中西饮食文化的差异(学士论文).doc

The Differences Between Chinese and Western Food Dietetic Culture

中西饮食文化的差异

College of Minsheng
Henan University
May 2011

Acknowledgement

There are a lot of people who help me to contribute to the completion of this thesis.
Firstly, my deepest gratitude goes first and foremost to Zhu Taiyin , my teacher for his constant encouragement and guidance. He has led me through all the stages of the writing of this thesis. Without his consistent ad illuminating instruction, this thesis could not have reached its present form.
Secondly, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to all the teachers, who lead me into the world of English. They instructed and helped me a lot in the past four years.
Last, owe my sincere gratitude to my friends and my fellow classmates who gave me their help and time in listening to me and helping me work out my problems during the difficult course of the thesis.

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[Abstract]: This thesis explores the differences between Chinese and Western food dietetic culture. The food dietetic culture plays an important role in the world culture. The differences between Chinese and Western culture created the differences between Chinese and Western food dietetic culture. Different countries have their own food dietetic cultural. In different cultural contexts, both in concept, objects, manner, tableware, etiquette and nature, these differences are obvious. But as the communication and integration of the international, Chinese and western food culture will be developed in common communicate. This will play a significant role to promote the communication of culture in the world.
[Key Words]: intercultural communication; food dietetic culture; culture differences

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[摘要]: 本篇论文探讨了中西方饮食文化的差异.饮食文化在世界文化中起着
非常重要的作用.中西方文化的差异带来了中西饮食文化的差异,不同的国家有
自己不同的饮食文化特点.在不同的文化背景下,无论是在观念,对象,方式,餐具
还是礼仪等各方面,这些不同都是显而易见的.但是,随着国际的交流与融合,中
西饮食文化业将会在交流中共同发展,这对全世界范围内的文化交流将起到促进
作用.
[关键词]: 跨文化交际; 饮食文化; 文化差异

Contents
Abstract (English)……………………………………………………………………i
Abstract (Chinese)…………………………………………………………………...ii
Introduction………………………………………………………………………….1
Chapter One Chinese and Western Food Dietetic Culture……………………........3
1.1 Characteristics of Chinese food dietetic culture………………………………3
1.2 Characteristics of the Western food dietetic culture……………………..........3
Chapter Two Differences in the performance of Chinese and Western Food……...5
2.1 Differences between Chinese and Western diet concept……………………...5
2.2 Differences between Chinese and Western diet objects………………………6
2.3 Differences between Chinese and Western diet manner, tableware and
etiquette…………………………………………………………………….....7
2.3.1 Diet manner………………………………………………………………..7
2.3.2 Diet tableware……………………………………………………………..8
2.3.3 Diet etiquette……………………………………………………………....9
2.4 Differences between Chinese and Western diet nature…………………….....9
Chapter Three Reasons for the differences between Chinese and Western food dietetic culture………………………………………………………………………11
3.1 The impact of the geographical environment………………………………...11
3.2 The impact of the economic system………………………………………….11
Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………..14
Bibliography………………………………………………………………………...15

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Introduction
With the deepening of the international communication, in different countries or cultural background, the communication of people are increasing all the time, and the communication between them is called intercultural communication. Intercultural communications gradually becomes an indispensable content of people's life. Due to the differences of regional, different nations and countries form different cultures. People with different cultural backgrounds behavior or habits is endless and same, they have their social statute or habits, reflected in the political economy, education religion, culture , art and so on. America famous newly chemical representative figure White is called “father of cult urology”, he put the culture as a kind of special and objective social phenomenon, and as a complete system (White, 1949). So specially, what is culture? Chen Huawen once lists cases to illustrate the connotation and importance of culture; he said “culture is like air and water that permeates every corner of our lives, people are enjoying the culture achievements that were created by predecessors in every time, also, people are inventing new culture in every moment. Our progress is the result of the culture creation and developing.” (Chen Huawen, 2001:2) When people are communicating under the different culture background, the language and non-language factors which influence of message effect are make communication hen culture. If foreign language learners are lack of knowledge for its behavior and function, it will appear inappropriate behavior, resulting in the communication barriers, and it is difficult for effective cross-cultural communication, as a result causes of communication error.
The diet is the first need for human’s survival and development; also it is the one of the basic form of social life. However under the different cultural background, having different diet idea and diet custom, then finally form the different diet culture. Food culture is an important part in the intercultural communication. Understand the differences between Chinese and western diet culture and its origin, for foreign
language learners, not only increase the understanding of the target language culture,

but also improve the success rate of intercultural communication, avoid the misunderstandings and communication barriers just because of the inappropriate way or behavior .In Sun Weixue’s book <<culture of America>>, he once pointed out any country in the world should carry out cultural exchanges and publicity actively, this is not only benefit to their native culture, but also spread the culture in worldwide .(Sun Weixue, 2004) This paper expounded from various of the differences between Chinese and western food dietetic culture, enhance mutual understanding and facilitate communication.

Chapter One Chinese and Western Food Dietetic Culture
1.1 Characteristics of Chinese food dietetic culture
China is one of the most ancient countries on the world, it has the long history of 5000 years, and created innumerable splendid civilization. In this culture, it makes China contain more expansive and profound diet. It has experienced several thousand years of history development, and has become one of the most important Chinese traditional cultures of department.
Because of the district difference in our land, it gradually formed four major cuisines that is Sichuan cuisine, Guangdong cuisine, Shandong cuisine and Chaozhou cuisine. This four major cuisine have different features, but in common is with making complex fastidious, the product methods are very complex, and have a great diversity of taste and dishes, this is amazing. Because of our vast land, there are differences in climate, products and custom in every place. For a long time, on food was formed many flavor. Our country has been have the saying of “ south rice north noodles”, in the taste, it has the differences that “sour in east, hot in west, sweet in south and salty in north", it mainly have four flavor about Bashu, Qilu, Haiyangn and Yuemin. ( Zou Guangwen, 1998) On the other hand, all the year round, according to season for eat is a feature in China’s cooking. Since ancient times, our country has been according to season changes to taste, and dishes. Winter taste strong, summer
flavor cleaner; in the winter more braised stews, summer more cold.
In the long-term development, evolution and accumulation process, Chinese people gradually formed its own unique food folk from many aspects, such as diet structure, food production, food utensils, nutrition healthy and diet aesthetic, this created a diet with unique flavor of the Chinese food culture, become a pearl of the world food culture.
1.2 Characteristics of the Western food dietetic culture
Rational westerners pay more attention to the nutrition and survival. Due to the different philosophical thoughts of Chinese and western, westerners in diet takes the

science, takes the science about nutrition, so the nutrition is the supreme principle in the western diet.
Eating like a biological machine add fuel, especially about the food's nutrition composition, protein, fat, carbohydrates, vitamins and all kinds of inorganic element content,( Dang Binghua, 2010) whether calorie supply properly, and whether these nutrients can be fully absorbed, and presence of other side effects, and dishes color, fragrance and taste is the second requirement. Even in the west’s leading power – France, even though in many aspects the diet culture is similar with our diet, but a contact to nutrition, both sides will the gap. While French cook also pursued delicious, but also adhere to the “nutrition” this one major premise, they don’t agree with pieces of nutrition and beg delicious.
In the culture of diet, westerners have the culture descent of nomads and sailing nationality, they hunting, breeding, aided by acquisition and planting, they eat more meet, the eating, wearing and using are took of animals, even the western medicine are made from animals to take. Pay more attention to animal protein and fat intake, in the structure of diet, also with animal figurines in the majority, it is mainly dishes, beef, chicken, pork, mutton and fish. So the meat diet has been very high in proportion. In modern times, planting proportion is increasing, but the proportion in meat still higher than Chinese.

Chapter Two Differences in the performance of Chinese and Western food dietetic
2.1 Differences between Chinese and Western diet concept
Chinese people are thinking highly of eat. “Bread is the staff of life”, this old adage explained that we see eating as important as days. Because our national for thousands of years are in the low level of productivity, people always do not have enough to eat, so they would have a unique food culture that eating is very important. I think this is probably from a survival to needs. Li Xiaohong pointed out: “If a culture put ate as primary, so it will appear two phenomena: on one hand will put the food function to acme, not only survive, but also use it to maintain healthy, this is also the culture basis that “ diet cures more than the doctors”. On the other hand, the excessive attention to eat, it can make the person praise highly of delicious pursuit.”(Li Xiaohong, 2010: 33)
In China, the pursuit of delicious reached almost acme, Chinese living overseas to open restaurants for industry in the world, it has become our settlement fundamental. Unfortunately, when we put the pursuit of delicious as the first requirement, we are neglecting the most fundamental nutritional value of food. Many of our traditional foods are through hot fried and long time boil, cover the dish nutrients to sabotage, many nutrients are loss in the machining process. As a result of nutrition problem, in fact touched on the Chinese culinary culture to the greatest weakness. Folk have saying, “It is of great importance of eating and whether the food is delicious or not depends on taste”, this is the pursuit of delicious make us ignore the real meaning of dinner.
European is represented the western, also, his culture has a long history. In the middle ages, the European culture has very perfect, during this period; the old western food culture has been formed. Its main features are: most food with flour primarily, raw material also more abundant, its production method is simple, but also in China pays much attention to taste.

China's five mixed cookery aims to pursue delicious, its processing process of
hot fried and long time of fire, this can make dishes nutrients were damaged. (Lin Lirui, 2009) In western countries, especially in 1960s, appearing the emergence of modern cooking thought, with particular emphasis on health care, reduce weight, thus less oil, emphasize the pursuit of light by fresh materials, emphasizing the cooking process of nutrients and maintain the original taste, so the vegetables are basically raw. So says the heavy nutrition in western diet is universal.
2.2 Differences between Chinese and Western diet objects
Westerners believe that cuisine is the longing, so only eat of meat, chicken this "hard food"; While Chinese cuisine is "taste". So the Chinese cooking with makings also show great randomness, many westerners as something is the outcast, this in China are excellent raw material, foreign chefs can't handle this things, but to a Chinese chef hands, this can turn decayed for magical. It serves to show the Chinese diet in the wide randomness of materials.
According to the survey of western plant scholars, Chinese eat vegetables have more than 600 specious, it is six times more than the west. In fact, in the Chinese dishes, vegetarian dishes are common food, only in holidays or volunteers at the higher living standards, it can enters the usual diet, so since ancient times, we will have saying of "food feed", food feed is the dominant statement in our usual diet. The Chinese make plant as the main dish, and has a lot of contact with the advocacy of Buddhism. Their think the animal is "the life", but plants the laws of nature "not to work", therefore, advocates the vegetarianism. (Yang Naiji, 1993)
Westerners in introducing the food characteristic of their own country, they feel more attention about reasonable collocation of nutrition than China. They have more developed food industry, such as canned, fast food. Although the taste is common, saving time and the nutrition is good. So in common, human body of their country is stronger than Chinese: tall, long legs, broad shoulders and developed muscle; But Chinese appears narrow skinny, short legs and the color is yellow. Someone

according to the obvious differences in characteristic of western diet object, the
Chinese character known as the plants, the Western character known as animals.
2.3 Differences between Chinese and Western diet manner, tableware and etiquette
2.3.1 Diet manner
Chinese and Western food is quite different from the way that such differences also have an impact on the national character. In China, any of the feast, whatever the purpose, there will be only one form, that is, we were sitting around, sharing one seat. The banquet must use the round table; this formally has created one kind of unity, politeness, altogether the inte