中国传统文化基础2

Confucius, the founder of Confucianism, once said: "Eating is the utmost important part of life." The development of Chinese cuisine confirms the importance of eating for Chinese people. Furthermore, many elements have influenced its development. Famine and prosperity are two opposite elements that have influenc -ed the development of Chinese cooking.
During the Tang Dynasty, there was a great demand for sugar in China, Indian envoys to Tang China brought two makers of sugar who successfully taught the Chinese how to cultivate sugarcane. Cotton also came from India as a finished product from Bengal. It was during the Tang that the Chinese began to grow and process cotton, and by the Yuan Dynasty it became the prime textile fabric in China.
宫保鸡丁 hot spicy chicken with peanuts
麻婆豆腐 hot spicy tofu
水煮鱼 boiled sliced fish
Guangdong cuisine, known as Cantonese cuisine in the west, originated from Guangdong, the southernmost province in China and develops in Guangzhou, Huizhou and Chaozhou of Guangdong Province and Hainan Island. Cantonese are known to have an adventurous palate, able to eat many different kinds of meats and vegetables and other exotic ingredients. In short, to the people of Guangdong, everything that walks, crawls, flies, or swims is edible.
The history of Chinese cuisine traced back to Peking Man’s use of fire and the invention of "cuisine" some 400,000 years ago.
During the Han Dynasty (202 BC–220 AD), there were abundant most common staple crops and a number of foodstuffs were introduced from the Western regions

Vast territory and abundant resources played more important role in the development of the Chinese cuisine. Different ethnic groups from different parts of the regions in China have great differences in culinary practices. These differences followed the varying climate and availability of foodstuffs in China. So there is an enormous variety of Chinese food that differs greatly from region to region.
During the Ming and Qing Dynasty, the Chinese purchased a variety of crops from the New World such as Spanish Empire including sweet potatoes, maize, peanuts, potato, tomato and hot pepper. The introduction of foreign crops and plants enriched the material life and dietary culture of Chinese people.
During Han periods, a number of food materials were introduced from the Western regions, such as
grape, pomegranate(石榴), Lucerne [lu:’sΒιβλιοθήκη Baidun](苜蓿), sesame (芝麻), flax(亚麻), walnut(核桃), garlic (大蒜), garden pea(豌豆), broad bean(蚕豆), watermelon, musk melon(香瓜), cucumber, spinach (菠菜)
III. Different cooking styles in China
As we know, there is an enormous variety of Chinese food that differs greatly from region to region in China. The most influential and typical cooking styles are the 'Eight Cuisines'. These are as follows, Sichuan Cuisine, Shandong Cuisine ,Guangdong Cuisine, Huaiyang cuisine，Hunan Cuisine, Anhui Cuisin, Fujian Cuisine and Zhejiang Cuisine. The essential factors that establish the form of a genre are complex, mainly including history, cooking features, geography, climate, resources and life styles.
From the Song period, there are many surviving lists of names for the dishes in customer menus for restaurants and taverns, as well as for feasts, festivals, and modest dining. Many of the peculiar names for these dishes do not provide clues as to what types of food ingredients were used. However, judging from the listed seasonings they used for these dishes, such as pepper, ginger, pimento辣椒, soy sauce, oil, salt, and vinegar, Song era cuisine is perhaps not too different from the Chinese cuisine of today.
Since the establishment of a unified, multinational feudal state by the first emperor of the Qin Dynas -ty, China became one of the largest countries in the world. Thanks to this, every territory is charac -terized by its culinary traditions -- with typical ingredients, seasoning and cooking techniques. The four Chinese cuisines , Sichuan Cuisine, Shandong Cuisine ,Guangdong Cuisine, Zhejiang Cuisine, were gradually sprouted during Han Dynasty.
With
thousands of years' development, Chinese cuisine and drink are indispensable to Chinese culture, presently enjoying world-wide fame and a high reputation. It can be believed that no culture in the world is as food-centered as Chinese culture.
Sichuan
cuisine is distinctly sweet, sour, tingling, spicy, and salty. Chili peppers, huajiao (mild Chinese pepper), black peppers, shallot, ginger, and garlic are indispensable ingredients. It combines the cuisines from Chengdu and Chongqing. From as early as the Qing Dynasty (1644 – 1911), books had systematically recorded a total of 38 cooking methods like to scald, wrap, bake, mix, and stew ,etc.
Unit 2
I．Food and Drink is a central part of the Chinese culture There are roughly four cooking styles in the world, Chinese, French, Turkish and Russian styles. Each style has its own characteristics of culture, including history, resources of food, cooking skills, food production and customs. Dietary culture is an important part of the world culture.
lettuce (莴苣), coriander(香菜), celery(芹菜), carrot (胡萝卜),
Lentil(小扁豆), onion(洋葱), pepper, Persian date,
fig (无花果), fennel茴香, aubergine [aub5 Vi:n] 茄子, etc.