Chinese cuisine
"Chinese food" redirects here. For international Chinese cuisine variations, see § Outside China. For other uses, see Chinese food (disambiguation).
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Chinese cuisine comprises cuisines originating from China, as well as from Chinese people from other parts of the world. Because of the Chinese diaspora and historical power of the country, Chinese cuisine has profoundly influenced many other cuisines in Asia and beyond, with modifications made to cater to local palates. Chinese food staples such as rice, soy sauce, noodles, tea, chili oil, and tofu, and utensils such as chopsticks and the wok, can now be found worldwide.
The world's earliest eating establishments recognizable as restaurants in the modern sense first emerged in Song dynasty China during the 11th and 12th centuries.[1][2] Street food became an integral aspect of Chinese food culture during the Tang dynasty, and the street food culture of much of Southeast Asia was established by workers imported from China during the late 19th century.[3]
The preferences for seasoning and cooking techniques of Chinese provinces depend on differences in social class, religion, historical background, and ethnic groups. Geographic features including mountains, rivers, forests, and deserts also have a strong effect on the local available ingredients, considering that the climate of China varies from tropical in the south to subarctic in the northeast. Imperial royal and noble preference also plays a role in the change of Chinese cuisine. Because of imperial expansion, immigration, and trading, ingredients and cooking techniques from other cultures have been integrated into Chinese cuisines over time and Chinese culinary influences have spread worldwide.
There are numerous regional, religious, and ethnic styles of Chinese cuisine found within China and abroad. Chinese cuisine is highly diverse and most frequently categorised into provincial divisions, although these province-level classifications consist of many more styles within themselves. During the Qing dynasty, the most praised Four Great Traditions in Chinese cuisine were Chuan, Lu, Yue, and Huaiyang, representing cuisines of West, North, South, and East China, respectively.[4][5] In 1980, a modern grouping from Chinese journalist Wang Shaoquan's article published in the People's Daily newspaper identified the Eight Cuisines of China as Anhui (徽菜; Huīcài), Guangdong (粵菜; Yuècài), Fujian (閩菜; Mǐncài), Hunan (湘菜; Xiāngcài), Jiangsu (蘇菜; Sūcài), Shandong (魯菜; Lǔcài), Sichuan (川菜; Chuāncài), and Zhejiang (浙菜; Zhècài).[6][5]
Chinese cuisine is deeply intertwined with traditional Chinese medicine, such as in the practise of Chinese food therapy. Color, scent and taste are the three traditional aspects used to describe Chinese food,[8] as well as the meaning, appearance, and nutrition of the food. Cooking should be appraised with respect to the ingredients used, knife work, cooking time, and seasoning.
History[edit]
Pre-Tang dynasty[edit]
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Chinese society greatly valued gastronomy, and developed an extensive study of the subject based on its traditional medical beliefs. Chinese culture initially centered around the North China Plain. The first domesticated crops seem to have been the foxtail and broomcorn varieties of millet, while rice was cultivated in the south. By 2000 BC, wheat had arrived from western Asia. These grains were typically served as warm noodle soups instead of baked into bread as in Europe. Nobles hunted various wild game and consumed mutton, pork and dog as these animals were domesticated. Grain was stored against famine and flood and meat was preserved with salt, vinegar, curing, and fermenting. The flavor of the meat was enhanced by cooking it in animal fats though this practice was mostly restricted to the wealthy.[10]
By the time of Confucius in the late Zhou, gastronomy had become a high art. Confucius discussed the principles of dining:
The Lüshi chunqiu notes: "Only if one is chosen as the Son of Heaven will the tastiest delicacies be prepared [for him]."[12]
The Zhaohun (4-3rd c. BC) gives some examples: turtle ragout, honey cakes and beer (chilled with ice).
During Shi Huangdi's Qin dynasty, the empire expanded into the south. By the time of the Han dynasty, the different regions and cuisines of China's people were linked by major canals and leading to greater complexity in the different regional cuisines. Not only is food seen as giving "qi", energy, but the food is also about maintaining yin and yang.[13] The philosophy behind it was rooted in the I Ching and Chinese traditional medicine: food was judged for color, aroma, taste, and texture and a good meal was expected to balance the Four Natures ('hot', warm, cool, and 'cold') and the Five Tastes (pungent, sweet, sour, bitter, and salty). Salt was used as a preservative from early times, but in cooking was added in the form of soy sauce, and not at the table.[14]
By the Later Han period (2nd century), writers[who?] frequently complained of lazy aristocrats who did nothing but sit around all day eating smoked meats and roasts.
During the Han dynasty, the Chinese developed methods of food preservation for military rations during campaigns such as drying meat into jerky and cooking, roasting, and drying grain.[15] Chinese legends claim that the roasted, flat bread shaobing was brought back from the Xiyu (the Western Regions, a name for Central Asia) by the Han dynasty General Ban Chao, and that it was originally known as hubing (胡餅, lit. "barbarian bread"). The shaobing is believed to be descended from the hubing.[16] Shaobing is believed to be related to the Persian nan and Central Asian nan, as well as the Middle Eastern pita.[17][18][19][20] Foreign westerners made and sold sesame cakes in China during the Tang dynasty.[21]
During the Southern and Northern dynasties non-Han people like the Xianbei of Northern Wei introduced their cuisine to northern China, and these influences continued up to the Tang dynasty, popularizing meat like mutton and dairy products like goat milk, yogurts, and Kumis among even Han people. It was during the Song dynasty that Han Chinese developed an aversion to dairy products and abandoned the dairy foods introduced earlier.[22]
The Han Chinese rebel Wang Su who received asylum in the Xianbei Northern Wei after fleeing from Southern Qi, at first could not stand eating dairy products like goat's milk and meat like mutton and had to consume tea and fish instead, but after a few years he was able to eat yogurt and lamb, and the Xianbei Emperor asked him which of the foods of China (Zhongguo) he preferred, fish vs mutton and tea vs yogurt.[23][24][25][26]
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