1、 Diet CultureA Comparative Study between Eastern Cuisine and Western CuisineIt is no doubt that “to eat is human”. Eating, at the very first stage, is no more than a way to stay alive; however, with the development of the human society, eating, to some extent, has evolved into a cultural phenomenon-
2、Diet Culture, as we always say. The world is a whole. But we always divide it into two parts-the east and the west, so it seems that everything is featured either by being eastern or by being western, especially when it comes to cultural issues. Since eating is also a kind of culture, we can draw a
3、natural conclusion that we have eastern cuisine and western cuisine. The world is becoming flat, so we cannot avoid talking about other cultures. When talking about those, we should understand what they are and what the differences are between those cultures and our own. Eating is a very popular top
4、ic, therefore, we should have a basic knowledge of eastern cuisine, western cuisine and the differences between them before we begin to talk about them. As an English major, cross-culture communication is unavoidable. To understand the knowledge is very crucial for us. It is just considering the abo
5、ve reasons that I have decided do a Comparative Study between Eastern Cuisine and Western Cuisine. But there is something I must mention-this project is mainly based on Chinese cuisine and American cuisine, which are representatives of eastern cuisine and western cuisine respectively. The reasons ar
6、e as follows: 1) my knowledge is limited,2) Diet Culture is so big a topic that we cannot include everything when we talk about it, so it is wiser to choose some typical ones. As I have mentioned before, we should understand what they are and what the differences are, so my paper can be divided into
7、 three parts:1) A brief introduction to Chinese cuisine2) A brief introduction to western cuisine-American cuisine3) Differences A brief introduction to Chinese cuisineChinese cuisine is widely seen as representing one of the richest and most diverse culinary heritages in the world. It originated in
8、 different regions of China and has been introduced to other parts of the world- from Southeast Asia to North America and Western Europe. When talking about Chinese cuisine, we have different angles, such as the material, the varieties and the cooking method, etc., however, in my short study, I can
9、not cover all the aspects, so I only choose three of them, which I think is important. They are variety, typical dishes and unique belief. a. Varieties Due to the large and varied characteristics of China itself, a multitude of different regional and other (e.g. religious) styles can be identified i
10、n the larger complex of Chinese cuisine:Regions of Mainland China Cuisine name derives from province or region except where indicated Northwestern Chinese cuisine Mandarin cuisine Jiang-Huai cuisine Northeastern Chinese cuisine Cantonese cuisine (Guangdong province) Chiuchow cuisine (Chaozhou region
11、, Guangdong) Hunan cuisine Shanghai cuisine Sichuan cuisine Other regions Hong Kong cuisine Macanese cuisine Taiwanese cuisine Other categories Historical Chinese cuisine Chinese Islamic cuisine Chinese Buddhist cuisine b. Typical Dishes In China, we have a lot of delicious food and dishes. And some
12、 of them are even know to a lot foreigners. Here I just want to name a few: Jiaozi (filled dumplings, guotie) Noodles Hotpot Zongzi (rice balls, wrapped in leaves) Peking Duck - the trademark dish of Beijing Baozi (filled steamed buns) c. Unique beliefs For us Chinese, eating has a lot to do with be
13、ing healthy and we believe eating the right food can help us stay away from illness and sometimes can even cure some illnesses. So we have the following unique beliefs:Yi xing bu xing Chinese hardly waste any section of the animal and have found ways to cook nearly every part. Chinese culture believ
14、es that “yi xing bu xing,“ which means by using any shape or part of the animal the same part of the human body can be replenished and strengthened. For example, shark fin soup and bird nest soup (birds saliva) is served to replenish strength and increase appetite, crocodile meat strengthens the bro
15、nchia, dehydrated tiger testicle increases stamina for men, while monkey brains add wisdom. These foods are considered to be delicacies and tonics. Shark fin soup or bird nest soup is often served at special occasions such as at a Chinese banquet dinner. Other items are rarely prepared. Yin Yang foo
16、d Chinese culture believes there is a positive energy and a negative energy in the universe. “Yin“ represents negative energy and “yang“ represents positive energy. They have to be equally balanced to create a harmonious and healthy state, otherwise, conflict and disease will be created. It has beco
17、me a basic guideline for social, political, medical, and dietary usage. So accordingly we have “yin food ” and “yang food”. Foods belonging to the yin are bitter melon, winter melon, Chinese green, mustard green, water crest, Napa cabbage, bean sprout, soybean, oranges, watermelon, bananas, etc. The
18、se foods cannot be eaten excessively and are thought to cause stomachaches, diarrhea, dizziness, weakness, and coldness in the body if done so. Foods that belong to the yang are chili pepper, garlic, onion, curry, cabbage, eggplant, pineapple, crab, French fries, fried chicken, and pizza. Excessive
19、intake of these foods are thought to cause pimples, nose bleeds, gas, indigestion, redness in the eyes, and sore throat. Both food groups need to be balanced evenly, not taken excessively or deficiently in order to create a harmonious and healthy state.A brief introduction to western cuisineIn China
20、, these days, western food is becoming more and more popular, and a lot of people even prefer western cuisine to Chinese cuisine. Western cuisine is also a very generalized items, and it ranges from European cuisine to American cuisine. As we are English majors, it is of more help to talk about Amer
21、ican cuisine. Likewise, American is a big topic, I cannot include everything, so I will talk about it in two aspects which I am more familiar with to give a very brief overview about American cuisine.a. Some characteristics According to some studies, American cuisine mainly have the following charac
22、teristics:1 Meat is more prominent and substantial in serving-size, and Westerners traditionally have a far more in-depth knowledge concerning specific methods of preparing and serving different cuts of meat. That is why in a western restaurant we can easily find a lot of meat on the menu, and why i
23、n a fast food store there is no much vegetable food. 11Western cuisines also put substantial emphasis on sauces as condiments, seasonings, or accompaniments. The pizza is a good example. 111 Many dairy products are utilized in the cooking process. For example, cheese is used a lot in cooking.b. Some
24、 main food In American cuisine, some food can be seen very often. Below is a list of them and a short introduction. Plant foods plants are not common. But two kinds of plants are an exception. They are sweet potato and maize. Livestock and game The more commonly hunted and eaten game included deer,
25、bear, buffalo and wild turkey. The larger muscles of the animals were roasted and served with currant sauce, while the other smaller portions went into soups, pies and pasties.Fats and oils A number of fats and oils made from animals served to cook much of the colonial foods. Many homes had a sack m
26、ade of deerskin filled with bear oil for cooking, while solidified bear fat resembled shortening.Seafood Those living near the New England shore often dined on fish, crustaceans, and other animals that originated in the waters. Colonists ate large quantities of turtle, and it was an exportable delic
27、acy for Europe. Cod, in both fresh and salted form was enjoyed, with the salted variation created for long storage. The highest quality cod was usually dried, however, and exported to the Mediterranean exchange for fruits not available in the American colonies. Lobsters proliferated in the waters as
28、 well, and were extremely common in the New England dietDIFFERENCESWe have already had a basic knowledge of Chinese cuisine and the western cuisine. Thus, we should understand some differences. Receiving the influence of respective cultural tradition, the Chinese and western diet culture has had dif
29、ferent characteristics. The differences in concepts, targets, patterns and nature had reflected the different diet culture in the different state characteristics.Differences in Concepts the Chinese and western diet have the differences that cannot be ignored in concepts. Nobody will deny that the We
30、stern diet is a rational concept, regardless of the color of food, incense, flavor and shape, but nutrition must be assured. It cares about the intake of calories, vitamins, protein and so on during a day. While the beauty pursuit of Chinese cuisine is clearly overriding the rational pursuit. Chines
31、e cooking method is to reconcile, and the ultimate goal is to reconcile out of a beautiful taste. The main stress is measure and the overall co-ordination. Differences in targets All diet cannot be done without vegetables. Chinese people consider the vegetables as the main dish; it has a link with t
32、he advocacy of Buddhists. They deem animals as “people“ and plants have “no soul.“ So, they advocate vegetarianism. Westerners do not seem to have such a good habit. They uphold a cultural origin of nomadic, seafaring nation. Living mainly by fishing and hunting, collection and planting are just the
33、 complement. There are more meat dishes in their lives. Feeding, clothing, and using are taken from the animals, and even Western medicine is derived from animals. When the westerners introduce the diet characteristics of their countries, they always feel that their diet is more reasonable on the mi
34、x of nutrition than China. Differences in Dietary Patterns The Chinese and Western dietary patterns can be very different, and these differences affect the national character. In China, a celebration, no matter what, there will be only one form, as sitting together, sharing one feast. Banquet uses r
35、ound table, which has created a unity of form, which is courtesy, comity atmosphere. People toast each other and share the vegetables, which reflect the mutual respect between people in the face of the good things, also show the virtues of comity. The western-style banquets, although the food and wi
36、ne are very important, but in fact they are just foil. The core of Banquet is friendship, by the conversation with the guests who sitting next to achieve the purpose of recreation. If making an analogous compare between the recreation of the banquets and dancing, it may be said that the Chinese banq
37、uet is like group dance, and the western banquet is like men and women dancing. This shows that communication purpose of Chinese banquet and western banquet are very obvious. Only the Chinese banquet is more popular in the communion, but western banquet shows guests reflected in the friendship betwe
38、en neighbors.Differences in the Nature Differences in the nature of the Chinese and western diet are inosculated with the respective lifestyle and the pace of life. In the west, people do the duplication of pipeline operations, and implement piece-wage system, so the paces of their lives are so fast
39、. People fall under the mechanical method either intentionally or unintentionally, and believe that “Work is work, and game is game.“ Mechanical lives led to oneness of diet or a single blind about diet, and eat beefsteak and potatoes every day. Monotonous diet is the same as work, for which the pur
40、poses is to fulfill the “incident“, naturally with no interests, and all these have no word in terms of taste. But China is not, “The game is work, and the work is of a game”. So far, I have talked about the Chinese cuisine and American cuisine and some main differences between them. Bearing these i
41、n mind, we can do a good job when we do the cross-culture communication in terms of Diet Culture. Of course, knowledge knows no boundaries. In order to be a good cross-culture communicator, we have to intake more knowledge continuously. What I have talked about here is only a tiny part of it, but I hope it can be of help to you who intend to become good cross-culture communicators.
