A Contrary Between Chinese And Western Dietary Cultures中西饮食文化对比

A Contrary Between

Chinese And Western Dietary Cultures

Abstract

In Maslow's hierarchy of needs, physiological needs is the basic need to us human beings. And diet rank first in human’s basic physiological needs. With the

developing of the society, diet is no longer a simple physiological need. Gradually, it became one of the elementary styles of our social life. After years of transition, Chinese and Western countries gradually set up different kinds of diet cultures. The differences of diet culture exist in many aspects, such as conception, component , meaning and manners . So it’s very important for us to learn about the differences between dietary cultures.

By introducing something about the content of Chinese and Western diet cultures, recommending the conception of Chinese and Western diet cultures and comparing the component between Chinese and Western diet cultures, this paper aims to introduce Chinese and Western diet culture and point out the differences between them. This can help us when we communicate with people from Western countries.

[key words] dietary;cultures;differences; conception; component

content

ABSTRACT .......................................................................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER ONE .................................................................................................................................... 5 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................. 5 CHAPTER TWO ................................................................................................................................... 7 THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN CHINESE AND WESTERN DIET CULTURES IN CONCEPTIONS ................... 7 2.1 CONCEPTIONS OF CHINESE DIET .............................................................................................................. 7 2.2 CONCEPTIONS OF WESTERN DIET ......................................................................................................... 7 CHAPTER THREE ................................................................................................................................. 8 THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN CHINESE AND WESTERN DIET CULTURES IN COMPONENT .................... 8 3.1 COMPONENT OF CHINESE DIET............................................................................................................. 8 3.1.1 Vegetables ............................................................................................................................... 8 3.1.2Wheat and rice ......................................................................................................................... 9 3.2COMPONENT OF WESTERN DIET ........................................................................................................... 9 3.2.1 Meat ........................................................................................................................................ 9 3.2.2Wheat ....................................................................................................................................... 9 CHAPTER FOUR ................................................................................................................................ 10 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................................... 10

Chapter One Introduction

For over half a million years diet and the search for food have influenced both human and historical development. The study of diet lends itself to multiple \"ologies\" - anthropology, biology, ecology, mythology, technology and zoology among them. (Food in History) Because food is an imperative element of human survival, and because there has never been any other satisfactory human body fuel that could replace it, abundant lore about food has appeared throughout human society and culture. From evidence in ancient (and modern) burial grounds to classical and contemporary literature, from verbal tradition to recorded histories, from ballads to poetry, from stories about food practices and their numerous meanings, foodways have been present wherever people are gathered. (Foodways and Folklore, viii) It is very important for us to learn about the diet culture. And the diet culture has developed for thousand years. Both China and West have developed a mature system. So it is also very important to explore the differences between diet cultures.

China has a centuries-old diet history. There are Chinese restaurant around the world. Western food also forms an independent system. Now, it becomes a popularity to eat Western food in many eastern countries, including China. In Western countries, their conception of diet is more rational. However, Chinese conception of diet is more sentimental. With the time past, Chinese formed an eating habit based on vegetables. At the same time, Westerners formed an eating habit based on meat. In China, people give diet abundance meanings. But in Western countries, diet just means eating food or a chance of communicating with others. Chinese diet manners

are different from Western countries in the arrival time and the tool used when we have the diet.

Chapter Two

The differences between Chinese and Western diet cultures

in conceptions

2.1 Conceptions of Chinese diet

Chinese diet is a sense of beauty diet and pays attention to “colour , aroma and taste”. But they always regardless of the nutrition. Chinese dishes are always cooked carefully to meet the standards. For example, in a Chinese family ,when they cook a meal ,they will always chop the meat and vegetables into small pieces. The pieces which are the right size for chewing will be put in a certain place before cuisine. There will be many kinds of flavouring in each dishes. What’s more, Chinese stress the beautiful appearance of the dishes. They always design the appearance before cooking. They pay much attention on choosing and combining the fodder to make the colour seems more harmonious. Besides, they also make some decoration in the dishes to make it looks more beautiful.The decorations are always made of fodder. Even a carrot can be made into a beautiful flower by the cooker. Because of the beauty of the dishes, Chinese always give each dish a beautiful name which is always sounds like a poem. Then you will have a good imagination and association to let you have a good appetite Although the colour and the appearance are very important , the taste is always the most important point in the dishes. Chinese has various of seasonings. They never only use a single kind of seasoning in one dish. In Sichuan provience, there can be almost 20 kinds of seasonings for you to choose from when you have the chaffy dish .

2.2 Conceptions of Western diet

Western diet has a rational conception which regardless of the color of food, incense, flavor and shape. But nutritions must be assured. They don’t care about the finish of the dish. They just make the food for eating. Such as steak, you can’t tell the differences of the steaks in Western countries. They are just pieces of steak looks the same. They taste the same, too. There are less decoration in a dish. The Westerners don’t take care of the beauty of the dishes. However, their dishes contains all the nutrition such as fat, protein, vitamin and so on. These are all needed by human body. Their conception of seeking for health can be seen from their diet culture. Different from the Chinese dishes, Western dishes don’t have such beautiful and imaginable names. For instance, there is a traditional food call \"fish and chips\" in the UK. You see it is very obvious it is fried fish and potato chips. Western food is just a food. It is not a article. Westerners’ diet culture is

more rational.

Chapter Three

The differences between Chinese and Western diet cultures

in component

3.1 Component of Chinese diet 3.1.1 Vegetables

Chinese diet is based on the vegetables. According to a research, Chinese eat almost 600 kinds of vegetables. On the contrast, Westerners only eat about 100 kinds of vegetables(Hot Spot And Research). The reason for this phenomenon may be related to the religious faith in ancient China. Once there had been a great many Chinese who believe in Buddhism. There was principles in its tenets which told Buddhist not to kill life. There are also some contents about forbidding them from eating meat. Meanwhile, the poverty is another reason why ancient Chinese eat less meat.

3.1.2Wheat and rice

China is an extremely vast land, and it is not hard to imagine that different places of China have different food cultures.

The south China, people eat rice and seldom eat wheat. Sometimes they grind rice into rice flour and make rice balls (中国文化网 June 1 2012). On the contrary, in the northern part of China, people prefer cooked wheaten food to rice. They make noodles, steamed bread, dumplings and many other delicious food which can be made of wheat. When someone who lives in the north part happens to travel to the southern part , he must be sick about the eating habit. It is the climate which causes the differences. In the southern part of China, the climate is warm and drippy. It belongs to the subtropical monsoon climate which is suitable for planting rice. In the northern part of China, the climate is not that suitable for rice. It is colder and dryer. So farmers plant wheat and corn there.

3.2Component of Western diet

3.2.1 Meat

The Westerners pay more attention to the absord of animal protein and fat. The Westerners are descendant of nomadic tribes and navigation peoples in their cultural origin. Their ancestor lived mainly by fishing, hunting and feeding domestic animals and sometimes also by collecting and cultivation. As a result, the Westerners like to peruse individuality and like adventure and exploration. In the history of America, during the period of westward movement, Americans packed their furniture, loaded them on the truck and then moved away from their living places to a new place without any hesitation. The history created their character and their diet culture. May be that’s why their principle food is animal meat like beef, pork, chicken and fish. 3.2.2Wheat

They have wheat rather than rice. Bread is the most common food we can see in an American family. The differences between Chinese and Western diet cultures in meaning

Chapter Four Conclusion

This paper is a introduction of Chinese and Western diet culture in the conception and component. The comparison of Chinese and Western diet culture exists in many aspects. In the study, we just study two aspects. In theory, major theories of diet culture provide a solid theoretical foundation for this study. According to the study, we can find that Chinese and Western diet culture has a huge difference in conception and component. They have their own specialty. It is a interesting job to compare them. I hope the study can help the readers to find the interests of study the diet culture and learn something about the differences between the Chinese and Western diet cultures.

Works Cited

Raymond Grew, Food In Global History, Westview Press (12,7,2000)

viiiJacqueline S.Thurby, Foodways and Folklore,United States,30 March 2008

中国文化网 June 1 2012 Hot Spot And Research