Unit2ChineseFoodandTeaCulture

Unit 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 Schiaparelli
Text A Chinese Dietary Culture
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 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, but 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, adjustment 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. Peo ple in coastal areas eat more seafood and aquatic products, whereas those in c entral and northwest China eat more domestic animals and poultry. Foods vary f rom north to south. Tastes also differ regionally because of the climatic diffe rences. One popular summary of Chinese food is“sweet in the south, salty in th e north, sour in the west, and spicy in the east.” People in different regions have created their own cuisines to suit their tastes.
There are four major cooking styles in China: Sichuan, Canton, Shandong and H uaiyang, each distinctly different. There are called the “Grand Four Categorie
s of Chinese Cuisine”. Another way of categorization has divided Chinese cuisi nes into eight main schools: Shandong cuisine, Sichuan cuisine, Guangdong (also Cantonese) cuisine, Fujian cuisine, Jiangsu (also called Huaiyang) cuisine, Zh ejiang 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 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’s Chicken”, baked in lotus leaves in a clay pot.
Chopsticks are the dining utensils most frequently used in Chinese people’s 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 chopsticks 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 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. These 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 whole 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, people 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), traditional 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 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 one’s health. Food not only affects health as a matter of general principle, the selection of the right food at any particular time must also be dependent upon one’s 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 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 flavors, 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 the 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、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 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 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 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 the 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 because 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 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 contributes 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 Chinese 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防备万一遇上匮乏或艰苦时期。

也许最重要的中国食品文化是食物本身在中国文化中的重要性。

很少人能反对声明,很少有象中国人那样以食品为主导的文化。

这个方向似乎是古老的中国文化本身。

Text B Chinese Tea Culture
Chinese people like to drink tea, and often entertain friends and guests with it. They are the first to discover the tea leaf and have been drinking tea in many varieties ever since.
Chinese tea may keeps the original color of the tea leaves without fermentation during processing. This category consists mainly of longjing, Maofeng and Biluochun. Black tea is fermented before baking; it is a later variety developed on the basis of the green tea. Oolong tea represents a variety half way between the green and the black teas, made after partial fermentation. Scented tea is made by mixing fragrant flowers in the tea leaves in the course of processing. The flowers commonly used for this purpose are jasmine tea and magnolia among others. Jasmine tea is a well-known favorite with the northerners of China and with a growing number of foreigners.
Different tea-drinking customs in various parts of China make up the culture. Among the customs, a host will only fill a teacup to seven-tenths of its capacity. It is said that the other three-tenths will be filled with friendship and affection.
Moreover, the teacup should be emptied in three gulps.
Tea plays an important role in Chinese social life. Tea is always offered to a guest immediately upon entering a Chinese home. Serving a cup of tea is more than a matter of mere politeness. It is a symbol of togetherness, a sharing of something enjoyable, and a way of showing respect to visitors. In some areas of China, it might be considered rude not to take at least a sip.
Although there has been an increasing amount of literature about tea in recent years, such literature is certainly not new. During the Song dynasty, lu yu, who is known as the “Tea Sage ”, wrote the Tea Scripture describes in detail the processes of planting tea bushes, picking tea leaves and preparing leaves for brewing. Famous poets such as Li Bai, Du Fu, and Bai Juyi created large numbers of poems about tea. Famous painters Tang Bohu and Wen Zhengming even drew many pictures about tea. The Chinese pay great attention to their tea and the way they drink it. People have high requirements for the quality of the prepared tea leaf, the water they use to brew tea and the wares they use to prepare and serve tea. Normally, the finest tea is grown at altitudes of 3000 to 7000 feet (900to 2100 meters). People select their water carefully. The Chinese emphasize water quality and water taste. Fine water must be pure, sweet, cool, clean, and flowing.
Chinese prefer pottery wares to wares made of metal or other materials. The best choice is the Purple clay wares made in yixing and jindezhen. The purple clay gives the ware their internationally-known purple color.
Drinking tea can quench one’s thirst, dispel fatigue, help digestion and prevent some diseases. The constant drinking of tea is quite beneficial to people’s health.
饮食文化是中国传统文化的重要组成部分。

它有丰富的内涵包括资源的食物,烹饪技巧、食品生产、饮食疗法、公共饮食方式和风俗以及饮食艺术。

透过中国悠久历史,烹饪扮演了重要的角色,现在被认为是中国传统文化不可分割的一部分。

一般来说，判断中国烹饪有三个基本因素, 即“色、香、味”。

“色”指的是菜肴的布局和设计。

“香”不仅暗示着这道菜的味道,而且材料新鲜以及调料搭配。

“品味”包括适当的调味料和精细刀工。

这三个基本要素要通过仔细协调一系列精致的活动来完成；选择配料,混合调料,安排时间和烹饪,调整温度，摆盘。

一个美食家可以发现品味中的细微差异。

人们生活在不同的区域显示在他们的饮食多种多样。

在沿海地区的人们吃更多的海鲜和水产品,而中部和西北多吃家畜和家禽。

从北到南的食物有所不同。

口味也不同区域由于气候差异。

一个流行的对中国菜总结是：“南甜,北咸,东辣,西酸。

“人们在不同的地区创造了他们自己的菜系来适应他们的口味。

中国有四种主要的烹饪风格:四川、广东、山东和淮扬菜。

每一种都截然不同。

被称作四大中国菜系”。

另一种分类方法将中国菜分成八大菜系:山东菜、四川菜、广东菜(粤语),福建菜、江苏(也叫淮阳)菜、浙江菜、湖南菜和安徽菜。

广东菜的食材范围从鱼、虾和家禽到蛇,野猫和娃娃鱼。

吃点心或吃早茶,因为它通常是指在英语使用,有点像一个广东本地的机构。

四川(川)菜明显辣。

山东(Lu)菜擅长鱼和海鲜如海参,松鼠鱼、蟹和鳗鱼。

淮扬特色菜是“西湖醋鱼”和“叫化子鸡”,用荷叶包好后放在一只陶罐里烤。

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。

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,左边是下一个受崇敬的人。

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。

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。

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。

在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。

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、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。

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。

中国的饮食方式的特点在于显著的灵活性和适应性。

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。

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防备万一遇上匮乏或艰苦时期。

也许最重要的中国食品文化是食物本身在中国文化中的重要性。

很少人能反对声明,很少有象中国人那样以食品为主导的文化。

这个方向似乎是古老的中国文化本身。

饮食文化1
(2008-12-11 13:42:55)
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杂谈
我国悠久的历史、广袤的国土、与世界各国和海外文化的广泛接触，孕育了中餐烹饪的独特艺术。

几千年的推陈出新和不断累积，使中餐受到越来越多的海外人士的青睐，成立我国对外文化交流的友好使者。

China’s long history, vast territo ry and extensive contact with other nations and cultures have given birth to the distinctive Chinese culinary art. With several thousand years of creative and accumulative efforts, the Chinese cuisine has become increasingly popular among more and more overseas gourmets, virtually functioning as an envoy of friendship in China's cultural exchanges with foreign countries.
现代中国已享有“烹饪王国”之美誉，精致的烹调艺术盛行全球，中餐烹饪已名列世界顶尖菜系之林。

中餐烹调所用的天然配料，品种繁多，几无穷尽；烹调方法，层出不穷，不可悉数。

这些无以伦比的中餐烹饪特点，足以说明了中餐馆以及中餐烹调之所以名扬海外的缘由。

Modern China e njoys a worldwide reputation as the “kingdom of cuisine”. The exquisite Chinese culinary art, regarded indisputably as one of the world’s finest culinary traditions, has prevailed all over the world. The nearly endless variety of natural ingredients and methods of preparation employed in Chinese cuisine stand out unequaled in the world, which may very well account for the universal popularity of Chinese restaurants and Chinese cooking overseas.
评判中餐烹调的优势可依据中餐的三大要素，即“色、香、味”。

“色”作为“色、香、味”三要素中的首要标准，充分体现在宴会菜肴的装盘、摆放和图案上。

最能显示色彩的是首先上桌的那道煞费苦心而精心制作的冷盘。

“香”不仅是指鼻子对食物的直接感受，它还包括所选原料的新鲜程度以及佐料的合理调配。

“味”则体现了恰到好处的调味艺术，当然它还包括实物的质地，以及切菜单刀工。

色、香、味这三大要素的高品质，只有通过选料、调料、适时烹调、把握火候、装盘上桌这些微妙步骤的细心协调，才能取得。

The three essential factors, or key elements, by which Chinese cooking is judged ar e known as “color, aroma and taste”. The color of Chinese food, the first of these elements which is so evident in a Chinese banquet, includes the layout and design of dishes, best exemplified in particular by the large elaborately-prepared cold dish served at the beginning of the dinner. Aroma implies more than what one’s nose can detect directly;
it also includes the freshness of the raw materials used and the blending of seasonings. Taste is the art of proper seasoning, though it also involves the texture of food and fine slicing techniques. These three essential elements, color, aroma and taste, are achieved by the careful coordination of a series of delicate activities: selecting ingredients, mixing flavors, timing the cooking, controlling the heat and finally, laying out the food on the plate for the table.
八人一桌的标准晚餐含四道冷盘、四道热炒，外加汤和米饭。

外国宾客见之，常常惊叹不已，将其视为一次丰盛的晚宴。

但在中国人眼里，以这种规格的晚餐招待宾客，只是一种起码的标准。

准备10道分量适中的菜肴并不为过，即使献上16道菜，亦不足为奇。

在中国，一桌标准宴席包括四至八个事先制作好的冷盘，八道现做的热炒、两道观赏性大菜（如全鱼、乳猪、全鸡等），此外还有汤、米饭和点心。

晚宴结束前还有一道水果。

来华访问的海外宾客应记住，赴宴不可贪吃，每道菜“浅尝可止”。

从这个角度上来讲，中国宴席犹如西方国家的冷餐招待会。

Visitors to China are often surprised when a typical dinner for a table of eight people consists of four courses of cold dishes, four courses of hot dishes, coupled with soup and steamed rice; they consider this a lavish spread. But in the Chinese mind, a dinner prepared as above for guests is the minimum requirement. Ten courses of dishes, not necessarily prepared in huge quantities, would not be considered excessive, and few people would blink at sixteen. A standard banquet will consist of four to eight prepared cold dished, eight hot dished served on at a time, two to four whole-size showpiece dishes(such as a whole fish, a whole suckling pig or a whole chicken), in addition to soups, steamed rice and pastries. The dinner finishes ten unnecessary to eat more than a single mouthful of a dish at a Chinese banquet. In this way, a Chinese banquet takes on the character of a buffet reception in the West.
中国宴席桌上的酒通常为啤酒、黄酒和烈性白酒三种。

人们往往以“干杯”的方式互相敬酒。

“干杯”的意思是一口喝干杯中的酒。

“干”了“杯”中的酒，可以表示心诚和欢乐。

当然，外国宾客与中国东道主敬酒时，小啜一口也未尝不可。

Often beer, yellow rice wine and strong white liquor are served at a Chinese banquet. People at a table will usually “Gan Bei” when toasting each other. “Gan Bei” means to raise up one’s wine glass or liquor cup and drink it all the way down so that the glass or cup is”dried up to
the last drop”. People dry up their glasses to communicate the message to others that they are sincere and joyful. It is quite acceptable for a foreign guest to take a sip instead of emptying the glass when toasting with his or her Chinese host.
但是，中国的普通家餐却完全不同于宴席。

一个成年人平时在家就餐时，通常只吃两小碗米饭，或一大碗面条，或几只馒头。

外加几个荤素炒菜，而非以菜为主，以米饭或面食为辅。

对大多数中国人来说，从一餐饭中所摄取的热量有65%来自谷粮。

However, an average Chinese meal at home is quite different in composition from a Chinese banquet. At an everyday home meal, an adult may consume two small bowls of steamed rice, or a large bowl of noodles, or several pieces of steamed bread, accompanied by several meat or vegetable dishes, but not the other way round. For most Chinese, about 65% of an average meal’s calories come form grain sources instead of meat or vegetable dishes.
作为一种时代相袭的传统，中国人就餐时围桌而坐，人人手里都有一碗主食，炒菜放在桌子中央，大家一起食用。

这一古老的风俗习惯反映了食物中中华文明史上的重要地位：占据餐桌中心位置的是炒菜，而不是鲜花，晚餐的主要话题常常是食物。

菜肴的各种色彩和材料搭配，给人以美的享受。

共食一碗菜的习俗有助于家庭成员之间的团结和友谊。

当然，在一些卫生意识比较强大地方，人们在共食放在餐桌中央的菜肴时，必须使用“公筷”或“公用”汤匙，以防疾病传染。

Traditionally, at the Chinese dining table everyone has his or her own bowl of staple food, that is, steamed rice, noodles or steamed bread, while the dishes are placed in the middle of the dinner table to be shared by all. This age-old custom is one manifestation of the importance of food in Chinese civilization; it is the cooked dishes, rather than flowers, that serve as centerpieces on a Chinese table; food is frequently the main topic of dinner time conversation. Variety in the color and texture of the dishes serves aesthetic ends, while the ritual of sharing the food from the same dish plates is conducive to family togetherness and friendship. In more health-conducive environments, however, only “public” chopsticks and spoons are used to remove food from the plates in the middle of the dining table, so as to prevent any possible spread of diseases.
以上所介绍的情况以对外国客人来说，虽不应是一种离奇的“天方夜谭”，却也说明中国人在饮食方面所持有的价值观与西方人有很大的不同。

不过，中国人民与世界各族人民都有一个相同的基本观念，即亲朋好友相聚，美酒佳肴相敬，实属人生之最大快乐也。

While none of the above observations should strike a foreign visitor as particularly strange or exotic, they demonstrate that the Chinese approach some aspects of catering service with a set of values very different from those in the West. There is one key concept, however, which the Chinese share with the rest of world. That is, fine food and good drink, taken in the company of good friends, constitute one of our supreme pleasures in life.。