中国文化通览13解读

1、精选优质文档-倾情为你奉上精选优质文档-倾情为你奉上专心-专注-专业专心-专注-专业精选优质文档-倾情为你奉上专心-专注-专业第一节 饮食文化中国烹饪中国的饮食调制方法自古就有繁琐、复杂的特点。例如，尚秉和历代社会风俗事物考中介绍了礼记内则中记载的“炮豚”法，“炮”是中国古代的一种饮食调制方法，从中便可略见一斑：先取豚若羊杀之，实枣于腹内；再裹之以苇，涂之以泥，炮之使干，擘而摩去其油膜；再以稻米粉为糊，糊豚四周，煎于油镬中，使干，置小鼎中；再将小鼎置大镬沸汤中，汤勿灭鼎(勿使水浸入小鼎，败肉味也)。煮三日三夜，而后调醯醢食之。正是在这样的传统下，适应各地不同的特产、口味，便逐渐出现了各种不同的

2、调制方法。后来，在长期的实践过程中，又逐渐形成了各种具有地方特色的饮食体系。比如鲁菜(山东菜)、京菜(北京菜)、沪菜(上海菜)、苏菜(江苏菜)、浙菜(浙江菜)、川菜(四川菜)、徽菜(安徽菜)、粤菜(广东菜)、湘菜(湖南菜)、鄂菜(湖北菜)、闽菜(福建菜)、陕菜(陕西菜)、东北菜(东北地区菜肴的总称)、豫菜(河南菜)，以及仿膳菜(仿制的宫廷菜)、清真菜(回族菜的总称)、素菜(由佛教寺院所创、由僧厨执鼎、以非动物原料烹制的菜肴)等。各个菜系或清雅或淳厚、或麻辣或酸甜，不仅各有自己的独到之处，而且还各有自己的拿手好菜。比如闽菜中的“佛跳墙”，原名“全福寿”，用海参、广肚、干贝、鱼翅、火腿、蹄筋、香菇

3、、鸽子蛋、鸡鸭等10余种名贵原料，置于坛中，再加骨汤、绍酒、香料等，以荷叶封口，密封坛内，用文火煨制而成。据说，清代福州有一家菜馆制作的“全福寿”香气四溢，竟诱使隔壁寺院的一名高僧不顾佛门戒律，跳墙而入，饱餐了一顿。故又名“佛跳墙”。而鲁菜中的“泰山三美”，则是用泰安的白菜、豆腐和水烹制的“白菜炖豆腐”，自然素雅，清香宜人。中国菜肴的花色之多、菜式之众、制作之繁，是世界闻名的。中国菜还具有浓厚的文化底蕴。传说古代有一个名厨，只用两个鸡蛋就做出了4道“雅菜”：第一道菜，将两个鸡蛋黄煮熟放在盘子里，菜名叫“两只黄鹂鸣翠柳”；第二道菜，将一个鸡蛋清煮熟切成三角状码在盘子里，菜名叫“一行白鹭上青天”；

4、第三道菜，将另一个鸡蛋清炒作碎末状堆在盘子里，菜名叫“窗含西岭千秋雪”；第四道菜，将4瓣蛋壳漂在一碗清汤里，菜名叫“门泊东吴万里船”。而这4个菜名，恰好是杜甫的绝句。值得一提的是，中国菜讲味道、重艺术，并不等于不重视营养。实际上，中国菜作为一种文化，很早就与中医结下了密切的关系，在讲究味道和意味的同时，更讲究营养和保健。比如百草脱骨扒鸡、黄芪汽锅鸡、虫草全鸭、核桃鸭子、枸杞肉丝、人参莲肉汤、当归羊肉羹、双耳汤、羊肺汤、肝片汤等等，远比大块的排骨和烤肉的营养价值要高。 Chinese Culinary ArtsChinese culinary arts are rather complicate

5、d, and in different places, there are different ways for preparing dishes. Many different cuisines unique to certain areas are formed, for instance, Shandong cuisine, Beijng cuisine, Shanghai cuisine, Sichuan cuisine, Jiangsu cuisine, Zhejiang cuisine, Anhui cuisine, Hunan cuisine, Hubei cuisine, Fu

6、jian cuisine, Shannxi cuisine, Henan cuisine, north-eastern China cuisine, royal style cuisine, Muslim style cuisine and vegetarian cuisine.Each cuisine has its own specialty. For example, the Fujian cuisine has a dish called “happiness and longevity”. Its preparation is like this: first put some of

7、 the most nutritious ingredients (sea cucumber, dried scallop, sharks fin, ham, tendons of beef, doves eggs, chicken, duck, etc) into a jar, then add some bone broth, Shaoxing rice wine and spices, next, cover the mouth of the jar with a lotus leaf, and last, simmer it on the stove. Its not hard to

8、imagine how delicious and nutritious the dish would be. This dish has another well-known name “Buddha jumping over the wall”. It may sound strange, but theres an interesting story behind it. It is said that during the Qing Dynasty, a restaurant in Fuzhou (the capital city of Fujian Province) was ver

9、y famous for its dishes. One day, the restaurant made the dish “happiness and longevity”, the aroma of the dish was so appetizing and spread so far that a monk in a nearby temple just couldnt resist the temptation. In the end, he put aside the Buddhist discipline, jumped over the wall into the resta

10、urant, and ate to his hearts content. What happened to the monk afterwards, we do not know, but the reputation of the dish “Buddha jumping over the wall” spread afar.Generally speaking, there are three essential factors by which Chinese cooking is judged, namely: “color, aroma and taste”. “Color” re

11、fers to the layout and design of the dishes. “Aroma” implies not only the smell of the dish, but also the freshness of the materials and the blending of seasonings. “Taste” involves proper seasoning and fine slicing techniques. These three essential factors are achieved by careful coordination of a

12、series of delicate activities: selecting ingredients, mixing flavors, timing and cooking, adjustment of the heat, and laying out the food on the plate.What is worth mentioning is that theres a lot of cultural background knowledge involved in the naming of Chinese dishes. Often, its hard, even for th

13、e Chinese people themselves, to tell what is actually in a certain dish until it is served on the table. Of course, one can always turn to the waiter or waitress for explanation. In most cases, waiters and waitresses are ready to satisfy ones curiosity.Apart from having regard for the above-mentione

14、d three essential factors “color, aroma and taste”, Chinese cuisine attaches great importance to nutrition. As a matter of fact, Chinese cuisine has long been closely related to traditional Chinese medicine. Ginseng, walnut, Chinese angelica and the fruit of Chinese wolfberry are often used as ingre

15、dients in certain Chinese dishes. 中国筷子与其他民族一样，中国最初的食用方法也是“以手奉饭”，也就是用手抓，或用手撕，至于使用筷、叉、刀、匙等进餐用具，则都是较晚的方法。其中，筷子是中国进餐习俗中的一绝，至今已有数千年的历史。筷子是日常生活中经常用到的一种进餐工具，也是中国人进餐时的必备用具。古代称为“箸”，也写作“筯”或“櫡”等，今俗称筷子。其形或下圆上方、或上下全圆而上粗下细，其制必长短相等、粗细相类，其用必成双成对、双箸齐举。通常以右手持筷，夹取饭菜。筷子的发明充分显示了中国人的灵巧和智慧。著名学者李政道曾说：“中国人早在春秋战国时代就发明了筷子。如此简

16、单的两根东西，却高妙绝伦地应用了物理学上的杠杆原理。筷子是人类手指的延伸，手指能做的事，它都能做，且不怕高热，不怕寒冻，真是高明极了。比较起来，西方人大概到16世纪、17世纪才发明了刀叉，但刀叉哪能跟筷子相比呢?”日本的学者也曾测定：人在使用筷子夹取食物时，需要80多个关节和50条肌肉的协调运动，并且与脑神经有关。因此，用筷子吃饭可以使人心灵手巧。郑传寅、张健中国民俗辞典中对筷子的形成、发展作了较精练的概括：“筷子，以竹木等材料制成的挟食器具。广泛流传于汉族和某些少数民族地区。远古时，用树枝、竹棍或天然的动物骨角制成，后改为竹、木刮削后制成。夏、商有牙筷、玉筷问世。春秋战国，又有铜筷和铁筷。汉

17、魏六朝，始生产漆筷。稍后，又出现了银筷和金筷。以牙筷、犀角筷、乌木镶金筷和各种玉筷最为名贵。”筷子的起源很早。据考证，在原始社会时期，古人类已经懂得用树枝、竹棍来插取或夹取食物，后来便逐渐演变成了木箸和竹箸。大约在距今三、四千年前的商代，就已经有了象牙箸和玉箸。韩非子喻老载：“昔者，纣为象箸，而箕子怖。”可见以“酒池肉林”而臭名昭著的商纣王不仅追求饮食上的享受，而且在饮食用具上也变得奢侈起来。直至近代以后，“筷子”这一称呼方盛行于民间，而“箸”这一称呼则渐被淡忘。今民间唯称盛筷子的器具叫“箸笼子”，尚是“箸”这一古称的遗留。 Chinese Chopsticks Similar to peop

18、le of other nationalities, ancient Chinese people grasped or tore food with their bare hands at the beginning. Chopsticks, forks, knives and spoons were used much later, of which chopsticks, with a history of thousands of years, are a wonder of Chinese dining utensils.Chopsticks are the dining utens

19、ils most frequently used in Chinese peoples daily life. In ancient China, they were called zhu. Their upper parts are square and lower parts round, or they are all round with thicker upper parts and thinner lower parts. Whatever their shapes, the pair must be identical to each other. Normally people

20、 hold chopsticks with the right hand to pick up food. The invention of chopsticks fully displayed the dexterity and intelligence of the Chinese people. According to some Japanese scholars, to properly handle chopsticks requires the coordination of over 80 joints and 50 muscles, whats more, certain c

21、ranial nerves are also involved. Therefore, using chopsticks can help make people more dexterous and intelligent.Zheng Quanyin and Zhang Jian made a succinct summary about the invention and development of chopsticks in the Dictionary of Chinese Folk Customs, “Chopsticks, a food picking utensil made

22、of bamboo or wood, is widely used by the Hans and some minority ethnic groups. In remote ages, they were made of branches, bamboo or natural animal bones. Later they were made of scraped bamboo or wood. Ivory and jade chopsticks appeared during the Xia and Shang dynasties; bronze and iron chopsticks

23、 emerged during the Spring and Autumn Period. Laquer chopsticks did not appear until the Han Dynasty. Later silver and gold chopsticks were made. Among all kinds of chopsticks, the ones made with rhinoceros horns, jade or ebony inlaid with gold were the rarest.”It is generally held that chopsticks b

24、egan to be called kuaizi since the Ming Dynasty. In Soybean Garden Notes by Lu Rong, “Different areas have different taboos. In the central area of Jiangsu province, People abstain from saying zhu (homonym of chopsticks, meaning stop), instead they say kuaier. In north China, chopsticks were called

25、kuaizi. But in the documents of the Ming and the Qing dynasties, kuaizi was seldom used, instead, zhu was often used to refer to chopsticks, especially in literary works. As a story goes, “A person invited his friends to dinner but miscounted the number of zhu. When the dishes were served, everybody

26、 picked their zhu and started eating except one who only watched and did not move. After a while, he said to the host, Please give me a bowl of water. The host asked, What for? He answered, To clean my hands so that I may pick up food with them.”The term kuaizi was not widely called till the modern

27、times. Meanwhile, the term zhu became obsolete. 中国宴席礼仪中国自古以来就是一个文明礼仪之邦。这种“文明礼仪”表现在饮食文化上，便出现了诸多的宴席礼节。首先是宴席的座次。中国人非常讲究“长幼有序”，这种礼仪规范应用到围方桌或圆桌聚餐的宴席上，便形成了严格讲究宴席座次的传统礼俗。古代酒席一般是席地围坐，其座次的顺序尚不得而知，但肯定是有区别的。据资料记载：古代宴席以坐西面东为尊位，坐北面南次之，坐南面北又次之，坐东面西为下座。比如鸿门宴上的座次是：“项王、项伯东向坐，亚父南向坐。亚父者，范增也；沛公北向坐，张良西向侍。”其中项王、项伯的位置是主座，

28、而范增的位置则似乎应该是客座，本来应该是刘邦坐的。鸿门宴上的这种座次，表明了项羽对刘邦的轻视。再比如段成式剑侠传中记载：“遂揖客入宴，升堂当席而坐，二少年列坐两旁。”这里所谓“当席而坐”者，应是主席的位置。到了明清时期，人们对酒席上座次的要求越来越严格，如水浒传、红楼梦中对座次的要求都是非常严格的。即使是现在，日常生活中稍微正规一些的场合，人们对酒席上的座次仍然有严格的要求，但各地的习惯却并不一样。过去，中国民间喜欢用正方形的八仙桌，北方八仙桌的座次一般是：面门的两个座位为正座，其中右位为主客，左位是主人；正座的对面(即背门的两个座位)为陪座，通常是晚辈或主人家找来的陪客；左右两侧为侧座，或客

29、人或陪客，大多依年龄长幼顺序而坐，靠近正座者为上，靠近陪座者为下。南方的八仙桌座次略有不同，即正座对面为三、四宾位，有点像西方的长方形餐桌。此外，现在比较讲究的圆桌宴席也是很有讲究的。一般面门而坐的位置是主陪位，但如果桌子并不冲门口，则要看墙上的壁画，有壁画的一面为正面；或是看酒杯中的餐巾的形状，一般主陪酒杯中的餐巾是中间对折的圆筒状或鸟头状(其他的则是各种花形)。主陪位的右面是主宾位，左边是副主宾位，对面则是副陪位；副陪位的左边是三宾位，右边是四宾位。也有副主陪的左右为两位酒陪，恰与主宾、副主宾成对角线，其任务是分别负责陪主宾和副主宾喝酒；其他的则如八仙桌的侧座，可以随便坐。其次是上菜的顺序

30、和摆菜的位置。上菜，又称“出菜”或“走菜”。所谓上菜的顺序，就是指菜肴依次端上宴席的次序。实际上，宴席上的“出菜”有广义、狭义之分。广义的出菜，是指酒、菜、饭的上席顺序，狭义的出菜则仅指菜肴的上席顺序。端上席的菜肴摆放在宴席的什么位置，也是中国宴席非常讲究的一个内容。礼记曲礼中记载了古代上菜置食的总体次序：“凡进食之礼，左肴右；食居人之左，羹居人之右；脍炙处外，醯酱处内，葱处末，酒浆处右。”用现在的话来说，就是：大凡上菜的礼节，炒菜(指小块的鱼肉)放在右边，煮熟的大块肉放在左边；干菜放在左边，汤菜放在右边；切细和烧烤的鱼肉放的远些，醋、酱等调味品放在近处；生葱和蒸葱等佐料放在远处，酒水等饮料则

31、放在右手方便触及的地方。单独一道菜的摆放也有讲究，据礼记少仪记载，进献红烧或清蒸等带汤汁的鱼肴时，要将鱼尾朝向宾客；冬天鱼肚向着客人的右方，夏天鱼脊向着客人的右方。现在宴席上的置菜位置虽然与古代不同，比如现在上鱼的时候是将鱼头冲着主宾，但仍有传承。尤其是在正式的宴席上，什么菜摆在什么地方，都有一定的讲究。比如：新上的菜都要放在靠主席或主宾的位置；上整鸡、整鸭、整鱼时，一般将头部冲着主席或主宾，以示尊敬等等。再次是进食的规范和主客的礼节。中国人喜欢围坐聚餐，而聚餐必然是“众人共器”，所以特别注意进食的规范。礼记曲礼中就规定：“共食不饱，共饭不泽手，毋抟饭，毋放饭，毋流，毋咤食，毋啮骨，毋反鱼肉，

32、毋投与狗骨。”大意是说：大家一起聚餐的时候，不能只顾自己吃饱；一同在饭盘里用手抓饭的时候，不能搓手，不能多拿(把饭团成一个饭团)，不能把粘在手上的饭拂放回盘中；吃菜的时候，嘴里不能漏汤，不能咂嘴出声，不能嚼骨头，不能把已经夹取的鱼肉再放回盘中，不能扔骨头给狗。甚至包括如何剔牙缝都做出了具体规定。这些进食的规范，或多或少地都流传到了现在。至于主客之间的礼节，古代规定更为详细。比如“客若降等，执食兴辞，主人兴辞于客，然后客坐”；“主人亲馈，则拜而食；主人不亲馈，则不拜而食”；“侍饮于长者，酒进则起，拜受于尊所。长者辞，少者反席而饮。长者举未，少者不敢饮。长者赐，少者、贱者不敢辞”等等(均见于礼记曲

33、礼)。还有“膝席”、“避席”、“避席伏”等礼节，可谓繁琐而细致。这些繁文缛节在今天虽然已经不再流行，却仍有一定的传承。 The Etiquette of Chinese Banquets China has long been known as the “land of ceremony and propriety”. Consequently, there are certain manners that should be observed at banquets or formal dinners.First, seat order. Chinese people attach grea

34、t importance to the seating order at banquets or formal dinners.In the ancient times, at a banquet, people sat in a circle on the ground. Their seating arrangements are unknown, but it is certain that they were arranged in a certain order. It was recorded that the most honorable guest sat facing the

35、 east, the next important guest sat facing the south, next facing the north and the last facing the west.During the Ming and the Qing dynasties, people were more fastidious about the arrangements of seats at banquets. From descriptions in Chinese classics A Dream of Red Mansions(The Story of the Sto

36、ne) and Outlaws of the Marsh, we can see that there were strict rules regarding seat order.Even today at formal banquets people are arranged in a certain order, but in different areas, there are different rules concerning seat order. In the past, Chinese people often sat around a so-called eight-imm

37、ortal table (a table with a rectangular top, normally with eight seats around it) to dine. In the north, the seat order was arranged this way: the two seats facing the door were the most important, the host sat on the right and the most honorable guest on the left; opposite these two seats sat two s

38、pecially invited guests who were supposed to help entertain the main guests; the other people, guests or specially invited guests, were arranged, according to their age, to sit on the other two sides of the table. The two seats closer to the host and most honorable guest were considered more importa

39、nt than the other two seats. In the south, the seat order was a bit different; it was similar to the seat order in the west.Today for round table banquets, there are also special rules regarding seat order. Normally, the host sits facing the door, the one who sits on his right is the most honorable

40、guest, the one who sits on his left the secondary guest, the one sitting facing the host is the vice host, the one sitting on the left of the viee host is the third guest, and the one sitting on the right of the vice host is the fourth guest.Apart from seat order, there are also rules regarding the

41、order of serving dishes and the way dishes are set on the table. Dishes, in the broad sense, refer to wine (or liquor), meat and vegetable dishes and grain food; in the narrow sense, it only refers to meat and vegetable dishes. The rules have undergone some changes. In the ancient times, grain food

42、was served before wine, while today wine and meat and vegetable dishes are served before grain food.For meat and vegetable dishes, there are cold dishes and hot dishes. Normally cold dishes are served before hot ones, dry dishes are served before soup. Hot dishes are the main course; usually there a

43、re even numbers of hot dishes, 4, 6 or 8. Sometimes there could be 16 or 32 dishes. The most sumptuous feastMan Han Feast, has as many as 108 dishes. Soup is usually the last dish. In some places, however, fish (the Chinese word for fish is yu,which is a homonym of surplus) is the last dish, which s

44、ymbolizes that there will always be a surplus of food for people to eat.For the way dishes are set on the table, there are also rules. For example, newly served dishes are always put near the most honorable guest; when whole fish, whole chicken or whole duck is served, the dish is normally put in su

45、ch a way that the head is towards the most honorable guest. This is a way to show respect to the most honorable guest.In order to show their respect and hospitality, Chinese hosts often help the guests to the dishes. For hygienes sake, when doing this, they usually use an extra pair of chopsticks or

46、 spoon put on the table. 第二节 酒文化 在中国的饮食结构中历来就有重菜轻饭的传统，而菜又总是离不开酒。所以，中国的宴席上总少不了酒，其实所谓的宴席也就是酒席。正因如此，酒文化也就成了中国饮食文化当中极富民俗特色的一大内容。 酒文化的源流 从科学史的角度来讲，最早的酒是自然发酵的果酒。新石器时代的仰韶文化时期的遗址中，曾出土有若干小型容器，估计可能是酒器。龙山文化时期，古人已从野果酿酒发展为谷物酿酒，并出土了各种酒器。1974年，在河北平山战国时期的中山王墓中，出土了距今2 200多年以前的两铜壶古酒，据说尚有酒香。经技术分析，证实为曲酿酒。商代，谷物造酒已很普遍，并且

47、饮酒的风气极盛。从商代出土的大量饮酒器、贮酒器来看，古文献中的“酒池肉林”是可信的。史记殷本纪中记载：商纣王“大聚乐戏于沙丘，以酒为池，悬肉为林，使男女倮相逐其间，为长夜之饮”。商代的高级酒叫“鬯”，是一种用黑黍和郁金香草酿造的酒，主要用于祭祀降神和赏赐有功的诸侯；普通饮用的酒叫“醴”，是一种用蘖(即麦芽)做酒曲制成的甜酒。明清时期，伴随着造酒业的进一步发展，出现了不少地方名酒。明代王世贞曾写过酒品前后二十绝组诗，分别介绍了桑落酒、羊羔酒、章丘酒、金华酒、麻姑酒等名酒的产地、来历及特点等等。总之，在漫长的历史发展过程中，中国的酒文化得到了不断的丰富和发展，不仅是酒的品种不断增多，而且与酒相关的

48、一些文化现象也越来越丰富，最终形成了颇具民族特色的中国酒文化。 酒令 酒令是一种饮酒时的游戏，一般推举一人为令官，饮者听其号令，违则有罚。梁书王规传记载：“湘东王时为京尹，与朝士宴集，属规为酒令。规从容对曰：自江左以来，未有此举。”后来，在酒席上根据一定的规则行令饮酒，也叫作酒令或行酒令，比如“顶针续麻”、“射覆猜枚”、“拇战豁拳”等。凡行酒令者，须首先饮尽门前杯，方取得行令的资格。明清时期，酒令的方式和内容越来越多样化，遂成为酒文化中极富情趣的一种文化现象。清代的红楼梦、聊斋志异、镜花缘等古典文学名著当中，就保留了不少关于酒令的记载。比如聊斋志异鬼令所记的酒令：酒数行，或以字为令曰：“田字不

49、透风，十字在当中；十字推上去，古字赢一钟。”一人曰：“回字不透风，口字在当中；口字推上去，吕字赢一钟。”一人曰：“囹字不透风，令字在当中；令字推上去，含字赢一钟。”又一人曰：“困字不透风，木字在当中；木字推上去，杏字赢一钟。”末至展，凝思不得。众笑曰：“既不能令，须当受命。”飞一觥来。展即云：“我得之矣：曰字不透风，一字在当中”众又笑曰：“推作何物?”展吸尽曰：“一字推上去，一口一大钟。”总之，酒令作为酒宴中的一种游戏，不仅增加了人们饮酒时的情趣，而且也进一步促进了中国酒文化的兴盛。时至今日，酒文化仍然是人们日常生活当中的一个重要内容。 中国名酒 中国是酒文化的故乡，在中国历史上曾出现过许多名

50、酒。现在的许多地方名酒，也都是从古代发展而来的，主要是从明清时期发展而来。1952年，全国第一次评酒会上评出了“八大名酒”，即茅台、汾酒、西凤、泸州老窖、绍兴加饭酒、红玫瑰葡萄酒、味美思酒、金奖白兰地；1963年，中国举办了全国第二次评酒会，会上评出了“十八大名酒”，即：茅台(贵州仁怀茅台镇)、汾酒(山西汾阳杏花村)、西凤(陕西凤翔柳林镇)、泸州老窖大曲酒(四川泸州)、绍兴加饭酒(浙江绍兴)、红玫瑰葡萄酒、味美思酒(山东烟台)、金奖白兰地(山东烟台)、五粮液酒(四川宜宾)、古井贡酒(安徽亳县)、全兴大曲酒(四川成都)、夜光杯中国红葡萄酒(北京)、竹叶青酒(山西汾阳杏花村)、白葡萄酒(山东青岛)

51、、董酒(贵州遵义)、特制白兰地酒(北京)、沉缸酒(福建龙岩)、青岛啤酒(山东青岛)；1979年全国第三届评酒会也评出了“十八大名酒”：茅台酒、汾酒、五粮液酒、古井贡酒、洋河大曲酒(江苏泗阳洋河镇)、剑南春酒(四川绵竹)、中国红葡萄酒、烟台味美思酒、青岛白葡萄酒、金奖白兰地酒、董酒、北京特制白兰地酒、泸州老窖特曲酒、绍兴加饭酒、竹叶青酒、青岛啤酒、烟台红葡萄酒、沉缸酒。并且，一些从古代流传至今的名酒，还往往伴随着大量的文人吟咏和一些优美的民间传说。 Section 2 The Wine Culture Wine culture is an important part of the Chines

52、e food and drink culture. According to The Book of Rites, the water ancient Chinese offered to god was called xuanjiu or mingshui by later generations. As to the inventor of wine, there are several versions, but the most popular one is that a person called Du Kang made it. Du kang or Shao Kang was r

53、egarded as the inventor of wine.From the scientific point of view, the earliest wine was a naturally fermented fruit wine. Some drinking vessels were found from the neolithic Yangshao Culture sites. During the period of Longshan culture, fruit wine developed into grain wine, and various kinds of dri

54、nking vessels were unearthed. In 1974, two drinking vessels made of copper more than 2200 years ago (during the Warring States Period) were found in King Zhongshans tomb at Pingshan, Hebei province. It was said that the liquid inside the two vessels smelt sweet. According to technical analysis it wa

55、s proved to be twice fermented liquor.In a word, Chinese wine culture, with its unique national characteristics, was constantly enriched and developed. There have been more and more kinds of wine, and many cultural customs concerning wine. Drinking Etiquette In ancient China, there were rules about

56、drinking wine. For example, the mouth of the wine bottle should be pointed toward the most senior person; one should drink the wine completely, otherwise, he would be fined; the junior was not supposed to drink before the senior drank; after one finished drinking the wine, he should raise the cup fo

57、r others to see, etc.During the period of drinking, people often played a drinkers wager game. When playing the game, one person was in charge and the others obeyed him and would be punished if they violated the rules. It has been very popular since the Tang Dynasty. The drinkers must first drink up

58、 their cups of wine completely before they were qualified to play the game. There are descriptions of this wager game in many Chinese literary classics, such as A Dream of Red Mansions (The Story of the Stone) and Stories of the Ghosts.The drinkers wager game not only brought fun to the drinkers at

59、the banquet, but also promoted the popularization of Chinese wine culture. Nowadays wine culture is still an important part of Chinese peoples daily life. Famous Chinese Wine Many famous Chinese wines of the present day developed from ancient times, mainly from the Ming and the Qing dynasties. At th

60、e First National Wine Appraisal Conference held in 1952, eight brands of famous Chinese wine were awarded a prize. They were Guizhou Maotai, Shanxi Fenjiu, Shaanxi Xifeng, Luzhou Laojiao, Shaoxing Jiafan, Red Rose Grape Wine, Weimeisi and Special Fine Brandy. At the Second National Wine Appraisal Co