XIII Международная студенческая научная конференция Студенческий научный форум - 2021

Due to the influence of regional characteristics, climatic environment, customs and other factors, catering products are different in raw materials, tastes, cooking methods and eating habits. The differences between Chinese food culture and Western food culture comes from the different ways of thinking and philosophy of life in China and in the West. Chinese people pay attention to the unity of nature and man, while Westerners pay attention to the people-oriented principle.

But in China eating habits are very colorful. China has a vast territory and different places have their own unique eating habits. In China, for example, people in the north are used to eating pasta, but southerners like to eat rice. They are "sweet in the south, salty in the North, sour in the east and spicy in the west" in the taste. Secondly, Chinese people pay attention to the beauty and emotion of dishes. They pay attention to food color, aroma, taste and its shape.

Food has many symbolic meanings; it not only expresses but also establishes the relationship between people and their environment as well as between people and what they believe. Therefore, food is an important component of a society.

Food consumed by one person alone is not a social food. However, when it is consumed by a group of people together or eaten in a religious ceremony, the sociality of food is identified. In human society, food is a means for people to establish and express relationships between one another. This relationship can exist among individuals, community members, religious groups, and ethnic groups. For instance, in the Spring Festival in China, people eat dumplings to express the relationship between themselves and God.

Different foods convey different meanings among the eaters and indicate the closeness of the relationship. In Chinese culture, service of expensive and rare foods usually shows the respect to the guests. A formal dinner includes 4–6 cold dishes, 8–10 hot dishes, served with soup and fruits. A usual family dinner serves close friends. Close friends or colleagues usually go to food stalls for dining and drinking. Eating a lunch box together is a normal work relationship, and intimate lovers will have candlelit dinner together.

In Chinese culture, foods have been used as symbols of meaning in many occasions, to impart different information. Peanuts, also known as the longevity fruit, mean longevity; oranges and chestnuts mean good luck; rice cakes mean promotion year; seaweed is a homonym of rich; noodle is long, which means health and longevity; and glutinous rice balls means that the family stays together. In Chinese wedding customs, the man has to send to the woman's home wine or fish. However, eggs or lotus roots must not be used as a gift. In some areas, however, after the birth of a child, eggs dyed red by parents are sent to relatives and friends, to show auspiciousness. Some foods are a symbol of bad luck, such as pear, which sounds like away, and eating it could mean separation.

Sources:

https://asianinspirations.com.au/food-knowledge/5-chinese-eating-habits-explained/

https://www.om/intro/cuisine_drink/cuisine/travelchinaguide.cfeature.htm

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352618115000657