Chinese Cuisine Chinese Tea and Wine Culture

Chinese Cuisine

(1) A Brief Introduction to Chinese Cuisine

As a Chinese saying goes, “Food is the first necessity of the people.” (民以食为天, min yi shi wei tian)

Another saying is, “Desires for food and sex are basic human instincts.” (食色人之性也, shi se ren zhi xing ye)

Traditionally, the Chinese ancestors and sages held a conservative attitude toward sex but placed great emphasis on cuisine. Therefore, Chinese cuisine not only has developed highly but also has great social importance.

On important occasions, such as a wedding, welcoming a friend, or having a meeting, as often as not, feasting is an indispensable arrangement. In ancient times, administration of the state was depicted as “administering the tripods and quadripod” (定鼎, ding ding), a typical term in cookery, which reflected the high position of Chinese cuisine.

Chinese people are experts at eating. To the westerners’surprise, they eat all kinds of animals and certain animal’s viscera as well. In their opinion, the liver is nutrimental for blood; the kidney is nutrimental for a kidney. Therefore, petrel’s nest (燕窝, yanwo), bear’s palm (熊掌, xiongzhang), dragon’s (snake’s) gallbladder (蛇胆, shedan), elephant’s nose (象鼻, xiangbi) and shark’s fin (鱼翅, yuchi) find their places in the menu of Chinese cuisine as rare delicacies.

Western cuisine emphasizes science and nutrition, while Chinese cuisine attaches importance to artistry. Apart from satisfying the stomach, Chinese cuisine is chiefly regarded as a creative art. In the Chinese people’s minds, even the arrangement of the tableware is not a simple matter. It has to be done artistically. Since the Tang-Song Dynasties, Chinese houses of tea and restaurants have been located on a riverbank or lakeside or housed in garden architecture, providing their patrons with visual happiness.

The Chinese cuisine demands “色形香味俱全” (se xing xiang wei ju quan, the full presence of colour, shape, aroma, and taste).

Colour (色彩, secai) is one of the most significant requirements to create an aesthetically attractive dish. Usually, any Chinese entree combines three to five colours, selected from ingredients that are light green, dark green, red, yellow, white, black, or caramel coloured. Typically, a meat and vegetable dish is prepared from one main ingredient and two to three secondary ingredients of contrasting colors. They are then cooked appropriately, incorporating the proper seasonings and sauce with the use of appropriate garnishing to enhance their qualities and enable the chef to present a delicious platter of delicious, fragrant art.

Shape (形状, xingzhuang) mainly depends on methods of cutting. Raw materials are sliced, diced, shredded, or minced according to the requirements of the dish and the character of the raw food. Improper cutting makes food unattractive and causes unevenness in colour and taste. In stir-frying, improper cutting will result in small pieces being overcooked and big pieces remaining raw.

Aroma (香, xiang) means the fragrant and appetizing smell of the dishes. At a very early time, the Chinese people knew to use spices to prepare strongly fragrant dishes. Ancient poets sang high praise of home dishes, writing such lines as “bass, asparagus, and water-shield soup.”

Taste or flavour (味, wei) refers to tasting the food. The Chinese do not mind the nutrition of the food as much as its taste. Taste relies on the seasonings. There is many a taste—salty, sweet, sour, pungent, fragrant, bitter and so on. Proper seasonings are used to produce various dishes to suit a variety of appetites. A good Chinese chef knows what to add, how much to add and when to add. Also, some new tastes have been created, including “麻辣” (mala, numbing spicy sauce), “鱼香” (yuxiang, tasty fish-flavoured sauce), and “怪味” (guaiwei, strange salty, spicy, and sesame sauce), and so forth.

Apart from the above-mentioned “colour, shape, aroma and taste,” Chinese cooks also pay special attention to fire temperature (火候, huohou) to produce certain flavours. They have known the significance of this since ancient times. The eight delicacies of Ritual of Zhou (《周记》, zhouji) requires stewing, braising or simmering over a slow, small fire for a long time. A proper fire means a delicious dish. It is generally acknowledged that raw food should be cooked over a small fire for a long time as it is cut into large pieces. On the other hand, raw food cut into small pieces should be cooked over a high flame, in the form of frying and stir-frying. Different cooking methods are used to suit a variety of dishes. Sometimes a special pot is also used. It is sealed before being placed over the fire. Usually, the cooking period lasts such a long time that the ingredients smell nice and therefore eating becomes an exciting thing.

Also, there are about 50 methods of cooking in the Chinese cuisine, among which the basic ones include “煮, 堡/炖, 烧/焖/烩, 煎, 炒, 爆, 炸, 扒, 煸, 煨, 熏, 烤, 烘, 蒸, 白灼.”

1. “煮” (boiled) “煮豆腐” (zhu doufu, boiled beancurd)
   
2. “烫/炖” (stewed) “炖猪蹄” (dun zhuti, stewed trotter)
   
3. “烧/烟/烩” (braised) “红烧裡鱼” (hongshao liyu, braised carp in brown sauce)
   
4. “煎” (fried) “煎鸡蛋” (jian jidan, fried eggs)
   
5. “炒” (stir-fried) “炒鸡丁” (chao jiding, stir-fried chicken dices)
   
6. “爆” (quick-fried) “葱爆羊肉” (congbao yangrou, quick-fried lamb with scallion in ginger sauce)
   
7. “炸” (deep-fried) “炸油条” (zha youtiao, deep-fried twisted dough stick)
   
8. “扒” (fried and simmered) “奸子扒海参” (xiazi pa haishen, fried and simmered in sea cucumber with shrimp roe)
   
9. “煸” (sauteed) “干煸鳝鱼” (ganbian shanyu, sauteed eel slices)
   
10. “煨” (simmered) “煨火鸡” (wei huoji, simmered turkey)
    
11. “熏” (smoked) “熏鱼” (xun yu, smoked fish)
    
12. “烤” (roast, barbecued) “烤鸭” (kao ya, roast duck)
    
13. “烘” (baked) “烘鸽” (hong ge, baked pigeon)
    
14. “蒸” (steamed) “蒸慢头” (zheng mantou, steamed bun)
    
15. “烹” (peng, quick-fried in hot soil and stirred in sauce) “烹对虾” (peng duixia, quick-fried prawns)
    
16. “熬” (boiled/stewed) “熬豆浆” (ao doujiang, boiled soya-bean milk)
    
17. “烙” (baked) “烙烧饼” (lao shaobing, baked sesame pancakes)
    
18. “熘” (sauteed/quick-fried) “醋溜白菜” (culiu baicai, quick-fried cabbage with vinegar)
    
19. “涮” (scalded thin slices of meat, etc., in boiling water or dip-boiled) “涮羊肉” (shuan yangrou, dip-boiled mutton)
    
20. “卤” (pot-stewed) “卤菜” (lu cai, pot-stewed meat dish)
    
21. “泡/腌” (pickled) “泡菜” (pao cai, pickled vegetables)
    
22. “炝” (boiled and dressed) “炝腰花” (qiang yaohua, boiled and dressed pork kidney)
    
23. “白灼” (scalded) “白灼明虾” (baizhuo mingxia, scalded prawns)
    
24. “清蒸” (steamed in clear soup) “清蒸桂鱼” (qingzheng guiyu, steamed mandarin in clear soup)
    
25. “清炖” (stewed in clear soup) “清炖甲鱼” (qingdun jiayu, stewed turtle in clear soup)
    
26. “红烧” (braised in brown sauce) “红烧排骨” (hongshao paigu, braised spare ribs in brown sauce)
    
27. “麻辣” (in numbingly spicy sauce) “麻辣豆腐” (mala doufu, bean curd in numbing spicy sauce)
    
28. “酱爆” (in bean sauce) “酱爆茄子” (jiangbao qiezi, eggplant in bean sauce)
    
29. “鱼香” (in tasty fish-flavoured sauce) “鱼香肉丝” (yuxiang rousi, fish-flavoured pork shreds)
    
30. “糖醋” (with sweet and sour sauce) “糖醋排骨” (tangcu paigu, spareribs with sweet and sour sauce)
    
31. “宫保” (with chilli and peanuts) “宫保鸡丁” (gongbao jiding, diced chicken with chilli and peanuts)
    
32. “脆皮” (crispy in spicy sauce) “脆皮鱼” (cuipi yu, crispy fish)
    
33. “香穌” (crispy fried) “香穌鸭” (xiangsu ya, crispy fried duck)
    
34. “干煸” (dry-sauteed) “干煸四季豆” (ganbian sijidou, dry-sauteed string beans)
    
35. “盐水” (boiled in salt water) “盐水虾” (yanshui xia, boiled shrimps in salt water)
    
36. “家常” (homestyle) “家常豆腐” (jiachang doufu, homestyle bean curd)
    
37. “回锅” (double-sauteed) “回锅肉” (huiguo rou,  double-sauteed pork slices)
    
38. “五香” (spiced) “五香牛肉” (wuxiang niurou, spiced beef)
    
39. “砂锅” (in a casserole) “砂锅鱼翅” (shaguo yuchi, shark’s fin in a casserole)
    
40. “三鲜” (three delicacies) “三鲜水狡” (sanxian shui jiao, boiled three delicacies dumplings)
    
41. “咖喱” (with curry) “咖喔牛肉” (gali niurou, fried beef with curry)
    
42. “粉蒸” (steamed in rice flour) “粉蒸肉” (fen zhengrou, steamed pork in rice flour)
    
43. “醉” (liquor-preserved) “醉虾” (zui xia, liquor-preserved prawns)
    
44. “豆豉” (in black bean sauce) “豆豉桂鱼” (douchi guiyu, mandarin fish in black bean sauce)
    
45. “椒盐” (with pepper and salt) “椒盐排骨” (jiaoyan paigu, spareribs with pepper and salt)
    
46. “怪味” (multi-flavoured) “怪味鸡” (guaiwei ji, multi-flavoured chicken)
    

(2) The Chinese Philosophy of Dietetic Health

As a teacher, the founder of the Confucian school, and finally a philosopher, Confucius (孔子, kongzi) also placed great emphasis on food and regarded it as one of the three basic conditions, along with an army and trust for founding a state in his times of history.

Confucius developed some principles of dietetic hygiene and criteria for testing the hygiene of foods. He once said, “There is neither rejection of his rice being of the finest quality, nor to his meat being finely minced.” (食不厌精, 脍不厌细. shi bu yan jing, kuai bu yan xi.) Therefore, he emphasized the quality of the food. He said foods should not be eaten if they had rotted, if they were not well cooked, if they became discolored, if their smell had become bad, if they were out of season if they had been crookedly cut, if they lacked their proper seasoning, or if the wine and dried meat bought from the market were not fresh. He believed that people should not overeat even if there were many meat courses. This belief is reflected in the dietetic culture of the Chinese nation. Besides quality, Confucius also advocated moderateness while eating. He advised, “Do not eat too much” (不多食, bu duo shi), and he also recommended, “Do not talk at meals” (食不语, shi buyu), which keeps to the principle of building health through diet, as does “Do not take away the ginger” (不撤姜食, bu che jiang shi). Ginger is pungent, removes dampness, and reduces internal heat and fever, and so eating a bit of it before meals are beneficial to health and digestion. He emphasized that the dishes in his meals must be compatible, and did not resign himself to circumstances.

As regards the wine, Confucius said that no limits are laid down, but not so much as to make one disorderly (唯酒无量, 不及乱, wei jiu wuliang, bu ji luan). He meant that people could drink as much as they wanted, but they should not become drunk.

Confucius’s principles of dietetic and hygiene and criteria are reflected in the dietetic culture of the Chinese nation. They are also reflected in the Chinese words, which furthermore have their connotative meanings. Look at the following examples:

• “欠火候” (qian huohou): 1. be undercooked 2. things not done satisfactorily
  
• “夹生饭” (jia sheng fan): 1. half-cooked rice 2. task difficult to perform because it has not been done properly at the outset
  
• “回炉” (hui lu): 1. bake again 2. retrain by taking a refresher course
  
• “炒冷饭” (chao lengfan): 1. heat leftover rice 2. say or do the same old thing
  
• “炒就鱼” (chao youyu): 1. stir-fry squid 2. fire sb
  
• “煎熬” (jian'ao): 1. fry and boil 2. suffering; torment
  
• “大杂絵” (dazahui): hotchpotch
  
• “熏陶” (xuntao): exert a gradual, uplifting influence on
  
• “利欲熏心” (liyu xunxin): be obsessed with the desire for gain
  

(3) The Four Chinese Cuisine

Since ingredients vary in different places, Chinese food began to take in a local character regarding the ingredients. Chinese regional cuisine has evolved over the course of centuries, and the precise number is uncertain. Generally speaking, there are four primary gastronomic areas: Shandong, Cantonese, Sichuan, and Yangzhou; but these designations have no specific geographical boundaries. For example, Beijing cooking falls within the realm of Shandong Cuisine and includes Mongolian-influenced specialties. The cuisine in the Changjiang River delta area (长江三角洲地区, Changjiang sanjiaozhou diqu), including Huaiyin (淮阴), Suzhou (苏州), Shanghai (上海) and Hangzhou (杭州) dishes, falls under the Yangzhou cuisine.

Having influenced each other, cooking methods of the four regional cuisines are shared among themselves. Nevertheless, each regional cuisine has its history, unique techniques, distinguished dishes and popular taste.

①    Shandong Cuisine (鲁菜, lucai)

Shandong Province was the birthplace of Confucius, who presided over a rich mixture of philosophy and gastronomy 2,500 years ago. Shandong cooking belongs to the Northern cooking style and should be more precisely called the cooking tradition in the kitchen in the North China Plain. Within the realm of northern provinces, Beijing, Hebei (河北), Shanxi (山西), Shaanxi (陕西) and other northern areas all have their unique cooking styles. Wheat buns (馒头, mantou) and pancakes (烧饼, shaobing) are the staple food here. Shandong cuisine includes the menus of the emperors of the Yuan (1206 A. D.—1368 A. D.), Ming (1368 A. D.—1644 A. D.) and Qing (1616 A. D.—1911 A. D.) dynasties, when the imperial capital was located in Beijing. Popular dishes noted throughout China then include Dezhou Braised Chicken (德州扒鸡, Dezhou paji), roast pork (烤肉, kaorou), fried stomach and nine-bends pig intestines (九转大肠, jiuzhuan dachang). Two Beijing delicacies should be mentioned in particular. One is Peking Roast Duck (北京烤鸭, Beijing kaoya), which has become a favorite of people outside Beijing and even with the foreigners, is made using force-fed ducks. The duck is roasted in Yangzhou (扬州) style to perfect the color and taste, then seasoned with fermented flour sauce, and eaten with onions and pancakes baked in Shandong style. The other is Manchu and Han Overall Feast (满汉全席, manhan quanxi), which marked the peak of the Beijing cuisine. It consisted of nearly 200 cold dishes and dozens of refreshments and pastries. The main courses were Manchu style roast dishes, shark fin, edible bird’s nest, sea cucumbers (海参, haishen), jellyfish (海蜇, haizhe), and abalone (鲍, bao) served in southern style. Supplemented by traditional Manchu pastries and Huai’an—Yangzhou or Jiangsu—Zhejiang style dishes, Manchu and Han Overall Feast accurately reflected the cooking skills and flavours of Beijing cuisine.

Located on China’s eastern seaboard, Shandong cuisine certainly includes many seafood dishes, such as shark’s fin, sea cucumbers and scallops (干贝, ganbei), all of which are available in dried form. The coastal areas are also home to such dishes as swallow’s nests in consommé (清烛燕窝, qingdun yanwo), fried oysters (炸蛎黄, zha lihuang), steamed red porgy (清蒸加吉鱼, qingzheng jiajiyu), and conch in brown sauce (红烧海螺, hongshao hailuo).

Also, Shandong cuisine is also famous for its milk soups. The specialty of Jinan cuisine “Milk Soup of Cattail” (奶汤蒲菜, naitang pucai) was elaborately made by cattail grown in the Darning Lake (大明湖, daminghu) and thus enjoyed fame.

②    Cantonese Cuisine (粤菜, yuecai)

The Guangdong style of cooking is perhaps the most familiar to the Westerners, for many Chinese restaurants established outside China are of this type. The name for this cuisine comes from the old name for the city now known as Guangzhou (广州, Guangzhou). Features of this style are various dishes and their beautiful presentation. Guangdong cuisine is famous for its wide and strict selection of ingredients. Seafood and game food are top-notch courses. Apart from chicken, duck and goose(鹅, e), pigeon, partridge (山鹑, shanchun) and quail (鹌鹑, anchun) also make delectable dishes. The dietetic culture of Guangdong has surprisingly retained many eating habits and customs of the ancient people, and eating a snake is an example. Now snake dishes are world-renowned, as the snake is a unique native. Also, the people of Guangdong eat everything that walks, crawls, flies or swims. Plenty of fresh vegetables are also used in Guangdong cuisine. These vegetables are cooked for the shortest time possible to maintain their natural crispness. In short, Cantonese dishes tend to be light, sweet, delicious, refreshing and slippery.

Guangdong food covers the southeastern corner of the country. Within the Guangdong food family, there is an enormous range of various local cuisine in Chaozhou (潮州), Shantou (汕头), Dongjiang (东江), as well as the cooking of the Hakka people (客家人, kejiaren).

Some of the flavourings used in Cantonese cooking are the oyster sauce, shrimp paste, plum sauce, and fish extract. Some of the best-known dishes are Roast Suckling Pig (烤乳猪, kao ruzhu), Battle Between the Dragon and the Tiger (a stew of snake and cat) (龙虎斗, longhu dou), Fried Milk, Salt-baked Duck (咸烘鸭, xian hongya), Dog Meat Casserole (狗肉砂锅, gourou shaguo), along with roast duck, chicken, goose and pork.

Many kinds of porridge and refreshments also characterize Cantonese cooking. The porridge is prepared with ingredients of hens, pig’s bones, dried scallops and soybean rolls. Hundreds of cakes and refreshments are offered for customers’ convenience.

③    Sichuan Cuisine (川菜, chuancai)

Sichuan cuisine dates back to the ancient Ba Kingdom (modern Chongqing) and Shu Kingdom (modern Chengdu) and is noted for its hot, tongue-numbing, sour and delicious tastes. Nevertheless, Sichuan dishes have many other flavors. A popular saying goes, “China has food, and Sichuan has flavor.” The flavors of Sichuan cuisine can be rather complex. Cooks blend many spices together to make a variety of flavors, including “酸辣味” (suanla wei, hot and sour sauce), “鱼香味” (yuxiang wei, tasty fish-flavored sauce), “麻辣味” (mala wei, numbingly spicy sauce) and “烟熏味” (yanxun wei, smoked flavor sauce).

With Chengdu flavor as the orthodox, Sichuan cuisine includes Chongqing cuisine (重庆菜), Zigong cuisine (自贡菜), and so on. Sichuan cuisine has a long history of being unique. Some of the popular dishes are Fish-flavored Pork Shreds (鱼香肉丝, yuxiang rousi), Fuqi Ox Lung Slice (夫妻肺片, fuqi feipian), Mapo Bean Curd (麻婆豆腐, mapo doufu), Crispy Chunks of Rice (锅巴肉片, guoba roupian), Twice-cooked Pork (回锅肉, hui guo rou), Fish-flavored Eggplant (鱼香前子, yuxiang qiezi) and Diced Chicken with Chilli and Peanuts (宫保鸡丁, gongbao jiding).

Sichuan cuisine pays attention to balancing colour, odour, flavour, shape, and nutrition; so dishes look not only pleasant and appealing but also delicious and nutritious. Sichuan cuisine has several hundred indigenous dishes, of which some dishes are intentionally prepared for tourists. No wonder travellers at home and abroad have a liking for Sichuan food that suits their tastes at a banquet, dinner, lunch, or snacks.

④ Yangzhou Cuisine (淮阴菜, huanyin cai)

Yangzhou is located in China’s agriculturally rich Changjiang River valley. The cooking of Yangzhou is a real melting pot, combining the relishes of both the South and the North.

The Yangzhou food has a great variety of dishes, borrowed widely from the surrounding Delta, notably from Jiangsu (江苏) and Zhejiang (浙江) Provinces, where cities such as Suzhou (苏州), Hangzhou (杭州), Shanghai (上海) and Nanjing (南京) are located. Plenty of vegetables are available in this region, and so Yangzhou cuisine stresses the widespread use of vegetables. Vegetable dishes make up the bulk of ordinary people’s daily meals but are also popular dishes on the menus of famous restaurants. The taste of Yangzhou cuisine is heavier than that of Guangzhou since Yangzhou cuisine takes a litter longer to prepare and so vegetables and meats take in more of the sauces.

Yangzhou cuisine attaches importance to simmering, stewing, braising, boiling in a covered pot and steaming. Much of the food is fried. Sesame oil (麻油, mayou) and vinegar (醋, cu) are frequently used. In addition, spices like garlic (蒜, suan), ginger (姜, jiang), and small (but very hot) red peppers (小红椒, xiao hongjiao) are also used; the seasonings tend to be sweeter with more sugar and dark soy used in their preparation.

Yangzhou is characterized by the abundant production of lake food and seafood. It is also famous for exquisitely crafted snacks. Some of the notable dishes include West Lake Fish with Vinegar (西湖醋鱼, xihu cuyu), Lion’s Head Meatballs (狮子头, shizi tou), Wuxi Soft Pork Ribs (无锡软骨, wuxi rangu) and Saline Duck. (盐水鸭, yanshui ya).

(4) The Ways in Naming Chinese Dishes

When ordinary dishes are given beautiful names, it adds the attractiveness of the dishes and makes diners happy. There are several ways of naming Chinese dishes, reflecting different cultural traditions, customs and aesthetic tastes of Han nationality in different places.

① According to inventors, such as Dongpo Pork (东坡肉, dongpo rou), Pockmarked Bean Curd (麻婆豆腐, mapo tofu), Goubuli Steamed Stuffed Bun (狗不理包子, goubuli baozi). It is said that Dongpo Pork was invented by Su Dongpo (苏东坡), or Su Shi (苏拭), a famous Ci poet of the Song Dynasty (宋朝, songchao, 960 A. D. —1279 A. D.). Pockmarked bean curd got its name because its inventor was a pockmarked woman named Chen. Similarly, Goubuli Steamed Stuffed Bun was invented by Gou Buli.

② According to places, such as Peking Roast Duck (北京烤鸭, Beijing kaoya), West Lake Fish with Vinegar (西湖醋鱼, xihu cuyu), Northern Sichuan Bean Jelly (川北凉粉, chuanbei liangfen) and Daokou Braised Chicken (道口烧鸡, daokou shaoji). These dishes were so named because they were especially delicious in these places and thus were spread to other parts of the country.

③ According to shapes, such as Goldfish Steamed Dumplings (金鱼蒸饺, jinyu zhengjiao), Dragon Whiskers Noodles (龙须面, longxumian), Duck Shaped Like a Lotus Flower Just Emerging from Water (出水芙蓉, chushui furong), Cat’s-ear-shaped Flour (猫耳朵, mao erduo).

④ According to colours, such as Amber Peanuts (琥珀花生, hupo huasheng), Jadeite Shrimp (翡翠虾, feicui xia), Green Vegetable Soup (翡翠羹, feicuigeng), Crystal Pork Leg (水晶猪肘, shuijing zhuzhou), Pearl Meatballs (珍珠丸子, zhenzhu wanzi).

⑤ According to tastes, such as Crispy Fried Chicken (香穌鸡, xiangsuji), Multi-flavored Bean Curd (怪味豆腐, guaiwei doufu), Bean Curd with Hot Pepper (麻辣豆腐, mala doufu), Boiled Duck in Salt Water (咸水鸭, xianshui ya), Crispy Fried Chicken with Curry (咖喔酥鸡, gali suji), Sour and Spicy Fish Soup (酸辣鱼汤, suanla yutang).

⑥ According to flowers, such as Osmanthus Meat (桂花肉, guihua rou), Lotus Eggs (芙蓉蛋, furong dan), Lotus Prawns (荷花大虾, hehua daxia).

⑦ According to different kinds of oil, such as Shredded Tripe with Chilli oil (红油肚丝, hongyou dusi), Mushrooms in Oyster Sauce (蚝油香菇, haoyou xiang gu), Oil-fried Dough Cake (大油饼, dayoubing).

⑧ According to utensils, such as Bean Curd in Casserole (砂锅豆腐, shaguo doufu), Chicken in Earthen Jar (瓦罐鸡肉, waguan jirou), Ham in Hotpot (火锅肘子, huoguo zhouzi).

⑨ According to ingredients, such as Mushrooms and Sliced Chicken (香菇鸡片, xiang gu jipian), Shredded Pork and Dried Vegetables (干菜肉丝, gancai rousi), Shredded Pork and Hot Pickled Mustard Tuber (榨菜肉丝, zhacai rousi).

⑩ According to Traditional Chinese medicine, such as Diced Chicken with Chinese Angelica (当归鸡块, danggui jikuai), Beef with Dried Orange Peel (陈皮牛肉, chenpi niurou), Mandarin Fish with Ginseng (人参桂鱼, renshen guiyu). Chinese angelica, dried orange peel, and ginseng, the Chinese medical herbs, are efficient in nourishing the body.

⑪ According to images, Prosperity Brought by Dragon and Phoenix (龙凤呈祥, longfeng chengxiang). “龙凤呈祥” refers to the dish of snake and chicken. It derives its auspicious name because snakes are like dragons while chicken and Phoenix are often related to each other. Ants Climbing the Trees (蚂蚁上树, mayi shangshu). This dish is vermicelli with spicy minced pork. It is so named because minced pork seems like ants while vermicelli looks like branches. Lion’s Head (狮子头, shizi tou) are big meatballs, which are shaped like lion’s heads.

⑫ According to methods of cooking, such as Deep-fried Prawns (炸大虾, zha daxia), Braised Carp in Brown Sauce (红烧鲍鱼, hongshao liyu), Quick-fried Yellow Croaker (烹黄鱼, peng huangyu).

⑬ According to mythologies and historical stories, such as Rice-flour Noodles in Yunnan (过桥米线, guoqiang mixian). “过桥米线” is a famous Yunnan snack dish, which is made by boiling rice-flour noodles in a specially-made chicken soup. A legend goes that in ancient times, to pass the imperial examination, a scholar lived in a quiet place, fully obsessed in his study. Since this place was far away from his house, his considerate wife had to send him meals every day. The wife boiled noodles in the chicken soup to warm the noodles longer. The wife had to pass a bridge to reach her husband’s residence. Then this kind of noodles got the name of “过桥米线.”

Another example is Three Sworn Brothers in Peach Garden (桃园三结义, taoyuan sanjieyi). “桃园三结义” refers to a dish, which consists of three ingredients, in white, red and black respectively. The dish derived its name from a well-known story. It is said that Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei swore to be brothers in the Peach Garden, and their sincere and faithful friendship appealed to the people generations after generations.

Tea Culture

China is the homeland of tea. The word “tea” is one of the few English words of Chinese origin. It is derived from the plant’s name as it is pronounced in South China. In Putonghua, it is pronounced “cha (茶).” In South China, it is pronounced “te” or “tay,” the vowel sound being “e.”

As regards the discovery of tea, according to a legend, over 5,000 years ago, Shen Nong (神农), a divine farmer discover tea in wild mountains, “Shen Nong used to taste hundreds of herbs for medical purposes. One day he tasted seventy-two poisonous herbs, but with the aid of tea he was detoxified.” At the very beginning, tea was used as an antidotal medicine. Then it was found to be able to relieve internal heat and refresh the mind, and people began to drink it. The Chinese started to drink tea at about the same time as the Egyptians built the pyramids. With a long history of tea drinking, tea culture was regarded as a symbol of the Chinese culture.

Tea occupies an important position in the everyday life of the Chinese, as is illustrated in a saying, “The seven first things in the morning are: firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and tea.” (早晨起来七件事， 柴米油盐酱醋茶。zaochen qilai qijian shi, chai mi you yan jiang cu cha.)

It is generally believed that the habit of tea drinking originated in Sichuan Province around 3,000 years ago. People there started to drink tea early in Spring and Autumn Period (春秋时期, chunqiu shiqi). In Qin Dynasty (秦朝, qinchao, 221 B. C.—206 B. C.), tea drinking spread to other areas of China; and according to The History of Sichuan, local people began to plant tea during the Western Han Dynasty (西汉, xihan, 206 B. C.—25 A. D.).

Zhang Jingyang (张景阳) of the Western Jin Dynasty (西晋, xijin, 265 A. D.—317 A. D.) sang high praise of tea produced on Mt. Qingcheng (青城山) near Chengdu. In a poem entitled Climbing Chengdu’s Bai Tu Tower (《登成都白菟楼诗》, deng Chengdu baitulou shi), Zhang says, “Fragrant tea is superior to the sixth quiet story of Taoism, and its pleasant taste spreads to the nine realms.” (芳茶冠六清，溢味播九区。fang cha guan liu qing, yi vuei bo jiu qu.)

The custom of tea drinking gradually spread out from Sichuan; and towards the end of the Western Han Dynasty (西汉, xihan, 206 B. C.—220 A. D. ), drinking tea became a fashion for those people with high social status. Later, from the Jin (晋, jin, 265 A. D.—420 A. D.) to the Sui (隋, sui, 581 A. D.—618 A. D.) Dynasties, tea-drinking, became popular among the common people. At that time, some literary works concerning tea appeared. For example, “Xiangmingfu” (《香茗赋》) written in Jin Dynasty was the representative work of the tea literature of that time.

Tea drinking proposed in the Tang Dynasty (唐朝, tangchao, 618 A. D.—907 A. D.). As it grew more and more popular, the way of the drinking varied. People were fastidious about not only the tea production place, the picking, and the making of tea but also the drinking appliance and the way of drinking tea.

Usually one went through several stages before drinking. The first stage was to select tea; the second was to choose well-made teacups and cooking utensils; the third was to prepare charcoal; the fourth was to get water; the fifth was to bake the chosen tea; the sixth was to grind it; the seventh was to boil the tea; and the final stage was to drink the tea. People thought that the tea would taste better by going through these procedures. They were also particular about the water. The norms of grading the water are deliciousness, freshness, and sweetness. Apart from the water obtained from the mountain, the springs and the wells, rainwater, ice water, dew water and snow water are sometimes used to make tea, which can be shown in an example from A Dream of Red Mansions, Lady Miao Yu (妙玉), who was an expert in savoring tea, collected snowflakes on plum blossoms, buried the snowflakes under the earth for five years, and then used the dissolved water to make tea,

Lu Yu (陆羽) of the Tang Dynasty had a strong liking for sampling tea. He lived on the tea mountain of Jiangxi Province and planted tea himself. He was named as “Tea God.” (茶神, chashen) He first thought out the way to boil tea and wrote the book Tea Canon (3 volumes) (《茶经》, chajing), making an account of the shape and properties, production place, picking and making, boiling and drinking of tea in detail. It was the first book about tea in China.

In the Song Dynasty (宋朝, songchao, 960 A. D.—1279 A. D.) people came to drink tea even more delicately than in Tang times and the technique for making tea greatly improved. The book Chalu (《茶录》) written by Cai Xiang (蔡襄) was a book about tea. It consists of two volumes, one describing tea and the other describing tea vessels. There was even tea brick, which was also called cake tea.

In the Song Dynasty, the farmers who lived on tea were called tea farmers. Ten or fifteen families were considered as one unit. The tea shops were named in line with each family name. The tea managers must hold the tea li-cense granted by local authorities after they paid taxes. In Chengdu, even “official tea” was offered by tea service centers for passersby free of charge.

By the Yuan Dynasty (元朝, yuanchao, 1206 A. D.—1368 A. D.), drinking tea was ubiquitous. Making tea was one of the seven necessities of everyday life. Meanwhile, the method of drinking tea changed—no longer adding additional condiments into tea but pure boiling to make tea.

In Ming and Qing Dynasties, tea-drinking differed from that of previous dynasties. People drank tea in almost the same way as we do today, except the method of drinking tea was constantly changing. At that time, people drank piece-tea instead of solid-tea and tea makers stir-fried tea to strengthen tea-leaves’ flavor. In the Ming Dynasty (明朝, mingchao,1368 A. D.—1644 A. D.), green tea was the most common tea-drink, but flower tea also came into being. Down to the Qing Dynasty (清朝, qingchao, 1616 A. D.—1911 A. D.), jasmine tea (茉莉花茶, molihua cha) was produced in Suzhou. In the Qing Dynasty, Oolong Tea (乌龙茶, wulong cha) and black tea (红茶, hong cha) appeared.

Tea seed was spread to foreign countries at a very early time along with the technique for making tea trees. In the Tang Dynasty tea was spread to Japan and later the world-famous Japanese tea ceremony came to be formed. Early in the 17th-century tea was spread to West Europe and became the favorite drink of European people.

Wine Culture

China considers itself as one of the leading countries in wine brewing in the world. The Chinese word “jiu” (酒) is commonly loosely translated as “wine”; but the word, in fact, can refer to any alcoholic beverage, from beer to liquor of any kind including grape wine. Refer to Chinese liquor Baijiu.

China is one of the countries with the longest history of the production of alcoholic beverages. It is said that at the early stage of the Xia Dynasty (夏朝, Xiachao, 2070 B. C.—1600 B. C.), a woman called Yi Di (仪狄) presented Yu (禹) with a tasty wine that she made by fermenting rice wrapped in mulberry leaves.

Another legend says that people began brewing alcoholic drinks during the era of Huang Di (黄帝). An ancient book entitled The Yellow Emperor’s Canon of Internal Medicine (《黄帝内经》, huangdi neijing) records a conversation between Huang Di and Qi Bo. Huang Di asked, “Please tell me how to make a sweet alcoholic drink from rice?” Qi Bo replied, “Rice of fine-quality is required, and rice straw can be used to warm it.”

The most popular story is about Du Kang (杜康), who is said to have been a shepherd during the Zhou Dynasty (周朝, Zhouchao, 1046 B. C.—256 B. C.). One day when he hurriedly herded the sheep back to avoid heavy rain, he forgot to take away his bamboo tube hanging from the tree. The tube was full of millet. He soon forgot about his loss. Fourteen days later he came across the tube, surprisingly find that the millet had turned into fragrant wine. Inspired by this discovery, he began brewing the wine. Therefore, his name is naturally associated with alcohol, which is illustrated in Cao Cao’s poem, “What relieves my worries? Only Du Kang does. (何以解忧，唯有杜康。he yi jie you, wei you du kang.)”

The wine has been intimately intertwined with almost every aspect of Chinese culture since the earliest times. It has been regarded as a unique culture in China. Traditionally, Chinese drink wine only when eating. It is said that alcohol should be consumed slowly to enhance pleasure. Moreover, drinking in China has long been connected with establishing new friendships or personal, political or business relations. Wine is present in certain situations, such as sending off an army on an expedition or celebrating triumph, wedding, anniversary or treaties signing ceremonies. On the occasion of tomb sweeping, wine is sprinkled at the front and on the top of tombs in honor of the deceased. In ancient times, when people practiced divination, prayed for rainfall, or worshipped deities and ghosts, the wine was usually used to show reverence. Even when a prisoner was taken to be sentenced, he was offered a bowl of wine. The wine has a very important place on solemn occasions.

When drinking, the Chinese often play drinking games so as not to get drunk, but for fun. The aim is to heighten the drinking atmosphere. One popular game is finger guessing (猜拳, caiquan). There are many watchwords in the game, different in localities, but all use the ten-numerals from one to ten. The guest stretches some fingers and says a number. The other guest also stretches out some fingers and says a number. When the number of all the stretched fingers corresponds with the number one says, this guest wins, and the other loses. And vice versa. The loser is penalized by drinking wine. If the loser refuses to take the penalty, he will be laughed at by others at the table, but all are done with goodwill. Thus, drinking wine becomes an amusement and pleasure.

Another popular game is practicing wine orders (行酒令, xing jiuling). In this game, someone is the commander (令官, lingguan) and others must obey his orders, either to compose a poem or to do some other things. The person who fails to carry out the order is penalized by drinking. This game is a favorite among the upper-class people. This game is frequently found in A Dream of Red Mansions, where versatile ladies often did it to enhance pleasure.

Besides drinking wine, ancient Chinese scholars are fond of writing poems and monographs after tasting liquor. Li Bai, one of the greatest poets of the Tang Dynasty, had a strong liking for drinking wine and thus got a nickname of “great drinker” (酒仙, jiuxian). He felt great pleasure before or after drinking, which was described in some of his poems. The following are extracts from such poems.

将进酒

人生得意须尽欢，莫使金樽空对月。

ren sheng de yi xu jin huan,mo shi jin zun kong dui yue.

天生我材必有用，千金散尽还复来。

tian sheng vuo cai bi you yong,qian jin san jin huan fu lai.

烹羊宰牛且为乐，会须一饮三百杯。

peng yang zai niu qie wei le, hui xu yi yin san bai bei.

For the Moment, Drinking Wine

When hopes are won, O drink your fill in high delight and never leave your wine-up empty in the moonlight.

Heaven has made our talents; we’re not made in vain.

A thousand gold coins spent, more will turn up again.

(Kill a cow, cook a sheep and let us merry be, to drink three hundred cupfuls of wine in high glee.)