Comparative Study of Chinese and Western Food Cultures.doc

10comparative study of chinese and western food cultures摘要：食品文化的研究是一个宽泛的概念，它包括许多方面。中西食品文化差异研究是跨文化交流研究的一个重要方面。这篇文章主要聚焦于三个方面，文化定义设定，礼仪差异和对食品满意差异。涵盖了整个文化交流研究的一小部分。事实上还有许多其他的方面。由于缺少信息和资料，这里的西方文化主要是指的英美食品文化。然而这篇研究为更深层的研究提供了一个开始。abstract: the study of food culture is a broad issue, which involves a wide ranger of aspects, and a comparative study of chinese & western food cultures form the cross-cultural communication perspective which contains even more. this research is mainly focused on three general aspects.they are theoretical foundations, etiquette difference and contents difference which covers only a small part of the whole study. actually there are many other aspects to be studied. besides, food cultures in western countries concerned in the research are mainly confined to america and britain due to the fact that the available information or materials is limited. however, this research makes a start for the further study. outlinethesis: as an important part of culture, chinese and western foods differ to some extent not only in ingredients and way of cooking but also in the way of service.significance of understanding disparities between chinese and western food culturesa. importance of foodb. importance of comparative study of chinese & western food cultures.theoretical basisa. definition of cultureb. concern of food culture. difference of etiquette in chinese & western food culturesa. different tablewareb. different time-orientation: lateness vs. punctuality. different focusses placed on dishes in chinese & western food cultures a. exquisiteness and taste in chinese foodb. nutrition and balance in western foodcomparative study of chinese and western food culturesfood, as essential prerequisite for existence, is any substance that provides the nutrients necessary to maintain life and growth when ingested (pamela & kathryn, 1998:2). it plays an irreplaceable role in the development of society and in the progress of human beings, whether in ancient times when primitive man ate the raw flesh of birds and beasts or in modern times when humans have entered the new era of information, and whether in east or in west.there are great disparities between china and western countries in etiquette and content of food cultures, so the comparative study of chinese & western food cultures will help us increase cross-cultural awareness that tolerating, understanding, and furthermore, appreciating and respecting cultural difference is essential if we are to achieve cross-cultural competence during the interaction. moreover, as we communicate with people from different cultures, we will learn more about them and their way of life, including their history, values and the substance of their personality, and eventually, we will understand them better, or feel empathy with them. based on the above-mentioned purposes, the author of this thesis hopes this research, to some extent, be of significance both theoretically and practically.culture is a system of shared benefits, values, customs, behaviors, and artifacts that the members of a society use with their world and with one another, and that are transmitted from generation through learning (longman dictionary, 2002:535) we define culture as the deposit of knowledge, experience, beliefs, values, actions, attitudes, meanings, hierarchies, religion, notions of time, role, spatial relations, concepts of universe, and artifacts acquired by a group of people in the course of generations through individual and group striving (samovar et al, 2000:36).food culture obviously belongs to popular culture that is overt, explicit and objective. actually, till now, nobody has ever made a widely recognized definition because of various reasons. however, here, as far as this research is concerned, in order to make the comparison more concrete and practical, the author confines food contents, food habits, food etiquette, the attitudes towards food, the function of food, etc. that are derived from each individual culture.chinese food culture in this research mainly refers to the one in han nationality. as we all know, china is a nation with 56 ethnic groups, each of which has its unique food, food habits, etc. but the han nationality and its culture are the mainstream in china due to some historical, political and economic reasons, which, however, are not the main concerns of this research. besides, the author which is much more familiar to the han cultural background, than that of any other ethnic group.western food culture in this research is mainly concerned with the one in the english-speaking countries, especially in america and britain due to the fact that their cultural patterns and influence have become dominant in the west, which is generally recognized by the international community. on the other hand, most of the materials and information on food culture collected by the author are all about american or british peoples food, food habits, etc.as mentioned above, china is a country that belongs to the second orientation. actually, since the ancient times, this orientation has always been stressed and put into practice. to sum up, just as many scholars point out that the traditional attitude of chinese people towards universe or nature is “oneness between man and nature”. under the influence of this orientation, chinese people attempt a balanced act with nature and try to live in harmony with it. besides, china is a traditional agricultural country, and the old saying that “facing the yellow soil with the back against the sky” is the most vivid description of chinese peoples life in old times. since chinese people mainly live on wheat and rice as their staple food by cultivating the farmland, the harvest of the crops, depends heavily on nature. therefore, in such cultural context and natural environment, people tend to live and work in peace and contentment, highlighting the importance of harmony with nature and with each other, attack or aggression is what they are strongly against and trying to avoid.# the application of chopsticks as the chief tableware can be traced back as early as during the shang and chou periods, although hands were probably used more often than chopsticks. when chinese people use chopsticks, usually they appear to refined and cultivated, with little disgraceful actions like poking or stabbing and their attitudes toward food are gentle and kind, although chinese people also like eating meat. roland barthes, a well-known french literary critic, once talked about the usage of chopsticks, and he remarked that unlike fork and knife, chopsticks were not used to cut, poke or stab food, therefore，food was no longer the prey under the human beings violence but turned out to be the substance passed harmoniously through them. indeed, in this sense, chopsticks have become the gentle medium between man and food, and moreover, they reflect the harmonious relationship between man and nature.kluckhohns third orientation is seen in many western societies, in which, people believe that nature is something to be controlled, domesticated, and subjugated. stewart also points out the tendency of “dividedness between man and nature” in western countries when he writes, “the early image of the dismal wildness as an enemy was in part replaced during the nineteenth century by a romantic vision, , but the separation between man and nature survived and remains securely in place to this day. the divide between humans and nature and the bias against the wildness have long traditions in the western world “(stewart & bennett, 1991:115). quite different from china, the ancestors of many western countries lived by hunting due to some ecological or historical factors. meat, of course, was their basic food source and gradually took the place of staple food. in order to survive on the severe and harsh environment, they had to be good at hunting, i.e. fighting with or killing animals by the use of some weapons like knives, forks, arrows, spears, etc, which in turn resulted in aggressiveness and the sense of adventure in their temperaments.as compared with chopsticks, it is not exaggerating at all to say that knife and fork represent the violence and cruelty, and the devastation to food without any concealment. what is reflected from the way of eating in western countries actually is humans conquest over nature. therefore, during the whole process of dining, westerners perform the action of cutting, poking and stabbing repeatedly, which, to some extent, is the recurring of those bloody fighting or killing. although human beings have long been lifted out of barbarism and stepped into the age of great civilization, today fork and knife are still maintained as the traditional tableware, reminding people of the hardship of grabbing food in old times, and of the “dividedness between man and nature”.punctuality seems to be a universal concept to everyone. however, just like other issues discussed in cross-cultural communication, the perception and use of time in different countries are culturally based. in other words, cultures vary widely in their conception of time. even within the same culture, the conception can vary with different activities. edward t. hall, who is well-known for his discussion of time across cultures, proposes that cultures organize time in one or two ways: either monochromic (m-time) or polychromic (p-time) (hall, 1989:46). he also points out that m-time is the characteristic of people from western countries in europe and america, while p-time is the characteristic of people from asia, africa, and latin america.meanwhile, hall maintains that the two orientations are incompatible. therefore, misunderstandings or conflicts may occur between people from m-time and p-time cultures, as hall vividly describes, “particularly distressing to americans is the way in which appointments are handled by polychromic people. being on time simply doesnt mean the same thing as it does in the united states. matters in a polychromic culture seem to be in a constant state of flux. nothing is solid or firm, particularly plans for the future; even important plans may be changed right up to the minute of execution” (hall, 1989:47). therefore, lateness in chinese food culture and punctuality in western food culture are the commonest examples to show the sharp contrast between p-time and m-time.according to hall, p-time cultures deal with time holistically (samovar et al, 2000:169). people in such kind of cultures do not emphasize scheduling by separating time into discrete, fixed segments. they treat time as a less tangible medium so that they can interact with more than one person or do more than one thing at a time. they do not perceive appointments as iron-clad commitments, therefore, in these cultures, personal interaction and relationship development are far more important than making appointments or meeting deadlines. as explained by hall, “polychronic cultures are by their nature oriented to people. if you value people, you must hear them out and cannot cut them off simply because of a schedule” (hall, 1989:53). for them, feelings of wasted time are not as prevalent or serious as in m-time cultures.since china is a country that falls into the category of p-time, chinese people are inclined to be little later than what is scheduled when participating in some activities, like banquets. normally, they would be half an hour later or even longer. in order to fill in this “blank” period of time, some entertainment, such as playing cards or chatting with other, etc. is arranged, and some snakes like watermelon seeds or a variety of sweets are for those who have arrived ”earlier” to “kill” the time. both host and guest get used to it and would not interpret this kind of lateness, whether consciously or unconsciously, as the disrespect to the invitation or an impolite behavior. sometimes, a host even deliberately set the time earlier, providing more “space” for guests lateness.however, this orientation to time is not always unchangeable. according to the survey made by professor hu wenzhong and his students among chinese students, only 17% of the interlocutors chose to be 5 or 10 minutes later when attending a banquet. actually, with the development of cross-cultural communication, more and more chinese people, especially the young are gradually influenced by the m-time in western countries and begin to appreciate and observe the rule of being on time.by contrast, people in m-time cultures live their lives quite differently. as a matter of fact, “people in the western world find little in life exempt from the iron hand of m-time” (hall, 1989:48). hall writes that, “people of the western world, particularly americans, tend to of time as something fixed in nature, something around us and from which we can not escape; an ever-present part of the environment, just like the air we breathe” (hall, 1990:6). as the word monochromic implies, this approach sees time as lineal, segmented, and manageable. time is something we must not waste, we must be doing something or we feel guilty (samovar et al, 2000:169).hall concludes that, “m-time, on the other hand, is oriented to tasks, schedules, and procedures. as anyone who has had the experience with our bureaucracies knows, schedules and procedures take on a life all their own without reference to either logic or human needs. and it is this set of written and unwritten rulesand the consequences of these rulesthat is at least partially responsible for the reputation of american business being cut off from human beings and unwilling to recognize the importance of employees morale”(hall, 1989:5354).therefore, appointments and schedules are very important to them. unlike chinese people, people on m-time cultures tend to follow precise scheduling. once the time is set, it is rarely changed, and people should take it seriously. usually everyone is suppose to arrive on time when attending a formal banquet or meeting appointments. sometimes, it is also acceptable that people can be little later, but no more than 10 minutes; otherwise his behavior will be regarded as inappropriate or insulting to both the host and other guests. in america, if someone is late for 20 minutes, he has to mumble some apologies. and if he is late more than 30 minutes, he is thought to be impolite or to have met some emergencies. in a word, in m-time cultures one who violates the rule of punctuality shall be punished seriouslyas we all know, china enjoys a good reputation for its plentiful and splendid cuisine. so farm china has developed four major cuisine groups, based on the localities of their origins: su (su zhou, yang zhou and hang zhou). in addition, since ancient times, the chinese have employed many cooking methods, such as braising, boiling, braising with soy sauce, roasting, baking, grilling, scalding, deep-frying, steaming, drying, salt-preserving, etc. thus, one common feature among these cuisine groups or systems is the emphasis on exquisiteness, which leads to the inclination of artistry in chinese cuisine making. that is to say, cuisine making is a creative art and demands the co-presence of color, fragrance and taste. a finely designed cuisine gives customers not only the good taste, but also a visual, and even auditory enjoyment to arouse their appetite. confucius once pointed out, “he did not dislike to have his rice finely cleaned, nor to have his meat finely minced” his statement actually represents chinese peoples awareness of exquisiteness and it is a vivid summary of the internal quality of chinese cuisine, too.meanwhile, the taste, another essential feature of chinese cuisine, is also stressed chinese people do not mind the nutrition of the food as mush as its taste. savoring food is more important to them. according to the dictionary of shuo wen jie zi( 说文解字), the chinese character “美” is composed of “羊” and “大”，which means the aesthetic perception of chinese people originates from the sense of taste. only after eating the savoring lamb, can people really experience “美”. in other words, for a chinese, having a tasty feast is the happiest thing in the world. in his book the importance of living, lin yutang expresses his brilliant exposition, “how a chinese spirit glows over a good feast! how apt is he to cry out that life is beautiful when his stomach and his intestines are well-filled. from this well-filled stomach suffuses and radiates a happiness that is spiritualthe chinese idea of happiness is, as i have noted elsewhere, being warm, well-filled, dark and sweet referring to the condition of going to a bed after a good supper. it is for this reason that a chinese poet says, a well-filled stomach is indeed a great thing; all else is luxury” (lin, 1998:45).in the 1900s many movies reflecting the fundamental food culture in china were shot in hong kong. one of the most representative films is the full set of manchu & han dishes, in which the exquisiteness of cuisine together with those incredible cooking skills compels all the audience to full admiration. although the movie is of a little exaggeration, undoubtedly, the exquisiteness and the taste in chinese cuisine are widely recognized around the world.traditional british or american cuisine is boring and limited, and many foods or cuisine were actually introduced from other countries. for example, tomatoes, were introduced to europe in 1523 from the new world (pamela & kathryn, 1998:160); chopped beef steaks were introduced to the united states from the german city of hamburg in the late nineteenth century. besides, as far as cooking methods or skills are concerned, western countries are too far behind to catch up with china. because of different factors, the features in western cuisine are quite different from those in chinese c