Unit2ChineseFoodandTeaCulture.docx

1、Unit2ChineseFoodandTeaCultureUnit 2 Chinese Food and Tea Culture Eating is not merely a material pleasure. Eating well gives a spectacular joy to life and contributes immensely to goodwill and happy companionship. It is of great importance to the morale. Elsa SchiaparelliText A Chinese Dietary Cultu

2、re Dietary culture is an important part of traditional Chinese culture. It has rich connotations including the resources of food, cooking skill, food production, dietotherapy, public dietary ways and customs, and dietary art.Throughout the long history of China, cuisine has played an important role

3、and is now considered an integral part of, traditional Chinese culture. Generally speaking, there are three essential factors by which Chinese cooking is judged, namely, “color, aroma and taste”. “Color” refers to the layout and design of the dishes. “Aroma” implies not only the smell of the dish, b

4、ut also the freshness of the materials and the blending of seasonings. “Taste” involves proper seasoning and fine slicing techniques. These three essential factors are achieved by careful coordination of a series of delicate activities： selecting ingredients, mixing flavors, timing and cooking, adju

5、stment of the heat, and laying out the food on the plate. A gourmet can find out slight differences in the tastes. People living in different regions display great variety in their diets. People in coastal areas eat more seafood and aquatic products, whereas those in central and northwest China eat

6、more domestic animals and poultry. Foods vary from north to south. Tastes also differ regionally because of the climatic differences. One popular summary of Chinese food is“sweet in the south, salty in the north, sour in the west, and spicy in the east.” People in different regions have created thei

7、r own cuisines to suit their tastes. There are four major cooking styles in China: Sichuan, Canton, Shandong and Huaiyang, each distinctly different. There are called the “Grand Four Categories of Chinese Cuisine”. Another way of categorization has divided Chinese cuisines into eight main schools: S

8、handong cuisine, Sichuan cuisine, Guangdong (also Cantonese) cuisine, Fujian cuisine, Jiangsu (also called Huaiyang) cuisine, Zhejiang cuisine, Hunan cuisine and Anhui cuisine. Ingredients in Cantonese food range from fish, shrimp and poultry to snake, wild cat and giant salamander. Dim Sum, or Yum

9、Cha, as it is commonly referred to in English, is something like a local institution in Canton. Sichuan (Chuan) cuisine is distinctly spicy. Shandong (Lu) cuisine excels in fish and seafood dishes such as sea cucumber, squirrel fish, crab and eel. Huaiyang specialties are “West Lake Fish” and“Beggar

10、s Chicken”, baked in lotus leaves in a clay pot . Chopsticks are the dining utensils most frequently used in Chinese peoples daily life. It is said that chopsticks reflect gentleness and benevolence, the main moral teachings of Confucianism. It may be an awkward experience for foreigners to use chop

11、sticks to have a meal. Fortunately, learning to eat with chopsticks is not difficult.筷子在中国人日常生活中是最常使用的餐具。据说筷子能反映温柔和爱心,是儒家思想的主要道德教义。外国人用筷子吃饭时可能会是一个尴尬的经历。幸运的是,学习用筷子吃饭是不困难的。China has long been known as the “land of ceremony and propriety”. Consequently, there are certain manners that should be observed

12、 at banquets or formal dinners. First, Chinese people attach great importance to the seating order at banquets or formal dinners. In ancient times, the most honorable guest sat facing the east, and the next important guest sat facing the south, next facing the north and the last facing the west. The

13、se days, normally the host sits facing the door, the person sitting on his right is the most honored guest, and the one on his left is the next most honored.中国长期以来一直被称为“礼仪之邦”。因此,在宴会或正式晚餐上能够观察到一定的礼仪。首先,中国人非常重视在宴会或正式晚宴上的座位顺序。在古代,最尊贵的客人坐朝东,第二重要的客人面对南方坐,下面客人对北和最后客人面对西方。目前,通常主人坐在面对门,坐在他右边的人是最尊贵的客人,左边是下一个

14、受崇敬的人。 Apart from the seating order, there are also rules regarding the order of serving dishes and the way dishes are set on the table. Normally cold dishes are served before hot ones, and dry dishes are served before soup. Newly served dishes are always put near the most honorable guest; when whol

15、e fish, whole chicken or whole duck is served, the dish is normally put in such a way that the head is towards the most important guest. This is a way to show respect.除了座位顺序有要求,还有关于上菜的顺序以及碟子摆放也有一定规则。通常是先上冷菜后上热菜,先上干菜后上汤。新上的菜总是放在最尊贵的来宾附近;当全鸡全鱼,或者是全鸭,这道菜通常是以这样一种方式摆放：把头朝向最重要的客人。这是一种尊重的方式。 In China, peop

16、le tend to eat together. Habitually the host will serve some dishes with his or her own chopsticks to guests to show his or her hospitality.在中国,人们常常一起吃饭。主人习惯性地将用他或她自己的筷子夹给客人一些菜肴以展示他或她的好客。 Traditional Chinese Dietotherapy Guided by fundamental theories of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM), traditiona

17、l Chinese dietotherapy(TCD) (also called Chinese medicated diet) is a specialty that concerns the study of how to make good use of foods and natural nutriments as well as Chinese material medicine to preserve health, prevent and heal diseases, quicken recoveries, and slow down aging. Dietotherapy is

18、 a gem in Chinese scientific cultural heritage.以中医基本理论为指导（TCM）,传统中国饮食疗法(TCD)(也称为中国药膳)是一个专业,涉及研究如何充分利用食品和天然成份以及保护健康,预防和治疗疾病,加速恢复,延缓衰老的中成药。饮食疗法是中国科学文化遗产中的瑰宝。 The overriding idea about food in China is that the kind and the amount of food one takes are intimately relevant to ones health. Food not only

19、affects health as a matter of general principle, the selection of the right food at any particular time must also be dependent upon ones health condition at that time. Food, therefore, is also medicine. The bodily functions, in the Chinese view, follow the basic, yin-yang principles. Many foods are

20、also classifiable into those that possess the yin quality and those of the yang quality. When yin and yang forces in the body are not balanced, problems result. Proper amounts of food of one kind or the other may then be administered (i.e., eaten) to counterbalance the yin and yang disequilibrium. 在

21、中国关于食物高于一切的想法,表现在一个人所摄入食物的种类和数量与他的健康密切相关。食物不仅作为影响健康问题的一般原则,而且在任何特定的时间里选择正确的食物还必须依赖于一个人当时的健康状态。因此,食物也是药品。在中国看来, 身体的功能遵循基本的阴阳原则。许多食物都可分类为具有阴的品质和阳的品质。身体出现问题的原因，就是身体中阴阳势力出现了不平衡。某一种或其他种适当数量的食物可能被专门使用(即,饮食),以抵消身体中阴阳的失调。 It is understood in TCM that like herbs, foods are also in different natures and flavo

22、rs, accounting for their actions of reinforcement or reduction. Chinese traditional medicine has analyzed the properties of different foods, and divided them into four categories of cool, warm, hot and moderate foods. Hot and warm foods generate heat, expel coldness, warm up the viscera and smooth t

23、he channels. Cool foods reduce heat, detoxify and tranquilize. Moderate foods are middle way between the hot and the cool. Knowledge of the properties of foods is contributory to disease treatment and health care.据悉，在中医里，草药和食物有不同的性质和口味，以此成为医生加强或减少使用的依据。中医学分析了属性不同的食物，并把食物分成凉、热、烫以及温和的四个类别。烫和热的食物能产生热量、

24、驱逐寒冷、温暖脏器、疏通经络。凉食物可降温、解毒、清心安神。温和的食物处于冷食物与热食物之间。食物属性的知识有助于疾病的治疗和身体保健。Chinese medicated diet lays stress on the whole and medicated diet is selected on the basis of differential diagnosis. It is suitable for both prevention and treatment, and it is outstanding in effect. Finally, the medicated diet is

25、 good in taste and convenient for taking. There goes the saying“Good medicine tastes bitter” among the people, because most of the decoctions of Chinese drugs are bitter. Some people, especially children, take an aversion to the bitterness of Chinese drugs and refuse to take them. Most of the drugs

26、used in the medicated diet are both edible and medicinal, and retain the properties of food. This explains why the diet not only has the efficiency of medicine, but also the delicacy of food.中国药膳注重整体性。选择药膳是建立在辨别诊断的基础上。它适用于预防和治疗，而且有显著的效果。最后,药膳的品味好和交流方便。民间有一句老话说：“良药苦口”,因为大多数的中药熬制的药是苦的。有些人,尤其是儿童嫌恶中药的苦涩

27、而拒绝服用。药膳中使用的多数的药物都是即可食用也药用，保留了食物的属性。这就解释了为什么饮食不仅有药的功效,还有食物的美味。 The Features of Chinese Food The Chinese way of eating is characterized by a notable flexibility and adaptability. 中国的饮食方式的特点在于显著的灵活性和适应性。Since a dish is made of a mixture of ingredients, its distinctive appearance, taste, and flavor do

28、not depend on the exact number of ingredients, nor, in most cases, on any single item. The same is true for a meal made up of a combination of dishes. In times of affluence, a few more expensive items may be added, but if the times are hard they may be omitted without doing irreparable damage. If th

29、e season is not quite right, substitutes may be used. With the basic principles, a Chinese cook can prepare“Chinese” dishes for the poor as well as the rich, in times of scarcity as well as abundance, and even in a foreign country without many familiar ingredients. The Chinese cook the way they do b

30、ecause of their need of and desire for adaptability.由于一道菜是由混合材料做成, 因此在大多数情况下,其独特的外观、口味和风味既不依赖于精确数量的原料,也不依赖其中任何一种材料。对于由一组合菜肴构成的一顿饭来说也是同样的道理。富裕的时候, 可能添加一些更昂贵的材料,但如果困难的时候他们可以省略不做，不造成不可挽回的损害。如果季节不对，可能会使用替代品。基于这一原则，一个中国厨师无论是在匮乏时期还是富裕时期，甚至在国外没有更多熟悉的食材的情况下，都可以为不管是穷人还是富人准备“中国”菜。中国厨师之所以这样做是因为他们的需要和渴望适应性。This

31、 adaptability is shown in at least two other features. The first is the amazing knowledge the Chinese have acquired about their wild plant resources. The Chinese peasants apparently know every edible plant in their environment, and plants there are many. Another feature of Chinese food habits that c

32、ontributes to their notable adaptability is the large number and great variety of preserved foods. Again, with preserved foods, the Chinese people are every ready in the event of hardship or scarcity. Perhaps the most important aspect of the Chinese food culture is the importance of food itself in C

33、hinese culture. Few can take exception to the statement that few other culture are as food-oriented as the Chinese. And this orientation appears to be as ancient as Chinese culture itself. 这种适应性是显示在至少两个其他的特性。第一个是中国人获得了惊人的关于野生植物资源的知识。中国农民显然知道在他们的环境中各种可食用的植物，并且种植了很多。另一个有助于他们显著的适应性的中国饮食习惯的特征是，大量和品种繁多的腌制的食物。再次, 每一个中国人民都以腌菜