Chinese and western food cultures have their own characteristics. Then, please read the papers I collected for you about Chinese and Western food culture. I hope you like them.

Chinese and Western Food Culture Papers 1 China people have high requirements for food, but not for nutrition. Most of them are in taste and form. The pursuit of taste shows the harmonious thinking of China people, and cooking also pursues this harmonious beauty. In addition, in terms of cultural etiquette, China people put food in a very high position. For example, in daily life, I haven't seen my friends for a long time. In order to show respect, they should eat together, and in order to promote cooperation with customers, they should get together and eat together on holidays. In a word, diet has become a courtesy demand, and it is no longer just a function to satisfy hunger. Compared with China's diet concept of paying attention to taste, westerners pay more attention to the collocation of nutrition, the nutrition of diet, and the vitamins, fats and protein contained in food. Westerners will put the pursuit of nutrition in the first place when cooking, carefully study whether food has side effects and unbalanced nutrition, and will not pursue taste excessively. In short, in the western dietary thinking, eating is not simply to fill the stomach, nor to enjoy the food, but to ensure their own survival and health. Thus, in the concept of diet, China emphasized the pursuit of taste, but ignored the nutritional collocation of food, while westerners paid more attention to the healthy distribution and nutritional balance of food.

First, the difference of dining style.

There are great differences in dining styles between China and western societies. People in China like to be lively, so on holidays, people like to eat together around a big table. At the annual meeting of the company, leaders and junior employees will also have dinner together, and everyone will chat and laugh; When eating, everyone will be very active, toasting each other, persuading dishes and so on, creating a lively and warm atmosphere as a whole. This kind of diet will be used on many occasions in China, especially on Mid-Autumn Festival, Spring Festival and other festivals. The whole family will come back from all directions to celebrate the holidays together, and the elderly or people who are good at cooking at home will cook a big table of dishes, eat happily together, bless and celebrate the New Year. Pay attention to a harmonious and reunion atmosphere. Usually, when Chinese people hold parties, they don't order food for everyone, but prepare a lot of meals. As for eating more and eating less, there is no requirement for quantity. But in western countries, their way of eating is very different from ours. Westerners don't have the reunion and lively eating habits of China people. They like to eat in a quiet and elegant environment. Everyone has his own plate, and everyone's food is allocated and matched in advance. There is no big Chinese table where everyone eats together around a pile of dishes. In the process of eating, everyone has no fixed position and can walk around with his own plate. This way of eating in the west reflects their personal way of thinking. They emphasize personal space and respect for individuals. However, the western way of eating also has some shortcomings. People can't communicate their feelings when eating, so they lack the emotional appeal of some people in China.

Second, the differences in food etiquette.

Many people say that China's dining table can talk about cooperation, propose marriage and connect feelings. In a word, most things in China can be solved at the dinner table. Therefore, the dining table is no longer a simple place to eat, but also a way of communication. In this special way of communication, etiquette culture is the most important. Generally speaking, China people attach great importance to seating arrangement when dining. Except for some family dinners, people attach great importance to seniority and qualifications when dining on other occasions. When having a group meal, we usually wait for the guests to take a seat, but the seating arrangement is fixed. For example, the position facing the door is the highest, followed by the east, and the guests or hosts usually sit at the door. When announcing the start of sitting, some powerful and important people will be invited to start first, and then the host will start. However, in the west, there are many differences between food etiquette and China. The most important thing in western dining etiquette is gentlemanly manners. Men should respect women and follow the principle of giving priority to women. When attending a banquet with women, the most important position facing the door is the hostess, and the man sits opposite the hostess, that is, at the door, to show respect for women. In the specific meal, the man should get up and pull the chair for the lady first, so that the lady can sit down first; When eating, men can't eat first, but wait for the hostess and other ladies to start eating. After the meal, the host can only leave after the hostess leaves. The host will also pull a chair for the lady and let her go first to show gentlemanly manners.

Third, the difference of diet content.

China is a big agricultural country with a large population, and its diet contains a lot of contents, among which the staple food is mainly grain, followed by various vegetables in China, and plant vegetables are dominant. According to relevant surveys, China people have the most plants in their food, which is seven times that of western countries. There are more than 600 kinds of edible plants in China people's daily life. The reason why people in China take plants as their main dishes is closely related to the influence of Buddhism on the country. After the Tang Dynasty, Indian Buddhism began to be introduced into China. Buddhism believes that animals are second only to humans, and people can't kill them or cook with their meat. In contrast, plants are not. They have no soul, so China has formed a vegetable-based diet. Therefore, some people call China people's character plant character. People in China like to cook their own meals, so most of them are spicy. In people's minds, food loses its original flavor when it's cold, and only when it's hot can the flavor of food really come into play. On the other hand, westerners are different from China people. Animals account for the majority of their food, which is related to the cultural background of their nomadic and marine peoples. In primitive western society, many people make a living by fishing, hunting and breeding, while farming in western society is not developed, so people are used to meeting the needs of animals for food, clothing and use. Therefore, in western countries, there are many animals in food, such as beef, mutton and pork. In terms of cooking methods, we also pay great attention to the balance of nutrition, such as protein, fat and vitamins, which are often considered in people's daily life. Because there are many animals in westerners' food, they are also called people with animal character. In addition, westerners don't like hot food, but like cold food, such as salad and vegetable platter, which has always been westerners' favorite. When they eat vegetables, they also like raw food, such as lettuce and cucumber. They don't cook, they just eat.

Fourth, the differences in cooking methods.

In China, cooking is a very exquisite art. There are many cooking methods in China, such as frying, frying, sliding, stewing, steaming, boiling, stewing, roasting and stewing. It's all the way the chef transforms the ingredients. China people pay attention to the unity of taste and form in cooking, and the dishes they make pay more attention to color, fragrance and taste, which are indispensable, otherwise they will be considered as failed cooking. The process of Chinese food is very complicated. A dish often goes through dozens of processes, which may take several hours or even longer. After these processes, the original ingredients disappeared and became various exquisite dishes. Due to the complexity of the cooking process, the same dish, cooked by different people, will produce different flavors due to different cooking conditions, condiments and methods. In the process of cooking, the simple purpose of eating can no longer meet people's needs. On the contrary, the pursuit of fun and form is deeper. But in the west, people don't do this when cooking. Westerners believe that a good chef can match the nutrition of food to the best, and should do it in full accordance with scientific requirements in the cooking process, so western dishes have the characteristics of standardization. In other words, the accuracy of the amount and time of seasoning for each dish is an important assessment item. In terms of cooking methods, westerners generally only have four ways: frying, roasting, stewing and frying. This is because westerners pay attention to the protection of nutrition, and they think that too many cooking processes will destroy the nutrition of food. To sum up, the differences between Chinese and western diets are mainly manifested in the following aspects: diet style, dining etiquette, diet content and cooking methods. These differences are caused by different historical development, different cultural origins and different customs between China and the West. Under the trend of world integration, it is very important to fully understand the differences between Chinese and western food cultures. We should absorb some excellent western food culture to make up for the deficiency of China food culture, so as to achieve the goal of combining scientific diet, healthy diet and delicious diet.

Abstract: Diet culture is an important part of nonverbal culture in cross-cultural communication. Understanding the differences between Chinese and western food cultures can not only deepen our understanding of the language and culture we have learned, but also improve the success rate of cross-cultural communication. This paper compares Chinese and western food cultures from the aspects of dining form and etiquette, food concept, food structure and cooking, aiming at clarifying the differences between Chinese and western food cultures, eliminating boundaries, enhancing understanding and promoting exchanges.

Keywords: cultural differences, the concept structure of etiquette in Chinese and western food culture

I. Introduction

Food culture is an important part of nonverbal culture in cross-cultural communication. Diet is closely related to culture, and different ethnic groups have created different diet cultures due to the influence of living areas, climatic environment and customs. Western traditional culture is animal husbandry culture and marine culture, while China is farming culture and land culture. Two different cultures reflect the differences in people's lifestyles, while the differences in diet reveal their respective cultural backgrounds.

Second, the differences between Chinese and Western dining forms and etiquette

China's etiquette has the idea that harmony is the most important since ancient times. The idea of harmony is reflected in the idea that people in China eat together as a family when they open their seats, which embodies the traditional food etiquette in China. China people's food collection system lasted for thousands of years. In China, at any banquet, everyone sits around and enjoys their seats. Banquets should use round tables to create a United, polite and interesting atmosphere in form. This is a food collection system. The origin of food collection system is very early. From the excavation of many underground cultural relics, it can be seen that the ancient cooking room and food gathering place are unified. The cooking room is in the middle of the house, with smoke from the skylight above and a bonfire below. Put the pots and pans on the fire. When cooking on the fire, diners gather around the fire. This ancient custom of gathering food continued into later generations. Food is placed in the center of a table, which is not only the object of appreciation and tasting, but also the medium of emotional communication. This is in line with the universal mentality of the Chinese nation's happy reunion, and embodies the idea of neutralization in China's classical philosophy. In addition, the long-term spread of the food-gathering system is also a reflection of China's emphasis on consanguinity and family values in his diet. In the west, due to the far-reaching influence of Christianity, people extend the piety and respect for the Virgin Mary in Christian culture to social life, thus forming a social fashion of respecting women. The Frenchman Searle mentioned in his book "Western Etiquette and Customs" that "the continuous influence of the Middle Ages and Renaissance made women at the center of social life and made them respected objects, which other civilizations did not have". Therefore, in western banquets, people put women first and respect women as the standard of banquet arrangement. When arranging seats, list the gender of the guests first, and then arrange specific seats. Men and women go to dinner at the same time. Men need to open the door for women and let them go first. When the host leads the female guests into the hall, the male host first invites the first female guest to sit down, the male host pulls a chair to sit down for her, and the female host and the male VIP finally enter.

Third, the differences between Chinese and Western dietary concepts.

In China's food culture, the pursuit of taste is often greater than the pursuit of nutrition. When people taste dishes, they often say that this dish is delicious and that dish is not delicious. But if you want to further ask what is delicious, why is it delicious, and where is it delicious, I'm afraid it's not easy to make it clear. This shows that China people's pursuit of food is an indescribable artistic conception, that is, it is embodied by what people usually call color, fragrance, taste, shape and utensils, which still cannot cover all its meanings. In China, the pursuit of beauty in diet obviously outweighs rationality. This difference in values constitutes the characteristic that Chinese food pays too much attention to the color, aroma and taste of food. This view of diet is consistent with China's traditional philosophy. As a representative of oriental philosophy, China's philosophy is macroscopic, intuitive, fuzzy and unpredictable. The method of making Chinese food is to reconcile, and finally reconcile a beautiful taste. All this is about discretion, that is, overall cooperation. It contains rich dialectics thought of China's philosophy. Westerners' attitude towards diet mainly insists on its practical characteristics, attaches importance to food health from the perspective of nutrition, and does not pursue food patterns and other functions. They think that "eating" is just adding fuel to a biological machine to ensure its normal work and life. As long as you can stay healthy and resist the invasion of germs after eating, you don't pay attention to other aspects. It can be seen that diet is only a life-sustaining activity in their hearts. In particular, France, a big country that enjoys the reputation of food in western countries, is pursuing high-quality nutrition. Although French cooking pursues delicacy, it never forgets the premise of "nutrition". In modern western society, in addition to nutritional needs, it also attaches great importance to health preservation, and truly achieves people-oriented.

Fourth, the difference of diet structure.

According to western statistics, China people eat more than 600 kinds of vegetables, which is more than six times that of the west. In the daily diet structure of China, vegetarian dishes occupy a dominant position, while meat dishes only enter the normal diet structure during holidays or when the living standard is high, so China has had the saying of "vegetarian dishes" since ancient times. This dietary tradition is closely related to the advocacy of Buddhists, who regard animals as "living things" and plants as "inanimate". Therefore, the traditional culture of China advocates vegetarianism. Western countries have inherited the cultural lineages of nomadic and maritime peoples and made a living by fishing, hunting and breeding. Traditional dietary customs mainly focus on animal food. Because most western countries are located in high latitudes, and some countries even have snow all year round, most people in western countries like meat food. Westerners pay attention to nutrition and adopt a diet that combines raw and cooked food. Vegetables often appear in the form of salads, and the differences in diet structure sometimes reflect the different attitudes of different ethnic groups in lifestyle and diet culture.

5. Cooking differences between Chinese and Western food cultures

Western cooking follows norms and science. Westerners emphasize science and nutrition, and norms and science are everywhere in cooking. In western recipes, the unit of measurement is grams. This recipe seems scientific. In fact, this scientific nature also has its drawbacks and lacks characteristics. In addition, standardized cooking even requires the preparation of ingredients to be accurate to the second. In addition, in the west, a dish tastes the same in different regions, different seasons and facing different consumers, and there is no change. China's cooking values randomness and characteristics. Westerners can't understand that China's cooking does not pursue accurate standardization, but values randomness. When we open China's cookbooks, we often find that the amount of raw materials prepared and the amount of seasonings added are vague concepts. A spoonful, half a bowl, and a little bit are everywhere, but there is no specific standard for how big a spoonful or bowl is. China's diet tends to be artistic. Its characteristic is randomness. For example, the same dish can be treated differently in operation because of its different regions, functions and grades. Take braised fish as an example, the color is darker in winter and the taste is heavier, while the color and taste are lighter in summer. For Jiangsu and Zhejiang people, sugar can be added to the seasoning of braised fish, and more spicy food should be added to customers in Sichuan and Hunan.

Conclusion of intransitive verbs

Studying the cultural differences of food in cross-cultural communication will help people understand each other, enjoy the different feelings brought by different foods, promote the exchange, complementarity and integration between cultures, and promote mutual understanding and appreciation between people. The author believes that the comparison of Chinese and western food culture etiquette can enhance the awareness of cross-cultural communication, and thus realize that tolerance, understanding and respect for cultural differences are essential to improve cultural communication ability.

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