The Differences between the Chinese and Western countries dietetic culture

許文鈺

Abstract ： China has rich and profound food culture； western nation has exquisite and self-system food civilization.This thesis mainly introduces the differences between Chinese and western culture from culture and differences. Realizing the differences between China and western country， Chinese accept and combine the acceptable part that makes our daily food ampler， but Chinese must never lose own characters， which is the correct attitude.

Key words ： Culture difference Different conceptionDifferent banquet etiquetteDifferent in time conception

Introduction

China has 5000-year-old glorious history； western world has 600-year-old social course. China has rich and profound food culture； western nation has exquisite and self-system food civilization. The collision， the exchange as well as the combination between China and Western food culture fill and color the universe civilization.

1. American food and cuisine

The United States has rich and productive land that has provided Americans with plentiful resources for a healthy diet. Despite this， Americans did not begin to pay close attention to the variety and quality of the food they ate until the 20th century， when they became concerned about eating too much and becoming overweight. American food also grew more similar around the country as American malls and fast-food outlets tended to standardize eating patterns throughout the nation， especially among young people.

Traditional American cuisine has included conventional European foodstuffs such as wheat， dairy products， pork， beef， and poultry. As Americans became more concerned about their diets， they also became more ecologically conscious. Many considered these foods more wholesome and socially responsible because their production was less taxing to the environment. Americans are more aware of food quality despite， and maybe because of， their increasing dependence on convenience.

2. Chinese cuisine

China is a country where the preparation

and appreciation of food has been developed to the highest level. The art of Chinese cooking has been developed and refined over many centuries. Emperor Fuxi taught people to fish， hunt， and grow crops and to cook twenty centuries before Christ. However， cooking could not be considered an art until the Chou Dynasty （1122-249 B.C.）.

No culture is as food-oriented as the Chinese. In China， no social occasion is complete without a dinner； no family gathering is over without sharing a meal； and no major religious event is correctly conducted without offering up special foods appropriate to the ritual context . Birth， marriage， and death are accompanied by food. Food affirms the ritual order as well as the political order.

The eating and the preparing of food are conscious and deliberate cultural acts is evidenced by the Chinese compound word used to refer to them pengtiao. As is well known， the Chinese are extremely eclectic and versatile in their choice of ingredients for food. Though obviously hyperbolic， this characterization nevertheless highlights the uncanny ability of the Chinese to turn even seemingly unpalatable and inedible things into delicacies.

3. Difference between Chinese and western food culture

Chinese think it is very disgraceful if we don't cook the food enough for the guests， so we normally cook more food than guests eat. If you finish your food at meal， the host and hostess usually add more food in your dish or bowl without asking you whether you want it or not so as to show they are sincere to the guests. They will keep saying， "Eat more" and in English we have the expression "help yourself". Westerners never force you to eat more. If you stop eating， they tend to think you are full. So sometime foreigners feel very helpless when the host and hostess put more food in their dishes and bowls and they can do nothing but eat more and more until they are completely full. So some foreigners learn to know that they always leave some food in their bowls or dishes in order to avoid more food to be added when are invited to dinner in Chinese family. That is the difference in food culture between China and the West.

American eating is funny. They eat almost everything with a fork， and it appears that holding a knife in one's right hand longer than a few seconds is considered to be against good table manners.The system is that if it is absolutely necessary to use a knife， people take the fork in their left hand， and cut off a piece of meat or whatever it is in the normal manner. Then they put the knife down， transfer the fork to their right hand， and only then do they transport the food to their mouth. This is clearly ludicrous， but it is considered good manners.

4. Combination of Chinese and western food culture

On August 15， 2001， Agendas has been reputed as the Rolls Royce of ice cream by magazine Time. In Beijing， there hold a soiree， in palace， to release a piece of news recommending the special moon cake during the mid-autumn day to china market. Agendas moon cake with a delicacy box has four different ice cream tastes： the vanilla， the strawberry， the chocolate， the Hawaiian fruit kernel， matching mango ice cream as stuffing inside and fragrance chocolate as the crisp skin.

As the same as the other Agendas ice cream， it is made of fresh and nature material. Therefore， "mid-autumn festival permanent， the pure-heart tender feelings" the ice cream moon cake fully unify the east ancient traditional culture and the western classics romantic together. The beautiful and happy moment of mid-autumn day turns the romantic moment of Agendas.

5. Western food influence

Along with China and the West cultural exchange， the western food culture also enters our country， after the western food entered our country， it has been branded the Chinese mark， has become the Chinese western-style food.

Western food grows popular in china. As China's integration into the world economy accelerates， western food has grown from a small novelty into an emerging industry and an essential part of Chinese food culture.Fast food is becoming more popular in China， especially among children and teenagers. Today， it's certainly difficult to think of any other single thing that represents the fast pace of modern society as powerfully as fast food. Many people in Western counties are becoming increasingly concerned that the fast food diet is a major contributor to serious health problems such as obesity and heart disease and Westerners are changing their habits accordingly. Some European and American countries regard the fast food as "trash food"， and take certain correlation measure to limit.

6. Conclusion

The Agendas moon cake advertisement and the KFC old Beijing chicken rolls are two typical cases of the culture junction. It suggests that the combination of two different cultures is more and more familiar to common people. Not only enriches Chinese food culture but also it colors common people' daily life. And the common people are gonging to accept the combination of two different cultures.

East and west food culture collision， exchange and combination make universal civilization more colorful. Realizing the differences between China and western country， Chinese accept and combine the acceptable part that makes our daily food ampler， but Chinese must never lose own characters， which is the correct attitude.

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（作者單位：四川職業(yè)技術學院）