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History of the Development of Chinese Food Culture

Old Time

As one of the four ancient civilizations in the world, China has a unique style of food that has been transmitted down the millennia. China has gradually accumulated its own unique food culture as well as food style over a long period of history.

In China, there is an old saying that people's food is the sky. Food, as a necessity for survival, has been valued by people in all dynasties, and Chinese food culture has a long history of development, with each stage and dynasty having its own characteristics and popular dietary features.

Development

The origin of Chinese food culture can be traced back to the primitive society period, and the development of ancient food culture is divided into four stages: the germination stage, the formation stage, the development period, and the maturity period. The development of Chinese food culture has gone through the primitive society, the pre-Qin period, the Qin and Han dynasties, the Tang and Song dynasties, the Ming and Qing dynasties, and now the basic development is complete, but after the passage of time, the traditional Chinese cuisine is still more perfect and loved by people.

At the beginning of primitive society, people were still in the exploration stage for food, people were still quoting blood, after the development of traditional Chinese diet into the formal development of the stage. In primitive society, people gradually began to learn to cook food with fire, people began to eat cooked food, to Shennong's, the pioneer of Chinese agriculture, pottery tools let people for the first time have tools for eating.
By the time of the pre-Qin period, the formative period of Chinese food culture, the main diet was based on grains and vegetables, and people were able to grow their own crops, with millet dominating at the time. People entered the cooking period, in the specific cooking methods, steaming, boiling and roasting practices, people would be very common to use, the emergence of pork, sheep and fish and other meat foods, but also cabbage. A drink appeared in the Yao Shun Yu period was wine. Seasoning items also appeared, such as sugar, vinegar, etc. People had special vegetable and fruit gardens. With the rapid development of agriculture, aquatic products became more and more popular. People began to pay attention to the issue of food hygiene.

By the time of the Qin and Han dynasties, the food of the Qin and Han dynasties was very rich, and the food culture of the Qin and Han dynasties had become more mature, with people's selection of ingredients, types of vegetables to match, ways of cooking food, and different food rituals gradually taking shape. The types of food at this time could be divided into three levels: the state class, the noble class, and the commoners. Vegetables that are commonplace on the tables of Chinese families today, such as onions, garlic, leeks, and leeks, were already present at that time. In terms of meat, the people of the Qin and Han dynasties consumed the most pigs and chickens, while aquatic products such as fish, shrimp, and crabs were more common in areas near the river and the sea. The exchange between the Han and western countries became increasingly close, and exotic crops such as grapes, pomegranates and walnuts were imported into China and slowly appeared on people's tables. The variety of dishes also increased and became more and more powerful. The staple food mainly consisted of porridge, bread, and rice.
The Tang and Song dynasties, the peak of Chinese food culture.

During the Tang and Song dynasties, the structure of Chinese food culture took initial shape, and high social productivity allowed people to reach a very high standard of living and to innovate in food. During the Tang Dynasty, people's staple food was mainly corn and other crops of local origin. And gradually formed the situation that people in the south ate rice and people in the north ate noodles. The staple food in the Song Dynasty did not change remarkably in comparison with the Tang Dynasty. During this period, mutton was gradually popular among people.

During the Song Dynasty, goat meat was even more popular. During the Tang Dynasty period, with the exchange of contact with the outsiders, wine also appeared. The art of making wine at that time also made obvious progress relative to the past.[4]

During the Ming and Qing dynasties, China's food culture was basically perfected. After the development of several dynasties, food, culture and etiquette were basically formed during this period, and people could further improve the food according to the previous treatment of food, and more refined food appeared. This has also contributed to the further development of the diet. With the fusion of various ethnic groups and the emergence of such intoxicating cuisines as the Manchurian banquet, the development of traditional Chinese food culture has basically been completed. To this day, Chinese cuisine is still progressing, and with the development of the times, people's desire for good food has prompted a continuous exploration of food flavors.[5]

[1] Song

[2] Tang

[3] Qing

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Bibliography

[1] (2020), "Never tire of eating fine, never tired of fine food", how did the diverse food culture of the Tang Dynasty come into being? [online] Available at: http://m.qulishi.com/article/202003/397195.html [Accessed: 17/12/2021]

[2] (2021), Tang Dynasty Food Pictures, [online] available at: https://wantubizhi.com/pic/%E5%94%90%E6%9C%9D%E7%BE%8E%E9%A3%9F%E5%9B%BE%E7%89%87/ [Accessed: 17/12/2021]

[3] (2017), [Eating in the Book] The Exquisite Eating Life of Song Dynasty People, [online] available at: https://www.sohu.com/a/204493040_349036 [Accessed: 17/12/2021]

[4] (2020), China on the tip of the tongue, analyze the food culture of the Qin and Han dynasties, and talk about what the ancestors ate, [online] available at: https://kknews.cc/culture/r699gqx.html [Accessed: 17/12/2021]
[5]Juanjuan, J. (2013) The development of food culture in ancient China [J]. Journal of Sichuan Engineering Vocational Technology College