Learn Chinese culture online: The History of Chinese Food

The history of Chinese cuisine in China traced back to Peking Man and his use of fire and the invention of "cuisine" some 400,000 years ago. Some other accounts of the history of Chinese cuisine takes the beginning to the Chinese stone age, where the cultivation of rice and the production of noodles, both typical representations of Chinese cuisine as it is known today, are understood from archaeological findings.

The history of Chinese food is an interesting one. Unlike many cultures the Chinese believe that the preparation of food is an art and not simply a craft. The art of cooking Chinese food can include dishes and food preparation techniques which are difficult to develop and may require the expertise of a chef with lots of experience. One suchtechnique is noodle pulling (scroll down to the bottom of the page to learn more about this technique). Noodle pulling requires skill and lots of practice and results in a delicious noodle dish. This article will refer to noodle pulling later on, but for now, let’s go back to the history of Chinese food.

Chinese food and the way it is prepared is very much influenced by the two major philosophies, which influence the entireChinese culture. These dominant philosophies are Confucianism and Taoism. Both have these philosophies have influenced the way that the Chinese people cook and the way that they enjoy their food.

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Younger Chinese 

扬格汉语              
2011.4.26