofChinesecivilization.ChineseandWesternfoodculturehavedifferentcharacteristics.Concept,rawmaterials,pattern,andservingdishesofthedifferencesreflectthedifferentfoodculturecharacteristicsindifferentstates.Afterknowingtheseculturaldifferences,wecanknowthesignificancesandfindrightwaysofcommunicationbetweenChinaandtheWest.ItmaybeagreathelpintheexchangeofChinesecultureandWesternculture.

2.ChineseandWesternFoodDietaryCulture

2.1CharacteristicsofChineseFoodDietaryCulture

Chinaisoneoftheoldestcountriesintheworld.Ithasalonghistoryof5000years,whichhascreatedthegloriouscivilization.Inthisculture,itenablestheChinesetocontainmorebroadandprofounddiet.IthasexperiencedseveralthousandyearsofdevelopmenthistoryandhasbecomeoneofthemostimportantpartsoftheChinesetraditionalculture.

BecauseofthedifferenceofregionsinChina,Chinagraduallyformsthefourmajorcuisine,Sichuancuisine,Guangdongcuisine,ShandongcuisineandChaozhoucuisine.Thefourmajorfoodshavedifferentcharacteristics,andthemethodisverycomplex.Therearegreatdiversitiesintasteandcuisine,whichisamazing.BecauseChinahasavastterritory,abundantresources.Therearedifferencesinclimateandcustomizedproducts.Foralongtime,foodhasformedalotofflavors.Ourcountryhasbeenthesayingof“southricenorthnoodles”.Amongthetastes,ithasthedifferencesthat“sourineast,hotinwest,sweetinsouthandsaltyinnorth".ItmainlyhasfourflavorsaboutBasho,Quilt,HaiyangnandYuemin.（QiluHaiyangnZouanyinstructor,1998）ontheotherhand,eatingdifferentfoodindifferentseasonsoftheyearisChinesecookingcharacteristic.

Intheprocessoflong-termdevelopment,Chineseformgraduallyitsownuniquecustominmanyaspectswithevolutionandaccumulation,suchasstructures:

diet,foodproduction,foodandfoodnutritionhealthyaesthetic.ItcreatesadietoftheuniqueflavorintheChinesedietculture,makingChinabecomeapearlofworldculture.

2.2CharacteristicsoftheWesternFoodDietaryCulture

Rationalwesternerspaymoreattentiontonutritionandsurvival.BecausetheChinaandwestholddifferentopinionsofdiet.Westernersbelievethehighestprincipleisscientificandnutritional.Eatinglikeabiologicalmachineaddfuel,especiallyaboutthefood'snutritioncomposition,protein,fat,carbohydrates,vitaminsandallkindsofinorganicelementcontent.（DangBinghua,2010）Caringmoreaboutthecaloriesupply,syntheticnutrientisfullyabsorbed.Thepresenceofothersideeffects,foodcolor,fragrance,andtasteisthesecondrequirements.AlthoughtheFrenchcheflikestopursuedeliciousfood,theyadheretothepremise"nutrition".What’smore,theydonotagreewiththesacrificeofnutritionalfoodfordeliciousneeds.

Inthedietaryculture,westernershavethecultureofnomadandsailingnationality,theyarehunting,breedingandaidingbyacquisitionandcultivation.Theyeatmoremeetandtheireating,wearingandusingaretakenfromanimals,eventhemedicineismadefromanimals.Payingmoreattentiontoanimalproteinandfatintake,inthestructureofdiet,whicharealsoanimalfiguresinthemajority.Itismanydishes,likebeef,chicken,pork,muttonandfish.Westernfoodismadeprimarilyofmeat.Sothecarnivorousratioisveryhighintotal.Inmoderntimes,plantingproportionincreasescontinuously,buttheproportioninthemeetissillhigherthanChina.

3.TheDifferencesofDietaryCulturesbetweenChinaandtheWest

3.1DifferencesinDietaryConcepts

Chinesedietisasenseofbeauty.Peoplearethinkinghighlyofdiet.Thereisanoldsaying“Breadisthestaffoflife”.Ittellsusthateatingisimportantinpeople’sdailylives.Ithinkitresultsfromaneedofsurvival.LiXiaohongpointedout:

“Ifacultureputateasprimary,soitwillappeartwophenomena:

ononehandwillputthefoodfunctiontoacme,notonlysurvive,butalsouseittomaintainhealthy,thisisalsotheculturebasisthat“dietcuresmorethanthedoctors”.Ontheotherhand,theexcessiveattentiontoeat,itcanmakethepersonpraisehighlyofdeliciouspursuit.”（LiXiaohong,2010:

33）

Chinesedietemphasisonemotionandthepursuitofdiettastewithoutpayingattentiontonutritionoffood.Peopleevaluatethequalityfromthecolor,smell,flavorandtaste．Simpletosay，theChinesepeopleenjoy　the　taste．ThepurposeoftheChinesedietnotonlysatisfieshishungerbutalsomeetstheneedofdeliciousfoodandphysicalandmentalpleasure.TheessenceofChineseculinaryartisthebeautyofharmony.Forexample，afamousChinesedish,BuddhaJumpingOvertheWall,（seafoodandfowlcookedinearthenjar）isspeciallypreparedfromhigh-qualityingredients.Suchfinishedproduct’spersonalityisfullyburiedwhilethewholeisshining,whichshowstheChinesecharacter,amiddlecourse,humblepersonality,andfocusonaverage.Chinesedietstressesthesenseofsmell,thespiritofenjoyingdinner,andignoringthenutritionanalysis.

Westerndietisarationalconcept.Exceptthecolor，flavorandshapeoffood,nutritionmustbeassured.Thedietfocusesonscientificanalysisandnutrition.Althoughitsmechanicalnessandfoundation,itmaintainsthehealthydevelopmentofthehumanbody.Theystressedthatthenutritionalvalueofthediet,payingattentiontohowmuchprotein,fat,caloriesandvitaminscontainedinfood,especiallythenutrientcontentofthefoodwiththesupplyofcalories.Westernersthinkthedietisonlyameansofsurvivaltofilltheirstomachs.Becauseittakesamorescientificandreasonablewayastheirprimaryandsecondaryschoolshasanutritionistensurefullnutritionofyoungpeople.Itisworthwhiletotakeinthewesternfoodasitsscienceandration.Atthesametime,allrequirementsmakewesternfoodontheselectedmaterialsunderlimits.Westernersdonoteatanimalorgansandtheythinkallthethingsnotnutritional.Cookingskillsalsoappearstobemechanical,steakissteak,andchickenischicken.Agreatvarietyofvegetableswillnotreconcilewithandtheentireflavorisalsosimpleandclear.LinYutang（1999）,afamousChineseanthropologicalscholar,oncesaid,“ThedietconceptsofpeoplefromEnglishcountriesaredifferentfromthoseoftheChinese.Theythinkthateatingisjustanactgivingyourbodynutrients,likeinjectingfueltoamachine,toensureitsnormaloperation.Aslongastheyarehealthyenoughtoresistdiseases,theycarelessaboutotherproblems.”Therefore,eatingjustplaysanessentialroleintheirlifeofpeopleinthewest.Wecanseeclearlythatthewesternpeoplewouldnotassignmorecrucialmissionstoeating,whichhasbeendonebytheChinesepeopleforalongtime.

3.2DifferencesintheUseofRawMaterials

ChinesecuisineisthetasteofChinesecookingintheselectedmaterials,whichisalsorevealedagreatdealofrandomness.Westernersthinkthedishesaretofilltheirstomachs,sotheyeatalargepieceofmeat,chickenandotherhardvegetables.ManyWesternersregardothersaswastedthings.

Accordingtowesternscholars’survey,vegetablesthatChinesepeopleeathavemorethan600specious;itissixtimesmorethanthewest.Infact,intheChinesedishes,vegetariandishesarecommonfood,onlyinholidaysorsomeimportantoccasions,itcanentertheusualdiet.Sincetheancienttimes,wehaveasayingof"foodfeed";foodfeedisthedominantstatementinourusualdiet.TheChinesemakeplantasthemaindish,andhasalotofcontactwiththeadvocacyofBuddhism.Theythinktheanimalis"thelife",butplantsthelawsofnature"nottowork",therefore,advocatesthevegetarianism.（YangNaiji,1993）

Chinesepeople'smainmealisgrainsandtheirproductssuchaswheatenfood,andnon-staplefoodisvegetables,supplementedbymeat.AccordingtoWesternzoophytologist’ssurvey,600Chinesepeopleeatvegetables,sixtimesmorethanintheWest.Infact,inthetraditionalChinesedishes,vegetablesistheusualfood,meatisonlyappearedintheholidays.Today,asthepeople'slivingstandardsimprove,meatismorecommonineverydaylife,butastheleadingvegetableisstillrootedinpeople'sminds.

Westerners’mainmealismeat,andmilk.Adheringtosailingnationscultural,theyaretomainlyhuntandfish,supplementedbyco