Culture Point on Diet

Culture Point on Diet

Because of different geographical features, climate environment, customs and others factors, we can find that the diet culture is not the same between China and West, especially reflected in the difference of concept, eating objects and manner. Understand the differences between Chinese and western diet culture and its origin, for foreigners, 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. We firmly believe that as the development of communication and integration of the international, Chinese and Western diet culture will be developed in common communicate. This will play a significant role to promote the communication of culture in the world.

Firstly, the diet concept seems different. 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. 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. The pursuit of delicious makes us ignore the real meaning of dinner. On the other hand, 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.

Secondly, Chinese and Westerners have different eating objects. Westerners believe that cuisine is 'longing', so they only eat 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. To a Chinese chef hands, this can turn decayed for magical. It serves to show the Chinese diet has wide randomness of materials. According to the survey of western plant scholars, Chinese eat vegetables with more than 600 specious and six times more than the west. In fact, in Chinese dishes, vegetarian dishes are common food. So since ancient times, we have had a statement of "food feed". Food feed is the dominant statement in our usual diet. The Chinese make plant as the main dish, and have a lot of contact with the advocacy of Buddhism. They consider animal "the life", but plants the laws of nature. Therefore, advocates the vegetarianism. In introducing the food characteristic of their own country, Westerners feel more attention about reasonable collocation of nutrition than China. They have more developed food industry, such as canned and fast food. Although the taste is common, it does better on saving time and nutrition. So in common, Westerners' human body is stronger than Chinese's: taller, longer legs, broader shoulders and more developed muscle. Chinese appears narrow skinny and short legs. According to the obvious differences in characteristic of western diet object, there's a conclusion that the Chinese character is known as the plants, the Western character is known as animals.

Thirdly, they have different diet manner. Chinese and Western diet is quite different from the way that such differences also have an impact on the national