Editing Chinese cuisine (section)

== History ==
{{main|History of Chinese cuisine}}

{{See also|List of sources of Chinese culinary history}}

=== Pre-Tang dynasty ===
[[File: Braised Shredded Chicken with Ham and Dried Tofu 2011-04.JPG|thumb|''[[Dazhu gansi|Dàzhǔ gānsī]]'' is a typical soup dish of [[Huaiyang cuisine]]. It is made of finely sliced dried tofu, chicken, ham and bamboo shoot, and the ingredients need to be braised with shrimp in chicken soup. It was highly praised by the [[Qianlong emperor]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Braised Shredded Dried Tofu|url=http://www.chinatoday.com.cn/english/cooking/2011-06/14/content_434301.htm|website=China Today|date=14 June 2011|access-date=10 January 2017|archive-date=2 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190302041603/http://www.chinatoday.com.cn/english/cooking/2011-06/14/content_434301.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> ]]
[[File:La Zi Ji (Chicken with Chiles) (2269517013).jpg|thumb|''[[Laziji|Làzǐ Jī]]'', stir-fried chicken with chili and [[Sichuan pepper]] in Sichuan style]]
[[File:Chinese Steamed Perch.jpg|thumb|Steamed whole [[perch]] with roe inside. Sliced [[ginger]] and spring onion is usually spread on top.]]

Chinese society greatly valued [[gastronomy]], and developed an extensive study of the subject based on its [[traditional Chinese medicine|traditional medical beliefs]].  Chinese culture initially centered around the [[Central Plain (China)|North China Plain]]. The first domesticated crops seem to have been the [[foxtail millet|foxtail]] and [[broomcorn millet|broomcorn]] varieties of [[millet]], while [[rice]] was cultivated in the south. By 2000 BC, wheat had arrived from western Asia. These grains were typically served as warm [[noodle]] soups instead of baked into bread as in Europe. Nobles hunted various wild game and consumed [[Lamb and mutton|mutton]], pork and [[Dog meat#Mainland China|dog]] as these animals were domesticated. Grain was stored against famine and flood and meat was preserved with salt, vinegar, curing, and fermenting. The flavor of the meat was enhanced by cooking it in animal fats though this practice was mostly restricted to the wealthy.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ibiblio.org/chineseculture/contents/food/p-food-c01s01.html|title=The Cultural Heritage of China :: Food & Drink :: Cuisine :: Introduction|last=Wertz|first=Richard R.|website=www.ibiblio.org|access-date=2 May 2016|archive-date=21 July 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230721114148/http://www.ibiblio.org/chineseculture/contents/food/p-food-c01s01.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

By the time of [[Confucius]] in the [[Warring States period|late Zhou]], gastronomy had become a high art. Confucius discussed the principles of dining: {{blockquote|The rice would never be too white, the meat would never be too finely cut... When it was not cooked right, man would not eat. When it was cooked bad, man would not eat. When the meat was not cut properly, man would not eat. When the food was not prepared with the right sauce, man would not eat. Although there are plenty of meats, they should not be cooked more than staple food. There is no limit for alcohol, before a man gets drunk.<ref>''[[Analects]]'', Book 10 ''Xiang Dang'' (鄉黨), Chapter 6, Verse 8: 食不厭精，膾不厭細。……失飪不食。……割不正，不食。不得其醬，不食。肉雖多，不使勝食氣。惟酒無量，不及亂。</ref>}} The [[Lüshi chunqiu]] notes: "Only if one is chosen as the [[Son of Heaven]] will the tastiest delicacies be prepared [for him]."<ref>{{cite book|last=Hollman|first=Thomas|title=The Land of the Five Flavors|publisher=[[Columbia University Press]]}}</ref>

The [[Zhaohun]] (4–3rd c. BC) gives some examples: turtle ragout, honey cakes and beer (chilled with ice).

During [[Qin Shi Huang|Shi Huangdi]]'s [[Qin dynasty]], the empire expanded into the south. By the time of the [[Han dynasty]], the different regions and cuisines of China's people were linked by major [[canal]]s and leading to greater complexity in the different regional cuisines. Not only is food seen as giving "[[qi]]", energy, but the food is also about maintaining yin and yang.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Roberts |first=J.A.G.|title=China to Chinatown |publisher=University of Chicago Press |year=2004 |isbn=9781861892270 |series=Globalities |url=https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/distributed/C/bo3536662.html |access-date=10 December 2015}}</ref> The philosophy behind it was rooted in the ''[[I Ching]]'' and [[Chinese traditional medicine]]: food was judged for color, aroma, taste, and texture and a good meal was expected to balance the [[Chinese herbology#Four Natures|Four Natures]] ('[[Yin and yang|hot]]', warm, cool, and '[[Yin and yang|cold]]') and the [[Chinese herbology#Five Flavors|Five Tastes]] (pungent, sweet, sour, bitter, and salty). [[Salt in Chinese history#Salt in Chinese cuisine|Salt was used as a preservative]] from early times, but in cooking was added in the form of soy sauce, and not at the table.{{sfnb|Anderson|1988| p = [https://books.google.com/books?id=BAcknxN_S8QC&q=%22salt+by+itself+was+never+used%22&pg=PA207 267]}}

By the Later Han period (2nd century), writers{{who|date=August 2013}} frequently complained of lazy aristocrats who did nothing but sit around all day eating [[Smoking (cooking)|smoked]] meats and roasts.

During the [[Han dynasty]], the Chinese developed methods of food preservation for military rations during campaigns such as drying meat into [[jerky]] and cooking, roasting, and drying grain.{{sfnb|Anderson|1988| p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=BAcknxN_S8QC&pg=PA52 52]}}
Chinese legends claim that the roasted, flat bread [[shaobing]] was brought back from the ''[[Western Regions|Xiyu]]'' (the Western Regions, a name for [[Central Asia]]) by the Han dynasty General [[Ban Chao]], and that it was originally known as hubing ({{lang|zh|胡餅}}, lit. "barbarian bread"). The shaobing is believed to be descended from the hubing.<ref>{{cite book|title=Fermentations and Food Science, Volume 6|first=H. T.|last=Huang
|year=2000|publisher=Cambridge University Press|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FgtFxedkgbcC&q=shao+ping+sesame&pg=PA474|page=474|isbn=0521652707|access-date=24 April 2014}}</ref> [[Shaobing]] is believed to be related to the Persian ''[[tandoor bread|nan]]'' and Central Asian ''[[tandyr nan|nan]]'', as well as the Middle Eastern [[pita]].{{sfnb|Anderson|1988| p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=BAcknxN_S8QC&pg=PA143 143, 144, 218]}}<ref>{{cite book|title=Food in China: A Cultural and Historical Inquiry|first=Frederick J.|last=Simoons|year=1990|publisher=CRC Press|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Fo087ZxohA4C&q=shao+ping+sesame&pg=PA89|page=89|isbn=084938804X|access-date=24 April 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Free China Review, Volume 45, Issues 7-12|year=1995|publisher=W.Y. Tsao|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JiXjAAAAMAAJ&q=The+name+%22shao+ping%22+applies+to+a+family+of+flaky,+fiat,+sesame-seed-+topped+breads+of+Persian+origin+but+now+found+in+all+locales+along+the+old+Silk+Road.|page=66|access-date=24 April 2014}}</ref><ref name="Holcombe2001">{{cite book|author=Charles Holcombe|title=The Genesis of East Asia: 221 B.C. - A.D. 907|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XT5pvPZ4vroC&pg=PA129|date=January 2001|publisher=University of Hawaii Press|isbn=978-0-8248-2465-5|pages=129–}}</ref> Foreign westerners made and sold sesame cakes in China during the Tang dynasty.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Golden Peaches of Samarkand: A Study of Tʻang Exotics|first=Edward H.|last=Schafer|edition=illustrated, reprint, revised|year=1963|publisher=University of California Press|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9Z7cZ77SqEQC&pg=PA29|page=29|access-date=24 April 2014}}</ref>

During the [[Southern and Northern dynasties]] non-Han people like the [[Xianbei]] of [[Northern Wei]] introduced their cuisine to northern China, and these influences continued up to the [[Tang dynasty]], popularizing meat like mutton and dairy products like goat milk, yogurts, and [[Kumis]] among even Han people. It was during the Song dynasty that [[Han Chinese]] developed an aversion to dairy products and abandoned the dairy foods introduced earlier.{{sfnb|Anderson|1988| p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=BAcknxN_S8QC&dq=yogurt+fish+wei&pg=PA80 80]}}

The Han Chinese rebel Wang Su who received asylum in the Xianbei Northern Wei after fleeing from Southern Qi, at first could not stand eating dairy products like goat's milk and meat like mutton and had to consume tea and fish instead, but after a few years he was able to eat yogurt and lamb, and the Xianbei Emperor asked him which of the foods of China (Zhongguo) he preferred, fish vs mutton and tea vs yogurt.<ref>{{cite book|title=Culture and Power in the Reconstitution of the Chinese Realm, 200-600|volume=200 of Harvard East Asian monographs|editor1-first=Scott|editor1-last=Pearce|editor2-first=Audrey G.|editor2-last=Spiro|editor3-first=Patricia Buckley|editor3-last=Ebrey|edition=illustrated|year=2001|publisher=Harvard Univ Asia Center|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PASE4LVLzQ0C&q=yogurt+fish+wei&pg=PA22|page=22|isbn=0674005236|access-date=24 April 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=China Between Empires|first=Mark Edward|last=Lewis|year=2009|publisher=Harvard University Press|url=https://archive.org/details/chinabetweenempi00lewi|url-access=registration|quote=wang su yoghurt.|page=[https://archive.org/details/chinabetweenempi00lewi/page/126 126]|isbn=978-0674026056|access-date=24 April 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Fermentations and Food Science, Volume 6|first=H. T.|last=Huang|year=2000|publisher=Cambridge University Press|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FgtFxedkgbcC&q=wang+su+yogurt&pg=PA511|page=511|isbn=0521652707|access-date=24 April 2014}}</ref><ref>{{citation |last=Choo |first=Jessey Jiun-chyi |author2=Albert E. Dien |display-authors=1 |ref={{harvid|Choo & al.|2014}} |contribution=Everyday Life |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=AeiIl2y6vJQC&pg=PA434 434] |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AeiIl2y6vJQC |contribution-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ffEYBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA429 |title=Early Medieval China: A Sourcebook |editor-last=Swartz |editor-first=Wendy |editor2=Robert Ford Campany |editor3=Lu Yang |editor4=Jessey Jiun-chyi Choo |display-editors=0 |publisher=Columbia University Press |location=New York |date=2014 |isbn=978-0-231-15987-6 }}.</ref>

=== Post-Tang dynasty ===
The great migration of Chinese people south during the invasions preceding and during the [[Song dynasty]] increased the relative importance of [[northern and southern China|southern Chinese]] staples such as rice and [[congee]]. [[Su Shi|Su Dongpo]] has improved the red braised pork as [[Dongpo pork]].<ref>《東坡續集》卷十：《豬肉頌》：“洗凈鐺，少著水，柴頭罨煙燄不起。待他自熟莫催他，火候足時他自美。黃州好豬肉，價賤如泥土。貴者不肯食，貧者不解煮。早晨起來打兩碗，飽得自家君莫管。”</ref> The dietary and culinary habits also changed greatly during this period, with many ingredients such as [[soy sauce]] and Central Asian influenced foods becoming widespread and the creation of important cookbooks such as the ''Shanjia Qinggong'' ({{lang-zh|t=山家清供|c=|p=Shānjiā qīnggòng}}) and the ''[[Wushi Zhongkuilu]]'' ({{lang-zh|t=吳氏中饋錄|c=|p=Wúshì zhōngkuìlù}}) showing the respective esoteric foods and common household cuisine of the time.<ref name=":02">{{Cite book|last=Höllmann|first=Thomas O.|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/868132659|title=The land of the five flavors : a cultural history of Chinese cuisine|date=2014|others=Karen Margolis|isbn=978-0-231-53654-7|location=New York|oclc=868132659}}</ref>

The [[Yuan dynasty|Yuan]] and [[Qing dynasty|Qing]] dynasties introduced [[Mongolian cuisine|Mongolian]] and [[Manchu cuisine]], warm northern dishes that popularized [[hot pot]] cooking. During the [[Islam during the Yuan dynasty|Yuan dynasty]] many [[Muslim Chinese|Muslim communities]] emerged in China, who practiced a porkless cuisine now preserved by [[Chinese Islamic cuisine|Hui restaurants]] throughout the country. Mongolian cuisine specially Mongolian beef, though popular globally, originated outside Mongolia. Mongolian beef was created in Taiwan in the 1950s, inspired by the rise of Mongolian barbecue-style cooking. Mongolian beef is a perfect example of fusion cuisine.<ref name="mongolian beef origin">{{cite web |last1=ALI |first1=BAKHAT |title=Why is China King Mongolian Beef a must-try dish? (Price Included) |url=https://chinakingsmenu.com/mongolian-beef/ |website=China King Menu |publisher=BAKHAT ALI |access-date=4 January 2025}}</ref> [[Yunnan cuisine]] is unique in China for its cheeses like [[Rubing]] and [[Rushan cheese]] made by the [[Bai people]], and its yogurt, the yogurt may have been due to a combination of Mongolian influence during the Yuan dynasty, the Central Asian settlement in Yunnan, and the proximity and influence of India and Tibet on Yunnan.{{sfnb|Anderson|1988| p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=BAcknxN_S8QC&pg=PA52 91, 178]}}

As part of the last leg of the [[Columbian Exchange]], Spanish and Portuguese traders began introducing foods from the New World to China through the port cities of [[Guangzhou|Canton]] and [[Macau]]. Mexican [[chili pepper]]s became essential ingredients in [[Sichuan cuisine]] and calorically dense potatoes and corn became staple foods across the northern plains.

During the Qing dynasty, Chinese gastronomes such as [[Yuan Mei]] focused upon the primary goal of extracting the maximum flavour of each ingredient. As noted in his culinary work the ''[[Suiyuan shidan]]'', however, the fashions of cuisine at the time were quite varied and in some cases were flamboyantly ostentatious,<ref>{{cite web|title=Things to Avoid 3: Meals for the Ears (戒耳餐)|website=Translating the Suiyuan Shidan|url=https://wayoftheeating.wordpress.com/2014/05/22/things-to-avoid-3-meals-for-the-ears/|access-date=8 March 2015|date=22 May 2014|archive-date=2 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402201422/https://wayoftheeating.wordpress.com/2014/05/22/things-to-avoid-3-meals-for-the-ears/|url-status=live}}</ref> especially when the display served also a formal ceremonial purpose, as in the case of the [[Manchu Han Imperial Feast]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Things to Avoid 12: Cliché (戒落套)|website=Translating the Suiyuan Shidan|url=https://wayoftheeating.wordpress.com/2014/09/05/things-to-avoid-12-cliche/|access-date=8 March 2015|date=5 September 2014|archive-date=2 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402112904/https://wayoftheeating.wordpress.com/2014/09/05/things-to-avoid-12-cliche/|url-status=live}}</ref>

As the pace of life increases in modern China, fast food like [[fried noodles]], [[fried rice]] and ''[[gaifan]]'' (dish over rice) become more and more popular.