Food And Culture
A typical meal starts with some cold dishes,like boiled peanuts and smashed cucumber with garlic.These are followed by the main courses,hot meat and vegetable dishes.Finally soup is brought out,which is followed by the starchy "staple" food,which is usually rice or noodles or sometimes dumplings.Many Chinese eat rice (or noodles or whatever) last,but if you like to have your rice together with other dishes,you should say so early on.
Everything is relative,cultural difference being no exception.Culture,as the total pattern of human behavior and its products,oversteps geographical limits and historical conditions in many ways,and it is characterized by its strong penetrativeness and fusibility.
It is no surprise to see phenomena characteristic of one culture existing in another.As a result,some people even fear that the world will become a dull place when all the different nationalities behave exactly alike.
Nevertheless,the “cultural sediment” formed through long-range accumulation is not to be easily removed,and the cultural tradition handed down from generation to generation shows great consistency and continuity.The cultures of different regions and nations still have their own distinctive peculiarities,and therefore significance still needs to be attached to the study of the individualities of different cultures against the background of their universality.
[Chinese Food] In most dishes in Chinese cuisine,food is prepared in bite-sized pieces (e.g.vegetable,meat,doufu),ready for direct picking up and eating.Traditionally,Chinese culture considered using knives and forks at the table barbaric due to fact that these implements are regarded as weapons.It was also considered ungracious to have guests work at cutting their own food.
[Culture] A large part of traditional Chinese culture is about finding the balance of Yin and Yang in relation to Qi,health and the meridian system in order to find harmony.Traditional Chinese medicine consists of a number of treatments including Chinese herbology and acupuncture.Other less intrusive forms of health improvement include qigong and meditation.
The culture of food and dining in the West is a little different from that in China.The proper western dinner at a fine restaurant is one of manners,focusing on conversation.You are expected to have knowledge of table manners such as what folk or knife to use as these are essential in western dining.The meal would consist of several courses including a soup or salad,an appetizer,the main dish,and a dessert.The atmosphere will be filled with light music that would only serve as background as people converse with each other.The decorations are usually sparse and are only meant to highlight the atmosphere that is being created by the music.This type of dining is different from the dining experience in most restaurants in China.However,with the increase in internationalism,more restaurants are opening which reflect the more western dining style.The Chinese people,now more affluent and knowledgeable about international customs,are beginning to join in this dining experience.This is not to say that people have given up the deep richness in culture that Chinese food represents.It only means that more choices and tastes are becoming available to population.This represents a significant improvement as it will change the perception that the height of western dining is fast food.As cultural communication expands,knowledge of western food will improve
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