Comparison of dietary culture between Chinese and English.docx

1、Comparison of dietary culture between Chinese and EnglishComparison of Dietary Culture Between Chinese and English AbstractDiet is absolutely necessary in the mankinds life, and even in the existence or development. Because of the differences between Chinese and English cultural traditions, the Chin

2、ese and English dietary cultures are different in concept, target, pattern, attribution and nature. The author studies these differences and then finds out the points that can be digested, in order to facilitate the communication in cultures between China.Taiwan Professor Zhang Qijun(2000) said, “Th

3、e old saying, Eating, drinking, man and woman who wishes greatly. For such a standard fair, English culture can be said to be male-centered and female-centered culture. But the Chinese culture can be said to be a dietary culture. As the reason of the cultural traditions, the English lives focused on

4、 men and women, but because of the obscure sex relations in gender, Chinese people are shifting attention to the biting and supping in life. Thus the diet is rich in culture. Food culture in England is not developed enough, but this underdevelopment itself is the result of the development of a cultu

5、re, so it is still significant to study the dietary cultures of Chinese and English. By the analysis of the differences between Chinese and English dietary cultures, people can comprehend the respective cultural traditions of China and England. And they can also improve and create the culture of Chi

6、na.Key Words: dietary culture; cultural tradition; differencesContents摘要 IAbstract IIChapter 1 Introduction 1Chapter 2 Differences in Concepts 2 2.1 Sensibility vs. Practicality 2 2.2 Complexity vs. Simplicity 2Chapter 3 Differences in Targets 43.1 Vegetables vs. Meat 4 3.2 Different Dietary Targets

7、 Form Different Characteristics 5Chapter 4 Differences in Dietary Patterns 6 4.1 Different Table-wares: Chopsticks vs. Forks 6 4.1 Different Concepts Regarding the Time of Attendance 6 4.3 Differences in the Arrangements of Seats 7Chapter 5 Differences in Diet Attribution 8 5.1 Nutrients vs. Flavor

8、8 5.2 Artistry vs. Rationality 9Chapter 6 Differences in the Nature 11Chapter 7 Conclusion 12Bibliography 13Chapter 1 IntroductionOnce there is a saying that Food is eating well-deserved for human life”, so food is an indispensable condition for the survival and development of human beings. There ar

9、e two desires in life: one is feasting them to survive; and another is the lust of men and women, which can help the mankind to carry on the family lines. Facing the two desires, Chinese pay more attention to the former, while the English tends to the latter. Such phenomenon affects the cultural tre

10、nd. Diet is actually the contents of our daily lives, but why we call it culture? That is because the diet has special status in the Chinese culture, and it also has a great distinction between China and U.K. As one of the world ancient nations, Chinese diet has a history almost as long as that of C

11、hinese civilization. But in England, ancient thinkers devoted less attention to the food issue than the Chinese philosophers did, and there is even not aware of it to the heaven degree. With the opposite, they recognized and interpreted the world in the perspective of the lust or love of men and wom

12、en more. Whether the awareness of original sin of Christianity, Adam and Eve legend, or ancient Greek philosophy (such as Platos dialogue) who considered the personal relationships “love” as the love of ontology of beauty, and regarded it as a reality thinking of philosophy, all these ideas become t

13、he basis of English philosophers cultural thoughts. All these had potential effects on the development of English culture and English peoples characters. Receiving the influence of respective cultural tradition, the Chinese and English dietary culture has had different characteristic. The difference

14、s in concepts, targets, patterns, attribution and nature had reflected the different dietary culture in the different state characteristic; such characteristic has enriched the research value of dietary culture. Studying these cultural differences, we can find out a joint enhancing the communication

15、 between China and England through a comprehensive study of the subject. It may be a great help to the communication of the Chinese and English cultures. Chapter 2 Differences in Concepts2.1 Sensibility vs. Practicality In China, diet has developed to a very important part in peoples life. It is alm

16、ost beyond any other material and spiritual forms, and this has been apparently reflected in peoples daily life. The seven so-called basic daily needs: firewood, rice, oil, salt, sauces, vinegar, tea, all have deep relations to diet. Eating goes through a mans whole life. When one was born, his pare

17、nts would hold a birth celebration. Later when he was one month old or one year old, the family would get together and have a party again. When growing up, he would have birthday parties, wedding party and even funeral dinner held for him by his descendants when he passes away. When a visitor comes,

18、 he would prepare for the guest a formal dinner, which is called welcome dinner. He would invite friends to have dinner together when he moves into a new house, is promoted in his company or has solved a serious problem. All these show that people in China like eating with much emotions, for dinners

19、 have provided them lots of chances to show their love for friends, and exchange information. Even some emotional turmoil would be calmed down during the dinner time. Behind the form of eating, there are a profuse psychological and cultural significance, as well as peoples recognition and understand

20、ing of society, which embody a more profound social meaning. Eating not only has some original communication function, but has already transformed into an adjustment of social life and psychology.In Britain, U.S.A. and other English countries, eating is regarded as a way of communication and a neces

21、sary survival means. American psychologist Abraham Maslow divides humans needs into five levels in his famous theory Law of Demand. Eating is classified into the first layer, which is the lowest level of human requirements. Lin Yutang(1999), a famous Chinese anthropological scholar, once said, “The

22、diet concepts of people from English countries are different from those of the Chinese. They think that eating is just an act giving your body nutrients, like injecting fuel to a machine, to ensure its normal operation. As long as they are healthy enough to resist diseases, they care little about ot

23、her problems.” Therefore, in the minds of the English people, eating just plays a life-sustaining role in their life. We can see clearly that the English people would not assign more important missions to eating, which has been done by the Chinese people for a long time.2.2 Complexity vs. Simplicity

24、 There is a fundamental difference between Chinese and English countries banquet concepts. Chinese people pay much attention to the dinner itself and its arrangement. They provide profuse wine and courses, including ten main courses at a formal banquet, not including snacks, desserts, rice or noodle

25、s in the whole procedure of a dinner. The more sumptuous dishes the host prepares, the better the hosts hospitality and guests social status are reflected.In English countries, grand banquet is usually no more than six dishes and much simpler when it is only a kind of common dinner. Sometimes friend

26、s in the United States would all contribute to a dinner, which is called potluck, and means that each person has taken a dish for sharing. It is evident that it creates opportunities for friends to get together and exchange ideas. It is reminiscent of friendships and provides access for them to get

27、information. It is subject to the concept of English countries banquet that the most important thing of a banquet lies not in the dishes themselves, but in the diversifying form of liberalization. The owner should try to create a relaxing, harmonious and cheerful atmosphere, let the guests enjoy the

28、 freedom of a wonderful time. Generally, that is the first purpose of a banquet in English countries.Chapter 3 Differences in Targets3.1 Vegetables vs. MeatAll diet cannot be done without vegetables. The word dish is for the sound in China, and it always has something to do with the plants. Accordin

29、g to a survey of western plants scholar, there are 600 varieties of vegetables, six times more than in the west. In fact, the Chinese dishes, vegetable dish is usual food. Meat dish entered the normal diet only on holidays or higher living standards, so since ancient times, there was a saying of fre

30、sh vegetables. Chu Mandarin language: Common people eat fresh vegetables, fish only offered in the worship. It is said that fresh vegetables are mainly to the civilian in general, only being able to eat meat only in worship. Vegetarian diet takes the dominant position in the normal structure. Chines

31、e people consider the vegetables as the main dish; it has inextricably linked with the advocacy of Buddhists. They deem animals as people and plants have no soul. So, they advocate vegetarianism. English people do not seem to have such a good habit. They uphold a cultural origin of nomadic, seafarin

32、g nation. Living mainly by fishing and hunting, collection and planting are just the complement. There are more meat dishes in their lives. Feeding, clothing, and using are taken from the animals, and even English medicine is derived from animals. When the English introduce the diet characteristics of their countries, they always feel that their diet is more reasonable on the mix of nutrition than China. The food industry is more developed, such as cans, fast food, although the taste is monotonous, but it saves time, and it also has good nutrition. Therefore, in their coun