Food culture refers to people's eating behaviors and habits in daily life, mainly including the attributes of food itself, the making process and rituals, dining utensils, environment, etiquette and customs.
Food culture has always been a treasure in national culture. World-famous Chinese cuisine contains rich food sources, unique food processing skills, profound food aesthetics and food folklore of the Chinese nation. It has become an important part of social material civilization and spiritual civilization in past dynasties, and it is one of the yardsticks to test the development of these two civilizations. At the same time, China cooking is also an art, which has beautiful colors, smells, tastes, shapes, utensils, health and thoughts. In terms of color, the pursuit of cold and warm collocation, suitable shade; In terms of smell, it advocates that the aroma is rich, mellow and attractive; In taste, it pays attention to the harmony of five flavors and is famous far and near; In modeling, pay attention to diversity, exquisiteness and harmony; On the utensils, strive for excellent texture, beautiful and comfortable, complement each other; Functionally, it advocates health and safety, which is beneficial to body and mind; In the food atmosphere, pay attention to quiet and elegant, full of interest.
China's food culture has a long history, and its cooking skills are exquisite. It is well-known in the world and is known as the "gourmet kingdom" in the world. China food culture, like music, dance, calligraphy, painting and drama, is an important part of China's splendid national cultural heritage for thousands of years, and it is also a valuable tourist resource. It can be said that in today's tourism activities, diet has long gone beyond the purely biological purpose, but embodies the cultural carrier and symbol of people's love for life, self-expression, pursuit of elegance, emphasis on experience and rich taste. This is an important cultural activity with rich social significance. Nowadays, "eating in China" and tasting the delicious food in the north and south of China is one of the motivations for thousands of tourists from home and abroad to visit China.
The development of China's food culture;
With the emergence of human society, food culture has been produced, and with the development of human material culture and spiritual culture, it has continuously formed its own rich connotation. At present, there are different opinions about the origin of food culture. Some people think that the Yellow Emperor is the ancestor of cooking, because it is said that he made cauldrons and taught people to build stoves and steam valleys. Some people think that Suiren's "drilling for fire" is the first page of his cooking history; Others think that Fu should be the originator of China cooking. In fact, these records in ancient books are remembered by future generations and often painted with a layer of myth. It is even more inevitable to concentrate some groundbreaking works of an era or a clan or tribe on one person. The primitive collection of wild fruits and animals by human beings is only for eating and strengthening the body. The records in ancient books only reflect the change from eating blood and drinking blood to cooked food, not to mention the conscious cooking art of human beings. From a scientific point of view, the emergence of dietary activities should begin with the consumption of cooked food by human beings. With the continuous development of human social productive forces, the surplus products are increasingly rich and the social division of labor is expanding. Dieting has become a conscious behavior of human beings, and has gradually formed a periodic habit, which has produced a series of concepts and behavior systems related to diet, thus gradually evolving into an art and a culture.
About 65,438+0,000 to 40,000 years ago, people invented the stone cooking method of burning cooked stones by heat transfer, which is the most primitive cooking method. Primitive humans either cooked food directly on the fire or heated it on a slate, which was proved in the archaeology of Zhoukoudian, Beijing. In the Neolithic Age, China society entered the pottery age. People use pottery as cooking utensils, or they come to cook the meat with pottery, or they use Tao Ge to cook grains, or they use pottery to steam food. The use of pottery cookware has promoted the development of primitive cooking, marking the official entry of mankind into the cooking era.
The unification of China from Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasties to Qin Dynasty is an extremely important stage in the cooking history of China. With the leap of productivity, profound changes have taken place in all aspects of social life. China entered the Bronze Age from the Xia Dynasty. People began to use copper cookers to turn raw materials into small pieces and cook dishes with animal oil, which made cooking progress to oil cooking. At this time, the wealthy nobles, when dining, should play music to ring the bell, full of all kinds of delicacies, which is called "Zhong Ming Shi Ding". It was during this period that the basic program of China's food culture was initially established. From a historical point of view, the diet in the pre-Qin period has made great progress compared with the primitive society, such as the continuous expansion of the scope of food, the continuous development of cookware, the continuous improvement of cooking methods, the initial formation of cooking system and food culture and so on.
Compared with the previous generation, the diet variety and cooking level of the Han Dynasty have made great progress. After the Han Dynasty, iron gradually replaced bronze, and vegetable oil began to enter the kitchen. I have mastered cooking methods such as stewing, boiling, frying, frying, sauce, pickling and baking, and I am also very particular about food raw materials. The technical division of cooking operations has matured, and the "kitchen map" and "chef figurines" unearthed in Shandong can prove this. Kitchen Map depicts a grand scene of a coherent cooking process. The characters in the picture are all very busy, doing their jobs. There are six levels from top to bottom, which summarizes all links from raw material preparation to processing, and the division of labor is clear, which is a powerful embodiment of cooking culture in Han Dynasty. "Little Statue of Chef" is about shaping the image of a chef. From the perspective of clothing and attire, it is almost exactly the same as today's chef, indicating that the chef has formed a profession at that time. After Zhang Qian's voyage to the West in Han Dynasty, a large number of exotic foods such as grapes, watermelons, sesame seeds, spinach, celery, garlic and fennel were introduced, which changed the traditional diet in quantity, quality and structure.
Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties is a period of great exchange and integration of food culture among people of all ethnic groups in China. Influenced by the Taoist thought of "immortality", the content and form are rich and colorful, and the colorful cooking methods of "homology of medicine and food" and "homology of medicine and food" are pursued. At this time, almost all foods are commonly used in modern times, and Jia Sixie's Book of Qi Yaomin reflects the height of the development of food culture at that time. In addition, after the Wei and Jin Dynasties, the wind of drinking tea began to rise. In the southern state of Wu, tea is used as a palace drink, and all the banquets of the nobles use tea. During the Southern Dynasties, tea drinking had spread to poor families. During the Northern Dynasties, literati regarded tea drinking as "Chinese flavor".
Tang and Song Dynasties were the heyday of China's food culture. The vigorous development of commerce and handicrafts, the development of land and water transportation and the rise of cities have promoted the development of catering industry. The Tang Dynasty was the formation period of tea culture in China. The publication of Lu Yu's Tea Classic, known as "Cha Sheng" by later generations, has brought China's tea culture into a new realm, that is, from drinking to tasting, from a habit and hobby to a cultivation and culture. In Song Dynasty, tea became a necessity of people's life, especially the porcelain tableware in Song Dynasty nourished our food culture with its exquisite beauty. Dietary cultural life has become an important social and cultural activity for literati. Literati pay attention to food, freshness, beauty and beauty, which strengthens the aesthetics of food culture.
During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, food culture developed further and its content became more colorful. Whether it is the palace diet, aristocratic diet and official diet, or national diet, local diet and folk diet, there has been a vigorous development trend. Especially after the Qing dynasty unified the whole country, the food culture showed the characteristics of melting North and South cuisine in one furnace, and its typical representative was the appearance of Manchu-Chinese banquet. Man-Han banquet is famous for its grand etiquette, luxurious materials, numerous dishes and rich scenes. It is one of the famous dishes in China, which can be compared with the famous French cuisine.
Third, the basic characteristics of China's food culture
China's diet culture is based on the extensive diet practice of China ancestors. It is an important reflection of human survival and development, closely related to people's material life and spiritual life, and has distinctive characteristics.
First of all, China food culture is an ancient and young culture with infinite charm. China's food culture has a long history, which was produced as early as the ancient China ancestors' own food activities. It is the first flower in human life. At the same time, with the development and progress of ancient society in China, both eating utensils and eating customs are constantly developing and enriching. China's food culture is closely related to people's social life. It is endless and full of vitality.
Secondly, China food culture is a self-contained cultural form with unique characteristics. Food culture is a cultural form that spans many fields of material culture and spiritual culture, and has its unique connotation and extension. It is also a cultural form with its own network and unique charm. Its development is closely related to the development of social economy, the progress of science and technology, the development of land and the process of agricultural production. The organic combination of these basic factors constitutes its matrix and defines its characteristics. China's food culture was formed under the influence of China's specific material environment and many factors. Therefore, in China's food culture, there is a unique cultural tone and taste of food collocation, with proper manners, orderly seasons, reasonable meals, exquisite tableware, hygiene and delicacy.
Thirdly, China's food culture is the yardstick of Chinese civilization and the embodiment of China's national characteristics. Food is the most important thing for people, and diet plays a very important role in people's lives. It can not only meet people's physiological needs, but also be an important material means to improve human physique and promote the creation of wisdom. At the same time, because of its rich cultural connotation, it also satisfies people's spiritual pursuit to a certain extent and is an important yardstick of human civilization. The food composition and diet fashion of a country and a nation reflect the natural products, production conditions, cultural literacy and creative ability of the nation, and reflect the achievements of utilizing and developing nature and national characteristics. China food culture is an important part of the long and splendid culture of the Chinese nation. It marks the development process and progress of Chinese civilization in various historical periods, reflects that the Chinese nation has been a nation that loves life and pursues truth, goodness and beauty since ancient times, and reflects the creative spirit and unique style of the Chinese nation from one side.
Section II Colorful Food Culture
China's food culture is world-renowned for its long history, wide geographical spread, huge edible population, superb cooking skills, rich nutritious dishes and profound cultural connotations, and has become a pearl in the treasure house of human food culture.
First, the causes of food culture
China is a country that has always attached importance to food. In the course of thousands of years of civilization evolution, a rich and colorful food culture has been formed. China has a long history of food and rich cultural accumulation, which makes China win the reputation of "culinary kingdom" in the world, and Chinese cuisine ranks among the four famous dishes in the world. Compared with the cooking art of other countries or nations, China cooking has its own characteristics in the selection of raw materials, cooking techniques, the design of dishes, the treatment of seasonings and the names of dishes.
First of all, as far as natural conditions are concerned, China has superior geographical environment, vast territory and abundant resources, diverse climate changes and a wide variety of animals and plants, which provide rich and diverse sources for food selection.
Secondly, as far as historical conditions are concerned, the stable and long agricultural life and the tradition of attaching importance to history, family and traditional skills (including cooking and brewing) have enabled the "ancestral" cooking skills to be passed down and supplemented. In China, the traditional way of family dinner without food plays an important role in emotional communication and maintaining family unity.
Thirdly, in terms of political conditions, the centralization of power in ancient China brought delicious food from all over the country to the table of emperors and nobles, forming colorful banquets. China's catering culture is based on the life of the literati class, with the princes and nobles under feudal autocracy as the intermediary, especially the catering in the court as the centralized representative, and accumulated, preserved, spread and developed. The ultimate luxury of China emperors is the highest embodiment of China's traditional food culture.
Finally, in terms of cultural conditions, China's agricultural culture advocates that "food is not tired of essence, and food is not tired of detail", and that food is human's "great desire" and "food is the sky for the people", so it is important to eat. Few people like the traditional food culture in China. With a large population, rich products and slow pace of life, time is the least valuable. In order to renovate a sumptuous feast of delicacies and delicacies, we spared no effort and material resources to make it perfect for dignitaries to enjoy.
China's food culture, like music, dance, calligraphy, painting and drama, is an important part of China's splendid national cultural heritage for thousands of years. It is a valuable tourism resource and has important tourism development value.
Second, the main local flavor.
For a long time, due to the differences in raw materials, ingredients and cooking methods, different places have formed their own unique flavors and different cuisines. In different historical periods, Chinese food can be divided into different genres according to different classification standards. Chinese food can be divided into vegetarian dishes (palace vegetarian dishes, temple vegetarian dishes, folk vegetarian dishes) and meat dishes from the nature of raw materials; From the function of dishes, Chinese food can be divided into ordinary dishes and health care dishes; Geographically, Chinese food can be divided into four major cuisines, namely, Shandong cuisine, Jiangsu cuisine, Sichuan cuisine and Cantonese cuisine. They are all formed in the long river of economic and cultural exchanges inside and outside various regions, and have distinctive regional and cultural characteristics. Here is a brief introduction to the four major cuisines.
1. Shandong cuisine
Shandong cuisine, also known as Shandong cuisine, is developed from local dishes in Jiaodong and Jinan. Shandong cuisine spread not only to Beijing and Tianjin, but also to Baishan and Heishui, becoming the most influential cuisine at that time. In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Shandong cuisine became the main body of the imperial palace and the representative of northern China cuisine. Its characteristics are: exquisite selection of materials, good at making soup, famous for its fragrance, tenderness and pure taste, and paying attention to fullness and affordability. In addition, the Confucian cuisine in Qufu, Shandong Province also has an influence on the formation of Shandong cuisine. Now, Qufu imitates the menu of Confucius' tribute to the emperor in the Ming and Qing Dynasties and the daily feast recipes of Confucius, and records them in the archives of Confucius, which is very popular among tourists at home and abroad.
The representative dishes of Shandong cuisine are: sweet and sour carp, Dezhou braised chicken, fried tofu, Jiuzhuan large intestine, red carp, braised prawns in oil, fried conch, Confucius first pot and so on. Its snacks include: Zhoucun Crispy Sesame Cake, Wu Chengxuan Cake, Lotus Leaf Cake, Weixian Barbecue Head Roast, Pancakes, Crispy Pancakes, Pot Sticks, Soup Dumplings, Flowering Steamed Bread, Fried Dumplings, Golden Noodles, Crispy Fried Noodles, Fushan Spicy Noodles, Penglai Noodles, Chicken Powder and Sweet Foam.
2. Cantonese cuisine
Cantonese cuisine, also known as Cantonese cuisine, consists of Chaozhou, Guangzhou and Dongjiang (Huizhou) schools. Cantonese cuisine is characterized by: wide selection of materials, many ingredients, heavy decoration, heavy fresh and smooth; Good at stir-frying, good at mastering the heat and the oil temperature is just right; Pay attention to seasonal collocation, strive for lightness in summer and autumn, and emphasize strong alcohol in winter and spring. Cantonese cuisine is represented by Cantonese cuisine, which influences Fujian, Taiwan, Qiong and Gui.
Guangzhou cuisine is characterized by fine production, diverse colors, re-steaming and frying, exquisite cooking and vivid patterns. In terms of animal raw materials, besides pigs, cattle and sheep, there are snakes, cats and mice, especially snakes, which have a long history. There is a record in Huainanzi in the Western Han Dynasty that "the more people get snakes, the more food they get", so the people have the reputation of "eating in Guangzhou". 18, 19 century, with foreign trade and "going to South Asia", Cantonese cuisine gradually went to the world. It is said that there are thousands of Cantonese restaurants in new york alone. Chaozhou cuisine is good at cooking seafood, with the most distinctive soup, fine knife work and strong sweetness. Pay attention to keep the original flavor of the main ingredients. Dongjiang vegetable oil is heavy, salty, the main ingredients are prominent, simple and generous, with local flavor.
Representative dishes are: crispy suckling pig, Baiyun pork hand, Long Hudou, roasted goose, snake soup, grandfather chicken, stewed seal with Xingyuan chicken feet, Dinghu cuisine, Dongjiang salted chicken, Chinese cuisine, crispy fried pigeon and so on. Its snacks include: Guinea fowl pie, preserved egg pie, fried dumpling, frozen meat Melaleuca cake, fried Daliang cream, crispy lotus seed buns, barbecued pork buns, pink fruits, Lunjiao cakes, water chestnut cakes, rice rolls, honeycomb taro cakes, muffins, crab yellow dumplings, thin-skinned shrimp dumplings, dry steamed dumplings, Shahe rice, lotus leaf rice, and ground porridge, and boats and boats in jiaozi.
3. Sichuan cuisine
Sichuan cuisine, also known as Sichuan cuisine, is represented by Chengdu and Chongqing cuisine and enjoys a high reputation in China. Sichuan cuisine attaches importance to the choice of ingredients, pays attention to the consistency of specifications, and the color separation and side dishes are clear and bright. Since ancient times, there has been a tradition of "respecting taste" and "being spicy". Its characteristics are: spicy, fishy, strong flavor, paying attention to seasoning, and inseparable from "three peppers" (that is, pepper and pepper) and fresh ginger. Known for its spicy, sour, hemp and fragrant flavor, it has always enjoyed the reputation of "one dish and one style, all kinds of dishes are delicious". The local flavor is very strong, such as "When you eat in China, all kinds of dishes are delicious". Therefore, some people sum up the characteristics of Sichuan cuisine as "the Qing Dynasty was not long, and it was spicy and hot". Sichuan cuisine also has influence on Hunan, Hubei, Guizhou and Yunnan. Sichuan cuisine has a long history, showing its edge in the late Qin and early Han dynasties, and now Sichuan cuisine restaurants have spread all over the world.
Representative dishes include kung pao chicken, Sichuan-style pork, shredded pork with fish flavor, husband and wife lung slices, Mapo tofu, Deng Ying beef, Yuanyang hot pot, dry-roasted stone carp, home-cooked sea cucumber, crispy rice slices, dry-fried winter bamboo shoots and so on. Its snacks include: lotus leaf steamed cake, steamed cake, egg baked cake, egg discus, Qingcheng Ginkgo cake, Chongqing frozen cake, Guo Kui, Yibin burning noodles, dragon wonton soup, jiaozi with red oil, glass Shaoshao, Dandan Noodles, Lai Tangyuan, sesame dumplings, Guanghan Sanhe mud, North Sichuan bean jelly, steamed beef in a small cage, Shunqing mutton powder and so on.
Characteristics of China's Food Culture
China's food culture has formed extremely distinctive national characteristics in the long historical development process, mainly in the following aspects:
1. Harmony of five flavors is the biggest feature of China's food culture.
China's food culture takes the harmony of five flavors as the highest principle, whether in the pursuit of cooking taste or in the production of dishes. The principle of harmony of five flavors runs through the whole food culture in China and is the essence of food culture in China.
The harmony of five flavors is first to meet the needs of people's dietary tastes and the requirements of selecting food raw materials. Five flavors refer to sweet, sour, bitter, spicy and salty; Harmony of five flavors means that these five flavors can be reasonably changed and matched, and the original or true flavor of food can be maintained and exerted. The harmony of the five flavors should also conform to the time sequence, and the choice of food raw materials has different emphasis in different seasons. There is a saying in it that "spring is sour and summer is bitter, autumn is hot and winter is salty, and it is smooth and sweet", which emphasizes that it is necessary to meet people's taste needs and coordinate with the four seasons and people's physiological needs. Harmony of five flavors is also a requirement of the cooking process. "Lu Chunqiu? The Book of Filial Piety describes the process and requirements: who releases the five flavors first, how to seize the opportunity, how to release more and less, and how to distribute them reasonably. In the process of cooking, it is difficult to explain the subtle changes in the pot in words. The key lies in the chef's proper "degree", so that the dishes have the excellent characteristics of "long time without harm, cooked without rot, sweet without mumbling, sour without cold", and its purpose is to neutralize all tastes into a harmonious organism.
2. Pursuing the organic unity of color, fragrance, taste, shape, device and environment.
China's food culture has a strong aesthetic function, which not only pursues the harmonious beauty of five flavors, but also prefers the comprehensive beauty of color, fragrance, taste, shape, utensils and environment. This is the aesthetic cultural feature of China's food culture. China cooking is known as "the art of eating" and "the aesthetics of eating". Putting the beauty of color in the first place in China's diet shows the importance of color discrimination to stimulate appetite, so Confucius put forward that "color is not good for food", and the TINT of dishes is often the key to the success of a banquet. The aroma of dishes can arouse people's desire and motivation to taste dishes, and the feeling of aroma can deepen and promote people's aesthetic pleasure in color and shape. Taste is the main part of happiness in diet. Delicious taste is the climax of food aesthetic feeling, and "emphasizing taste" is one of the main characteristics that distinguish China food culture from western food culture. Formal beauty helps to create aesthetic taste and atmosphere of diet. Food is like a harp and melody, which complement each other and are interesting to each other. The beauty of scenery mainly refers to the elegant and harmonious eating space environment and emotional environment, which can make the feast icing on the cake and make people feel happy.
The harmony and unity of color, fragrance, taste, shape, container and environment make food activities not only meet physiological needs, but also have obvious aesthetic and experience value, while the design and arrangement of cooking and feasting are of artistic creation significance.
3.*** Eat with the meal.
People in China never regard diet as a means of eating, but are used to it as a link between people and feelings. In the way of eating, I like the way of "eating" Westerners eat at the same table, but eat separately, which is different from China people who eat the same dish and drink the same soup. Although the eating method of "separate meals" is unscientific from the health point of view, it is the "* * * food" in China people's banquets, and it pursues a realm of life. The ancient kings of China used feasts to "communicate the feelings of the upper and lower" in order to obtain the long-term stability of the country; Folk banquets connect feelings through eating and drinking, clear up barriers, and harmonize families, neighbors and even national unity. Whether it is the singing of literati's elegant banquet or the game competition in folk restaurants, we can achieve the harmonious and beautiful life realm between man and nature and between people in the same taste of different dishes and in the poetic banquet atmosphere.
More than two thousand years ago, Confucius said, "It's a pleasure to have friends from afar!" This sentence embodies the tradition of hospitality of China people. China's modern tourist food culture still follows this tradition, warmly receiving tourists from all over the world, and pursuing emotional harmony, cordial atmosphere and emotional exchange and communication between the host and the guest in the banquet. However, guests' eating habits should be fully respected, and public chopsticks should be used in the form of "* * *", or meals should be divided in the form of * * * ",so that western tourists can not only feel the harmonious and poetic atmosphere of China's food culture, but also adapt to their psychology and habits, and also adapt contemporary China's food culture to modern people's pursuit of hygienic quality of life.
Broad and profound wine culture
China wine has a long history of more than 5,000 years, which has formed a unique style in the long development process and nurtured a splendid Chinese wine culture. As a special cultural form, wine culture has a special position in the traditional culture of China, and it has penetrated into almost every field of social life. We can learn all aspects of China society from wine, and we can find valuable information in wine culture, such as politics, economy, agriculture, commerce, history and culture. Wine is a wonderful flower in food culture and a symbol of social civilization.
First, the formation of wine culture
Wine is a beverage made of sorghum, wheat, rice, grapes or other fruits by saccharification and fermentation, which contains edible alcohol (alcohol degree exceeds 1 degree to be called wine). In terms of brewing technology, China is one of the first countries in the world to understand brewing technology. As early as the middle Neolithic Age, our ancestors knew how to make wine. But up to now, it is still difficult to determine when and who artificial brewing originated. There is a saying that Yidi makes wine, and there is also a saying that Du Kang makes wine. Later generations have always regarded Yidi and Du Kang as Dionysus. In addition, there are "ape brewing" and "Yellow Emperor brewing". Although there are different opinions, domestic scholars generally believe that China liquor-making industry was a relatively developed industry during the Longshan culture period. Judging from the development of China wine, it can be divided into five stages: enlightenment, growth, maturity, development and prosperity.
The enlightenment period was from Yangshao culture in Neolithic age to early summer. This period is the late primitive society, and the ancestors used moldy but germinated grains to make wine. The premise of artificial brewing is the development of agricultural civilization and the appearance of pottery. In Yangshao cultural site, there are both pottery pots and pottery cups. It can be inferred that artificial brewing began about 6000 years ago.
From Xia Dynasty to Qin Dynasty, it was about 1800 years, which was the growing period of China wine. During this period, China became the first country to make wine with Qu, because there were six animals in agriculture and Qu was invented in the wine-making industry. At the same time, with the rapid development of brewing technology, the brewing industry began to separate from agriculture and become an independent handicraft department. The court began to set up officials to take charge of wine and be responsible for major state affairs and royal banquets. The establishment of wine officer marks that wine making has become an independent handicraft department, which has played an important role in standardizing and improving wine making technology and summarizing and popularizing wine making experience.
Zhou people are agriculture-oriented, and think that a lot of wine and alcohol will waste a lot of food, which is an intolerable "sin". In order to save food and preserve national strength, the first prohibition order in China history, Jiuju, was promulgated in the early years of the Western Zhou Dynasty, which stipulated very strict prohibition measures. During the Western Zhou Dynasty, from the establishment of officials to the prohibition of alcohol by law, it marked that wine culture and institutional culture went hand in hand, which had a far-reaching impact on China's wine administration for thousands of years. Under the direct influence of etiquette culture, the rulers of the Western Zhou Dynasty also strongly advocated wine morality and wine ceremony, with the aim of forbidding excessive drinking besides respecting others. The "wine ceremony" and "wine morality" advocated by the Western Zhou Dynasty were later integrated with Confucian ethics, which became the biggest feature that distinguished Chinese wine culture from western wine culture for thousands of years. The development of wine industry in the Western Zhou Dynasty basically laid two directions for the development of Chinese wine culture: first, fermentation with distiller's yeast, which is the fundamental difference between China national wine-yellow rice wine, white wine and foreign wine fermented with strains; Secondly, brewing, drinking and using wine are all brought into the track of legalization, ritual and etiquette, which greatly increases the spiritual and cultural value of wine and reduces its negative effects. For thousands of years, Chinese wine culture has experienced numerous developments and changes, but it has always been constantly changing, tortuous development and gradual improvement along these two directions. In addition, due to the example of debauchery and national subjugation in Shang and Zhou Dynasties and the "Hongmen Banquet" in Qin and Han Dynasties, people are still wary of wine, which has also brought some obstacles to the great development of wine industry.
From the Qin Dynasty to the Northern Song Dynasty, it was about 1200 years, which ushered in the maturity of China wine. During this period, the Han and Tang dynasties flourished, the economy and trade were developed, and Chinese and western cultures blended. Famous wine writers such as Li Bai, Du Fu, Du Mu and Su Dongpo came forth in large numbers. In addition, the war from the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty to the Wei and Jin Dynasties lasted for two centuries, and the frustrated literati used wine to drown their sorrows and drank too much, which also promoted the prosperity of the wine industry from the opposite side. The drinking atmosphere is not limited to the upper class, but also widely spread among the people. With the increasing demand for alcohol, it laid a social and material foundation for the invention and development of China liquor. The prescriptions for health preservation and miscellaneous therapy unearthed from the tomb of the Western Han Dynasty in Mawangdui recorded that people had a certain understanding of the medicinal function of wine. During the Eastern Han Dynasty, wine was a common theme on stone reliefs and bricks. The most striking thing is the wine-making scene in Kitchen Map unearthed from the balcony of Zhucheng, Shandong Province, which depicts the whole process of wine-making at that time. The publication of scientific and technological books on diet and wine making, such as Qi Yaomin Shu, provided a theoretical basis for the maturity of China wine industry.
From the Northern Song Dynasty to the late Qing Dynasty, it lasted more than 800 years, which was the development period of China wine. During this period, distillers were introduced into China from the Western Regions, which provided a material basis for the invention of China liquor. Liquor is also called shochu and white dry wine. "Compendium of Materia Medica" records that "shochu is not an ancient law, and its law was founded in the Yuan Dynasty." Judging from many small wine vessels unearthed in this period, liquor with high degree has rapidly spread to ordinary people. After the mid-Ming Dynasty, distilled shochu with sorghum and barley as raw materials gradually replaced yellow wine and developed rapidly in the north. With the development and perfection of distilled liquor, yellow rice wine, wine, fruit wine and medicinal liquor have also been improved and developed, which has ushered in a brilliant and colorful era of wine culture in China.
1840 After the Opium War, it was the fifth stage of wine development in China, and it was a prosperous time. China's traditional brewing technology interacts with western advanced brewing technology, striving to shine brilliantly. Whisky, brandy, vodka and Japanese sake were all introduced into China, which not only promoted the emergence of new varieties of China traditional liquor, but also developed rapidly with their respective advantages and characteristics. After the founding of New China, especially since the reform and opening up, China's wine industry has ushered in a prosperous era. In the early 1990s, the annual output of Chinese liquor reached more than 7.2 million tons, accounting for about 40% of the world's total liquor output, ranking first.