中国文化通览13解读

第一节饮食文化

中国烹饪

中国的饮食调制方法自古就有繁琐、复杂的特点。例如，尚秉和《历代社会风俗事物考》中介绍了《礼记·内则》中记载的“炮豚”法，“炮”是中国古代的一种饮食调制方法，从中便可略见一斑：

先取豚若羊杀之，实枣于腹内；再裹之以苇，涂之以泥，炮之使干，擘而摩去其油膜；再以稻米粉为糊，糊豚四周，煎于油镬中，使干，置小鼎中；再将小鼎置大镬沸汤中，汤勿灭鼎(勿使水浸入小鼎，败肉味也)。煮三日三夜，而后调醯醢食之。

正是在这样的传统下，适应各地不同的特产、口味，便逐渐出现了各种不同的调制方法。后来，在长期的实践过程中，又逐渐形成了各种具有地方特色的饮食体系。比如鲁菜(山东菜)、京菜(北京菜)、沪菜(上海菜)、苏菜(江苏菜)、浙菜(浙江菜)、川菜(四川菜)、徽菜(安徽菜)、粤菜(广东菜)、湘菜(湖南菜)、鄂菜(湖北菜)、闽菜(福建菜)、陕菜(陕西菜)、东北菜(东北地区菜肴的总称)、豫菜(河南菜)，以及仿膳菜(仿制的宫廷菜)、清真菜(回族菜的总称)、素菜(由佛教寺院所创、由僧厨执鼎、以非动物原料烹制的菜肴)等。各个菜系或清雅或淳厚、或麻辣或酸甜，不仅各有自己的独到之处，而且还各有自己的拿手好菜。比如闽菜中的“佛跳墙”，原名“全福寿”，用海参、广肚、干贝、鱼翅、火腿、蹄筋、香菇、鸽子蛋、鸡鸭等10余种名贵原料，置于坛中，再加骨汤、绍酒、香料等，以荷叶封口，密封坛内，用文火煨制而成。据说，清代福州有一家菜馆制作的“全福寿”香气四溢，竟诱使隔壁寺院的一名高僧不顾佛门戒律，跳墙而入，饱餐了一顿。故又名“佛跳墙”。而鲁菜中的“泰山三美”，则是用泰安的白菜、豆腐和水烹制的“白菜炖豆腐”，自然素雅，清香宜人。中国菜肴的花色之多、菜式之众、制作之繁，是世界闻名的。

中国菜还具有浓厚的文化底蕴。传说古代有一个名厨，只用两个鸡蛋就做出了4道“雅菜”：第一道菜，将两个鸡蛋黄煮熟放在盘子里，菜名叫“两只黄鹂鸣翠柳”；第二道菜，将一个鸡蛋清煮熟切成三角状码在盘子里，菜名叫“一行白鹭上青天”；第三道菜，将另一个鸡蛋清炒作碎末状堆在盘子里，菜名叫“窗含西岭千秋雪”；第四道菜，将4瓣蛋壳漂在一碗清汤里，菜名叫“门泊东吴万里船”。而这4个菜名，恰好是杜甫的《绝句》。

值得一提的是，中国菜讲味道、重艺术，并不等于不重视营养。实际上，中国菜作为一种文化，很早就与中医结下了密切的关系，在讲究味道和意味的同时，更讲究营养和保健。比如百草脱骨扒鸡、黄芪汽锅鸡、虫草全鸭、核桃鸭子、枸杞肉丝、人参莲肉汤、当归羊肉羹、双耳汤、羊肺汤、肝片汤等等，远比大块的排骨和烤肉的营养价值要高。

Chinese Culinary Arts

Chinese culinary arts are rather complicated, and in different places, there are different ways for preparing dishes. Many different cuisines unique to certain areas are formed, for instance, Shandong cuisine, Beijng cuisine, Shanghai cuisine, Sichuan cuisine, Jiangsu cuisine, Zhejiang cuisine, Anhui cuisine, Hunan cuisine, Hubei cuisine, Fujian cuisine, Shannxi cuisine, Henan cuisine, north-eastern China cuisine, royal style cuisine, Muslim style cuisine and vegetarian cuisine.

Each cuisine has its own specialty. For example, the Fujian cuisine has a dish called “happiness and longevity”. Its preparation is like this: first put some of the most nutritious ingredients (sea cucumber, dried scallop, shark’s fin, ham, tendons of beef, dove’s eggs, chicken, duck, etc) into a jar, then add some bone broth, Shaoxing rice wine and spices, next, cover the mouth of the jar with a lotus leaf, and last,

simmer it on the stove. It’s not hard to imagine how delicious and nutritious the dish would be. This dish has another well-known name—“Buddha jumping over the wall”. It may sound strange, but there’s an interesting story behind it. It is said that during the Qing Dynasty, a restaurant in Fuzhou (the capital city of Fujian Province) was very famous for its dishes. One day, the restaurant made the dish “happiness and longevity”, the aroma of the dish was so appetizing and spread so far that a monk in a nearby temple just couldn’t resist the temptation. In the end, he put aside the Buddhist discipline, jumped over the wall into the restaurant, and ate to his heart’s content. What happened to the monk afterwards, we do not know, but the reputation of the dish “Buddha jumping over the wall” spread afar. 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.

What is worth mentioning is that there’s a lot of cultural background knowledge involved in the naming of Chinese dishes. Often, it’s hard, even for the Chinese people themselves, to tell what is actually in a certain dish until it is served on the table. Of course, one can always turn to the waiter or waitress for explanation. In most cases, waiters and waitresses are ready to satisfy one’s curiosity.

Apart from having regard for the above-mentioned three essential factors —“color, aroma and taste”, Chinese cuisine attaches great importance to nutrition. As a matter of fact, Chinese cuisine has long been closely related to traditional Chinese medicine. Ginseng, walnut, Chinese angelica and the fruit of Chinese wolfberry are often used as ingredients in certain Chinese dishes.

中国筷子

与其他民族一样，中国最初的食用方法也是“以手奉饭”，也就是用手抓，或用手撕，至于使用筷、叉、刀、匙等进餐用具，则都是较晚的方法。其中，筷子是中国进餐习俗中的一绝，至今已有数千年的历史。筷子是日常生活中经常用到的一种进餐工具，也是中国人进餐时的必备用具。古代称为“箸”，也写作“筯”或“櫡”等，今俗称筷子。其形或下圆上方、或上下全圆而上粗下细，其制必长短相等、粗细相类，其用必成双成对、双箸齐举。通常以右手持筷，夹取饭菜。筷子的发明充分显示了中国人的灵巧和智慧。著名学者李政道曾说：“中国人早在春秋战国时代就发明了筷子。如此简单的两根东西，却高妙绝伦地应用了物理学上的杠杆原理。筷子是人类手指的延伸，手指能做的事，它都能做，且不怕高热，不怕寒冻，真是高明极了。比较起来，西方人大概到16世纪、17世纪才发明了刀叉，但刀叉哪能跟筷子相比呢?”日本的学者也曾测定：人在使用筷子夹取食物时，需要80多个关节和50条肌肉的协调运动，并且与脑神经有关。因此，用筷子吃饭可以使人心灵手巧。

郑传寅、张健《中国民俗辞典》中对筷子的形成、发展作了较精练的概括：“筷子，以竹木等材料制成的挟食器具。广泛流传于汉族和某些少数民族地区。远古时，用树枝、竹棍或天然的动物骨角制成，后改为竹、木刮削后制成。夏、商有牙筷、玉筷问世。春秋战国，又有铜筷和铁筷。汉魏六朝，始生产漆筷。稍后，又出现了银筷和金筷。以牙筷、犀角筷、乌木镶金筷和各种玉筷最为名贵。”

筷子的起源很早。据考证，在原始社会时期，古人类已经懂得用树枝、竹棍来插取或夹取食物，后来便逐渐演变成了木箸和竹箸。大约在距今三、四千年前的商代，就已经有了象牙箸和玉箸。《韩非子·喻老》载：“昔者，纣为象箸，而箕子怖。”可见以“酒池肉林”而臭名昭著的商纣王不仅追求饮食上的享受，而且