Looking at Chinese national spirit from the perspective of food culture

Diet is the first element for human survival and development, and human civilization begins with diet. Diet culture develops with the formation of human society and progresses with the development of human society. Diet goes beyond simple physiological needs and continuously enriches its own connotation. It has become an important part of social and cultural life and is an important part of people's material life and part of spiritual life. Chinese food culture has a long history, is extensive and profound, and has distinct national and regional characteristics. It is a shining pearl in the treasure house of Chinese national culture and a valuable tourism resource in China's tourism development.

Food culture refers to people’s eating behaviors and habits in daily life, mainly including the properties of the food itself, the production process and rituals, dining utensils, environment, etiquette and customs, etc.

Food culture has always been a treasure in national culture. The world-famous Chinese cuisine includes the Chinese nation’s rich food sources, unique food processing techniques, profound food aesthetics and food folk customs and other cultural connotations. It has become an important part of the material civilization and spiritual civilization of society in the past dynasties. , is one of the yardsticks for testing the development level of these two civilizations. At the same time, Chinese cuisine is also an art that combines beauty in color, aroma, taste, shape, utensils, health, and meaning. In terms of color, it pursues the matching of cold and warm, with appropriate shades; in terms of smell, it advocates the fragrant, pure and attractive; in terms of taste, it pays attention to the harmony of five flavors and is popular; in terms of shape, it pays attention to variety, exquisiteness and harmony; in terms of utensils, it strives to They are of fine texture, beautiful and comfortable, and complement each other; in terms of function, they advocate health and safety, and replenish the body and mind; in terms of food atmosphere, they emphasize quietness, elegance, and fun.

China’s food culture has a long history and its cooking skills are world-famous. It is known as the “Kingdom of Food” in the world. Like music, dance, calligraphy, painting, and drama, Chinese food culture is an important part of China's thousands of years of splendid national cultural heritage and is also a valuable tourism resource. It can be said that in today's tourism activities, food has already surpassed the purpose in a purely biological sense, but is a cultural carrier and symbol that reflects people's love for life, self-expression, pursuit of elegance, emphasis on experience, and rich taste. important cultural activities with rich social significance. Nowadays, "eating in China" and tasting the delicacies of China's north and south are one of the motivations for thousands of tourists at home and abroad to travel to China.

The development process of Chinese food culture:

Food culture emerged with the emergence of human society, and has continuously formed its own richness with the development of human material culture and spiritual culture. connotation. There are currently different opinions on the origin of food culture. Some people believe that the Yellow Emperor is the ancestor of cooking based on the legend that he made cauldrons and taught people to build stoves and steam rice; some people think that Suiren "drilled wood to make fire to dissolve the fishy smell", and it was he who opened the first page of the history of cooking; Some people think that Fu Xi "made nets and taught fishermen to fish" and should be the ancestor of Chinese cooking. In fact, these records in ancient books are all recorded by later generations, and they are often painted with a layer of mythology. It is inevitable that certain pioneering achievements of an era or a clan or tribe are concentrated on one person. Humans originally collected wild fruits and captured animals just to satisfy their hunger and protect their bodies. The records in ancient books only reflect the transformation from eating hair and drinking blood to cooked food, and there is no mention of the conscious art of cooking by humans. From a scientific perspective, the emergence of eating activities should begin with humans eating cooked food. With the continuous development of human social productivity, surplus products are becoming increasingly abundant, and social division of labor is expanding. Eating activities have become a conscious behavior of human beings, and gradually formed a periodic habit, thus creating a series of diet-related behaviors. A system of ideas and behaviors gradually evolved into an art and a culture.

About 10,000 to 40,000 years ago, humans invented the stone cooking method of burning stones to transfer heat to cooked food. This is the most primitive cooking method. Primitive humans either roasted the food directly on the fire, or placed the food on the stone slab and heated the stone slab to roast it before eating. This has been proved by the archaeology of Zhoukoudian in Beijing. In the Neolithic Age, Chinese society entered the pottery age. People used pottery as cooking utensils, or used pottery tripods to cook meat, pottery pots to cook grains, or pottery pots to steam food. The use of pottery cooking utensils promoted the development of primitive cooking and marked the official entry of mankind into the cooking era.

The unification of China from the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties to the Qin Dynasty was an extremely important stage in the history of Chinese cooking. With the leap in productivity, profound changes have taken place in all aspects of social life. China has entered the Bronze Age since the Xia Dynasty. People began to use copper cooking utensils, change the raw materials into small pieces, and use animal oil to cook dishes, which led to the advancement of cooking to oil cooking. At this time, the rich and nobles would play music and beat the bells when eating, and use the tripod to serve all kinds of delicacies, which is the so-called "bell-ringing and tripod-food". The basic formula of our country's food culture was initially set during this period. From a historical perspective, the diet in the pre-Qin period has made great progress compared with the primitive society period, such as the expanding range of food, the continuous development of cooking utensils, the advancement of cooking methods, the initial formation of cooking systems and food culture, etc. wait.

The food varieties and cooking level of the Han Dynasty have made great progress compared with the previous dynasties.

After the Han Dynasty, ironware gradually replaced copperware, and vegetable oil began to be used in cooking. Cooking methods such as stewing, boiling, stir-frying, frying, sauce, pickling, and broiling have been mastered. Food raw materials are also very particular, and the technical division of labor in cooking operations has become more and more common. Maturity, this can be proved from the "Chef Picture" and "Cook Figurine" unearthed in Shandong. "Chef Picture" depicts a set of grand scenes of a coherent cooking process. The characters depicted in the picture are all busy and performing their duties. There are six levels from top to bottom, summarizing everything from raw material preparation to processing. There is a clear division of labor in each link, which is a powerful expression of the cooking culture of the Han Dynasty. The "Chef Figurine" is about the image of a chef. Judging from the clothing and attire, it is almost the same as today's chefs, which shows that chefs had become a profession at that time. After Zhang Qian passed through the Western Regions in the Han Dynasty, he introduced a large number of foreign foods such as grapes, watermelon, sesame, spinach, celery, garlic, and fennel, which changed the traditional diet in terms of quantity, quality, and structure.

The Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties were a period of great exchange and integration of the food culture of people of all ethnic groups in my country. In addition, influenced by the Taoist idea of ??"immortality", the content and form of food were colorful and pursued " The rich cooking methods of "medicine and food come from the same source" and "medicine and food are the same". The types of food at this time included almost most of the commonly used foods in modern times. Jia Sixie's "Essentials for Qi Min" reflects the height of the development of food culture at that time. In addition, after the Wei and Jin Dynasties, the trend of drinking tea began to rise. In the southern Wu State, tea was used as a palace drink, and tea was served at all banquets of nobles. During the Southern Dynasties, tea drinking had become popular among poor families. During the Northern Dynasties, scholar-bureaucrats regarded drinking tea as a "Chinese taste".

The Tang and Song Dynasties were the heyday of my country’s food culture. The vigorous development of commerce and handicraft industry, the development of water and land transportation and the rise of cities have promoted the development of the catering industry. The Tang Dynasty was the period of formation of Chinese tea culture. The publication of the "Tea Classic" written by Lu Yu, known as the "Tea Sage" by later generations, brought Chinese tea culture into a new realm, that is, from drinking to tasting. From a habit and hobby to a kind of cultivation and a culture. By the Song Dynasty, tea had become a necessity in people's lives. Especially the porcelain tableware of the Song Dynasty nourished our country's food culture with its exquisiteness. Food culture life has become an important social and cultural activity for literati and officials. The literati pay attention to food, delicious food, beautiful utensils and beautiful scenery, which strengthens the aesthetic nature of food culture.

During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, food culture developed further and became more colorful. Whether it is palace diet, aristocratic diet, government diet, or ethnic diet, local diet and folk diet, there is a booming trend. Especially after the Qing Dynasty unified the country, the food culture showed the characteristics of integrating the cuisines of the north and the south. The typical representative of this is the emergence of the Manchu-Han banquet. The Manchu-Han Banquet is famous for its grand etiquette, luxurious materials, numerous dishes, and luxurious scenes. It is one of the famous Chinese dishes that can rival the famous French cuisine.

3. Basic characteristics of Chinese food culture

Chinese food culture is based on the extensive dietary practices of Chinese ancestors throughout the ages. It is an important reflection of human survival and development. It is closely related to people's material life and spiritual life and has distinctive characteristics.

First of all, Chinese food culture is an ancient yet young culture with everlasting charm and charm. Chinese food culture has a long history. It has been produced since the beginning of the ancient Chinese ancestors' own food activities. "It is the first flower of human life." At the same time, with the development and progress of ancient Chinese society, both eating utensils and eating etiquette and customs are constantly developing and enriching. Chinese food culture is closely connected with people's social life. It is endless and has strong vitality.

Secondly, Chinese food culture is a self-contained cultural form with unique characteristics. Food culture is a cultural form that spans many fields of material culture and spiritual culture and has its own unique connotation and extension. It is a cultural form that has its own network and unique charm. Its development is closely related to the development of social economy, scientific and technological progress, land development and agricultural production. The organic combination of these basic factors constitutes its matrix and at the same time defines its characteristics. Chinese food culture was formed under the influence of China's specific material environment and many factors. Therefore, Chinese food culture has the unique characteristics of food matching, proper etiquette, orderliness in the four seasons, reasonable meals, attention to tableware, and hygiene and deliciousness. cultural tone and taste.

Thirdly, Chinese food culture is the benchmark of Chinese civilization and the embodiment of the characteristics of the Chinese nation. Food is the most important thing for people, and food plays a very important role in people's lives. It not only satisfies people's physiological needs, but is also an important material means to improve human physique and promote intelligent creation. At the same time, because of its rich cultural connotation, it also satisfies people's spiritual pursuits to a certain extent and is the foundation of human civilization. An important yardstick. The food composition and eating habits of a country and a nation reflect the nation's natural products, production conditions, cultural qualities and creative talents, as well as the achievements in utilizing and developing nature and national characteristics. Chinese food culture is an important part of the long and splendid culture of the Chinese nation. It marks the development process and progress of Chinese civilization in various historical periods. It reflects that the Chinese nation has been a nation that loves life and pursues truth, goodness and beauty since ancient times. It reflects from one side It reflects the creative spirit and unique style of the Chinese nation.

Section 2: Rich and Colorful Food Culture

Chinese food culture has a long history, wide spread area, large eating population, excellent cooking skills, and rich nutrition. It is world-renowned for its dishes and profound cultural connotations, and has become a pearl in the treasure house of human food culture.

1. The origin of food culture

China is a country that has always attached great importance to food. In the evolution of civilization for thousands of years, a rich and colorful food culture has been formed. The long history of Chinese food and rich cultural accumulation have earned China the reputation of the world's "Culinary Kingdom", and Chinese cuisine has also ranked among the four most famous dishes in the world. Compared with the culinary art of other countries or nations, Chinese cooking has its own characteristics in terms of food selection, cooking techniques, dish design, seasoning, and dish names.

First of all, in terms of natural conditions, China has a superior geographical environment, a vast land and abundant resources, diverse climate changes, and a wide variety of animals and plants, which provide rich and diverse sources for the selection of food.

Secondly, in terms of historical conditions, the stable and long agricultural life, the tradition of emphasizing history, family and traditional skills (including cooking, brewing, etc.) have made the "ancestral" cooking skills be inherited and supplemented. The traditional Chinese way of eating a family meal without sharing food plays an important role in emotional communication and maintaining family unity.

Looking at political conditions again, the centralized power of ancient China brought delicacies from all over the world to the dining tables of the emperors and nobles, forming a gorgeous and colorful banquet. China's food culture is based on the life of the scholar-bureaucrat class, with the princes and nobles under the feudal autocracy as the intermediary, and especially the palace's food and drinks as a concentrated representation of accumulation, preservation, dissemination and development. The ultimate luxury of Chinese emperors is the highest expression of traditional Chinese food culture.

Finally, in terms of cultural conditions, Chinese agricultural culture advocates that "you never tire of fine food and never tire of fine meat". It believes that food is man's "great desire" and "food is the destiny of the people", so food is important. Chinese traditional food culture is enjoyed by a very small number of people. The large population, abundant products and slow pace of life determine that time is the least valuable thing. In order to organize a sumptuous banquet of delicacies from the mountains and seas, a lot of manpower and material resources were spent on meticulously carving it, striving to achieve perfection so that it could be enjoyed by dignitaries.

Chinese food culture, like music, dance, calligraphy, painting, and drama, is an important part of China’s thousands of years of splendid national cultural heritage. It is a valuable tourism resource and has important tourism development value. .

2. Main local flavors

For a long time, various regions have formed their own unique flavors and different cuisines due to the use of different raw materials and ingredients and the adoption of different cooking methods. In different historical periods, Chinese cuisine can be divided into different schools according to different classification standards. From the perspective of the nature of the raw materials, Chinese cuisine can be divided into vegetarian dishes (palace vegetarian dishes, temple vegetarian dishes, folk vegetarian dishes) and meat dishes; from the perspective of the functions of the dishes, Chinese cuisine can be divided into ordinary dishes and health and medical dishes; from a regional perspective , Chinese cuisine can be divided into four major cuisines, namely Shandong cuisine, Jiangsu cuisine, Sichuan cuisine and Cantonese cuisine. They are all formed in the long river of internal and external economic and cultural exchanges in various regions, and have distinctive regional cultural characteristics. Here is a brief introduction to the four major cuisines.

1. Shandong cuisine

Shandong cuisine, also known as Shandong cuisine, is developed from the local cuisines of Jiaodong and Jinan. The flavor of Shandong cuisine not only expanded to Beijing and Tianjin, but also spread as far as the white mountains and black waters, becoming the most influential cuisine at that time. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, Shandong cuisine became the mainstay of royal cuisine and the representative of northern my country cuisine. Its characteristics are: careful selection of ingredients, proficiency in soup making, famous for its fragrance, freshness and pure taste, and emphasis on plumpness and affordable benefits. In addition, Confucius cuisine in Qufu, Shandong also had an impact on the formation of Shandong cuisine. Now, Qufu is imitating the menus of the Confucius' tribute to the emperor during the Ming and Qing Dynasties and the recipes for the Kong family's daily banquets recorded in the "Confucius Mansion Archives", which are very popular among domestic and foreign tourists.

The representative dishes of Shandong cuisine include: sweet and sour carp, Texas braised chicken, pot stickers and tofu, nine-turn large intestine, clear boiled red carp, braised prawns, fried conches, Kongfu Yipin hotpot and other 20 flavors . Its snacks and snacks include: Zhoucun crispy pancakes, Wucheng Xuan cakes, lotus leaf cakes, Weixian Gangzitou fire pancakes, pancakes, sugar crispy pancakes, pot stickers, soup dumplings, flowered steamed buns, fried buns, golden noodles, steamed noodles, and eggs. Crispy fried noodles, Fukuyama ramen, Penglai noodles, chicken grits, sweet foam, etc.

2. Cantonese cuisine

Cantonese cuisine, also known as Cantonese cuisine, is composed of three major schools: Chaozhou, Guangzhou, and Dongjiang (Huizhou). The characteristics of Cantonese cuisine are: a wide range of ingredients, many ingredients, emphasis on decoration, freshness and smoothness; good at stir-frying, good at controlling the heat, and the right oil temperature; pay attention to seasonal combinations, strive for lightness in summer and autumn, and focus on richness and mellowness in winter and spring. Cantonese cuisine, represented by Guangzhou cuisine, has influenced Fujian, Taiwan, Qiong, and Guangxi.

Guangzhou cuisine is characterized by fine preparation and a wide variety of colors. It emphasizes steaming and frying. The braised pork belly is also very exquisite, and the colorful dishes are vivid in shape. In terms of animal raw materials, in addition to pigs, cattle, and sheep, there are also snakes, cats, rats, etc. Snakes, in particular, have been used in dishes for a long time. In "Huainanzi" of the Western Han Dynasty, there is "Yue people get snakes as delicacies." According to records, it is known among the people as "Eating in Guangzhou". In the 18th and 19th centuries, with the advent of foreign trade and "going to Nanyang", Cantonese cuisine gradually entered the world. It is said that there are now thousands of Cantonese restaurants in New York alone.

Chaozhou cuisine is famous for cooking seafood, and vegetable soup is the most distinctive, with fine knife skills and strong sweetness. Pay attention to maintaining the original flavor of the main ingredients. Dongjiang cuisine is heavy on oil, salty in taste, outstanding in main ingredients, simple and generous, and has a local flavor.

Representative famous dishes include: Crispy Suckling Pig, Baiyun Pork Knuckle, Dragon-Tiger Fight, Roast Goose, Snake Soup, Taiye Chicken, Stewed Sea Dog with Xingyuan Chicken Feet, Dinghu Shangsu, Dongjiang Salt Baked Chicken, Hu National dish, crispy fried double pigeon and other 20 flavors. Its snacks and snacks include: guinea chicken cakes, preserved egg cakes, fried dumplings, ice meat mille-feuille cakes, Daliang paste fried cakes, crispy lotus paste buns, barbecued pork buns, pink fruits, Lunjiao cakes, water chestnut cakes, rice rolls, and honeycombs. Taro wedges, sponge cake, crab roe soup dumplings, thin-skin shrimp dumplings, dry steamed siomai, Shahe noodles, lotus leaf rice, Ji Di porridge, Tingzi porridge, Daliang double skin milk, etc.

3. Sichuan cuisine

Sichuan cuisine, also known as Sichuan cuisine, is represented by dishes from Chengdu and Chongqing and enjoys a high reputation in our country. Sichuan cuisine attaches great importance to the selection of ingredients, and pays attention to consistent specifications. The color and side dishes have clear priorities, bright colors and coordination. Since ancient times, there has been a food tradition of "high taste" and "good spiciness". Its characteristics are: spicy, fishy, ??strong flavor, emphasis on seasoning, inseparable from the "three peppers" (i.e. chili, pepper, pepper) and fresh ginger. It is popular for its spicy, sour, numb and fragrant, and has always enjoyed "one dish, one taste". It has the reputation of "a hundred dishes and a hundred flavors", and the local flavor is very rich. It has the reputation of "eating in China, tasting in Sichuan". Therefore, some people summarize the characteristics of Sichuan cuisine as "it is famous for its freshness and spicy food". Sichuan cuisine also has an influence on Hunan, Hubei, Guizhou and Yunnan. Sichuan cuisine has a long history. It has already shown its prominence in the late Qin and early Han dynasties. Nowadays, Sichuan cuisine restaurants have spread all over the world.

The representative dishes include Kung Pao chicken, twice-cooked pork, fish-flavored shredded pork, couple's lung slices, Mapo tofu, Dengying beef, mandarin duck hot pot, dry-roasted rock carp, homemade sea cucumber, crispy pork slices, and dry stir-fry There are more than 20 flavors including winter bamboo shoots. Its snacks and snacks include: lotus leaf steamed cake, steamed steamed cake, egg baked cake, egg iron cake, Qingcheng ginkgo cake, Chongqing parfait, Guokui, Yibin burning noodles, dragon noodles, red oil dumplings, glass shaomai, and Dandan noodles , Lai glutinous rice balls, sesame dumplings, Guanghan Sanhe mud, Sichuan northern jelly, Xiaolong steamed beef, Shunqing mutton noodles, etc.

Characteristics of Chinese food culture

Chinese food culture has formed extremely distinctive national characteristics during its long historical development, which are mainly reflected in the following aspects:

< p>1. The harmony of five flavors is the biggest feature of Chinese food culture

Chinese food culture regards the harmony of five flavors as the highest principle in cooking, both in terms of the pursuit of taste and the preparation of dishes. The principle of five-flavor harmony runs through the entire Chinese food culture and is the essence of Chinese food culture.

Five-flavor blending is first of all to meet the needs of people's dietary tastes and the requirements for selecting food raw materials. Five flavors refer to sweet, sour, bitter, spicy, and salty; five-flavor harmony means that these five flavors can be varied and combined reasonably to maintain and bring out the original or true taste of food. The blending of the five flavors must also be in accordance with the time order. The selection of food raw materials has different emphasis in different seasons. In "Book of Rites? Nei Principles", it is said that "for harmony, spring is more sour, summer is bitter, autumn is pungent, and winter is salty." The expression "smooth and sweet" emphasizes that it should not only meet people's taste needs, but also be in harmony with the changes in the four seasons and people's physiological needs. The blending of five flavors is also a requirement for the cooking process. "Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals? The Second Book of Filial Piety" once described this process and requirements: It is very particular about who puts the five flavors first and then how to control the timing, how to put more and less, and how to mix them appropriately. During the cooking process, the extremely subtle changes in the pot are difficult to explain in words. The key is for the cook to grasp the appropriate "degree" so that the dishes will have the characteristics of "long time but not bad, cooked but not rotten, sweet but not greasy, sour but not sour". The superior characteristic of "Cool" is to harmonize all flavors into a harmonious organism.

2. Pursue the concept of food that is organically unified in terms of color, aroma, taste, shape, utensil, and environment

Chinese food culture has a strong aesthetic function, not only pursuing the beauty of the harmony of the five flavors, but There is also a preference for the comprehensive beauty of color, aroma, taste, shape, utensils and environment, which is the aesthetic cultural characteristic of Chinese food culture. Chinese cooking is known as "the art of eating" and "the aesthetics of eating". The beauty of color is given top priority in Chinese cuisine, which shows the importance of color recognition in stimulating appetite. Confucius proposed that "don't eat if the color is evil". The quality of the color combination of dishes is often the key to the success of a banquet. The aroma of dishes can trigger people's desire and motivation to taste the dishes. At the same time, the feeling of fragrance can deepen and promote people's aesthetic pleasure in color and shape. The pleasure in eating is based on "taste", and the delicious food combined with color, aroma and shape is the climax of the aesthetic feeling of food. "Heavy flavor" is one of the main features that distinguishes Chinese food culture from Western food culture. Shape beauty helps to create the aesthetic mood and atmosphere of food. Delicious food and delicious food complement each other like the sound of harp and harp, complementing each other. The beauty of the environment mainly refers to the elegant and harmonious dining space environment and emotional environment, which can make the banquet even better and make people feel relaxed and happy.

The harmonious unity of color, aroma, taste, shape, utensils and environment makes eating activities not only an act of satisfying physiological needs, but also has obvious value of aesthetic appreciation and aesthetic experience, and cooking and The design and arrangement of banquets have the significance of artistic creation.

3. ***The way of eating with the same meal

Chinese people never regard food as just a means of filling their stomachs, but are accustomed to using it as a liaison Emotional ties with people. In terms of the way of eating, Duo likes the "free eating" way.

Although Westerners also eat at the same table, they each eat their own meals, which is different from the Chinese who eat the same dish and drink the same soup. Although the "separate meal" method of eating is unscientific from a hygienic point of view, the "full meal" in Chinese banquets pursues a state of life. Ancient Chinese kings used banquets to "connect with each other" and achieve long-term peace and stability in the country; banquets among the people used food and drink to connect with each other, eliminate barriers, harmonize families, get close to neighbors, and even unite the nation. Whether it is the chanting and singing of literati and elegant banquets, or the competition in folk wine shops, in the simultaneous tasting of different flavors of dishes, in the poetic and picturesque banquet atmosphere, people and nature, people and people can achieve the goal. A harmonious and beautiful realm of life.

Confucius said more than 2,000 years ago: "It's a great pleasure to have friends come from far away!" This sentence embodies the Chinese people's tradition of hospitality. China's modern tourism and food culture still follows this tradition, warmly receives tourists from all over the world, and pursues emotional harmony, a cordial atmosphere, and emotional communication between the host and guest during the banquet. However, the guests' eating habits should be fully respected during the meal, and public chopsticks should be used in the "separate meal" method, or the form of separate meal should be maintained and the eating method of divided meals should be used, so that Western tourists can experience both the Chinese food and the Chinese food. The poetic atmosphere of cultural harmony is psychologically and habitually adaptable, and also enables contemporary Chinese food culture to adapt to modern people's pursuit of hygienic quality of life.

Extensive and profound wine culture

Chinese wine has a long history of more than 5,000 years. In the long process of development, it has formed a unique style and given birth to a glorious Chinese wine culture. As a special cultural form, wine culture has a special status in traditional Chinese culture and has penetrated into almost every field of social life. From wine, we can understand all aspects of Chinese society, including politics, economy, agriculture, commerce, history and culture, etc. We can all find valuable information in wine culture. Wine is a gorgeous flower in food culture and a symbol of social civilization.

1. The formation of wine culture

Wine is made from sorghum, wheat, rice, grapes or other fruits and other raw materials through saccharification and fermentation and contains edible alcohol (ethanol above one degree). Beverages with ingredients such as wine). From the perspective of brewing technology, China is one of the first countries in the world to understand brewing technology. As early as the middle Neolithic Age, our ancestors already knew how to make wine. But so far, it is still difficult to determine when and who made artificial wine. There is a theory of Yidi brewing wine, and there is also a theory of Dukang brewing wine. Later generations have always regarded Yidi and Dukang as the gods of wine. In addition, there are also theories of "apes making wine" and Huangdi's theory of wine making. Although there are different opinions, domestic scholars generally believe that my country's winemaking was a relatively developed industry during the Longshan Culture period. From the perspective of its development, Chinese wine can be divided into five stages: enlightenment, growth, maturity, development and prosperity.

The period from the Yangshao Culture of the Neolithic Age to the early Xia Dynasty was the Enlightenment Period. This period was the late primitive society, and the ancestors used moldy but sprouted grains to make wine. The prerequisites for artificial winemaking are the development of agricultural civilization and the emergence of pottery. In the Yangshao Cultural Relics, there are both pottery pots and pottery cups. It can be inferred from this that artificial winemaking began about 6,000 years ago.

From the Xia Dynasty to the Qin Dynasty, around 1800, it was the growth period of Chinese wine. During this period, due to the availability of grains and livestock in agriculture, Quzi was invented in the winemaking industry, making China the first country to use Quzi to brew wine. At the same time, with the rapid development of wine-making technology, the wine-making industry began to be separated from agriculture as an independent manual department. The imperial court began to set up officials to manage wine to take charge of major state affairs and royal banquets. The establishment of the wine officer marks that wine making has become an independent handicraft industry department, which plays an important role in standardizing and improving wine making technology, summarizing and promoting wine making experience.

Zhou people were agriculture-oriented and believed that large amounts of wine and alcoholism would waste a lot of food and were intolerable "evils". In order to save food and accumulate national strength, in the early years of the Western Zhou Dynasty, the first alcohol prohibition code in our country's history - "Jiu Gao" was promulgated, which stipulated very strict alcohol prohibition measures. The Western Zhou Dynasty went from setting up officials to regulate wine to prohibiting wine by law, which marked that wine culture and institutional culture went hand in hand, which had a profound impact on China's wine administration for thousands of years. Under the direct influence of etiquette culture, the rulers of the Western Zhou Dynasty also vigorously advocated wine ethics and wine etiquette. In addition to distinguishing superiors and inferiors, the main purpose was to prohibit excessive drinking. The "wine etiquette" and "wine virtue" advocated by the Western Zhou Dynasty were later integrated with Confucian ethics and morals, becoming the biggest feature that distinguishes Chinese wine culture from Western wine culture for thousands of years. The development of the wine industry in the Western Zhou Dynasty basically established two directions for the development of Chinese wine culture: one is fermentation with koji. From ancient times to the present, this is the fusion of the production technology of China's national wine-yellow wine and white wine and foreign wine fermented with bacteria. The fundamental difference; the second is to bring wine making, drinking and using wine into the track of legalization, etiquette and etiquette, which greatly increases the spiritual and cultural value of wine and reduces the negative effects of wine. For thousands of years, Chinese wine culture has gone through countless developments and changes, but it has always remained true to its origins. It has always been constantly changing, developing in twists and turns, and gradually improving along these two directions. In addition, since there were instances of drunkenness and debauchery in the Shang and Zhou dynasties, which led to the collapse of the country, and during the Qin and Han dynasties, the "Hongmen Banquet" with conspiracy appeared, so people were still wary of wine, which also brought certain obstacles to the development of the wine industry. .

From the Qin Dynasty to the Northern Song Dynasty, about 1200 years ago, Chinese wine ushered in the mature period. During this period, the Han and Tang Dynasties were prosperous, economic and trade developed, and Chinese and Western cultures blended. Li Bai, Du Fu, Du Mu, Su Dongpo and other wine-rich literati emerged in large numbers. In addition, from the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty to the Wei and Jin Dynasties, which lasted for two centuries, frustrated literati drank to drown their sorrows and drank and talked empty talk. , On the other hand, it also promotes the prosperity of the wine industry. The drinking culture is not only limited to the upper class, but also widely spread among the people. Due to the surge in demand for alcohol, the social and material foundation was laid for the invention and development of Chinese liquor. The "Health Prescriptions" and "Miscellaneous Therapeutic Prescriptions" unearthed from the Western Han Dynasty tomb in Mawangdui recorded that people had a certain depth of understanding of the medicinal functions of wine. Drinking events were a common theme on the portrait stones and portrait tiles of the Eastern Han Dynasty. The most eye-catching thing is the brewing scene in the "Chef Picture" unearthed from the balcony in Zhucheng, Shandong Province. It is a depiction of the entire brewing process at that time. The publication of scientific and technical books on diet and wine-making such as "Essentials for Elevating the People" provided a theoretical basis for the maturity of China's wine industry.

From the Northern Song Dynasty to the late Qing Dynasty, which lasted for more than 800 years, it was the development period of Chinese wine. During this period, distillers were introduced to China from the Western Regions, providing a material basis for the invention of Chinese liquor. Liquor is also called shochu and baiganjiu. "Compendium of Materia Medica" records: "Shochu is not an ancient method. It was created since the Yuan Dynasty." Judging from the many small wine vessels unearthed during this period, liquor with higher alcohol content has quickly become popular among ordinary people. After the mid-Ming Dynasty, sorghum was used as raw material, barley was used to make koji, and shochu made by distillation gradually replaced rice wine and took the dominant position, and developed rapidly in the north. At the same time as the development of distilled liquor has improved, rice wine, wine, fruit wine, and medicinal wine have also improved and developed, ushering in a splendid and colorful era for China's wine culture.

After the Opium War in 1840, it can be said that the fifth stage of the development of Chinese wine can be called a period of prosperity. Traditional Chinese brewing technology and advanced Western brewing technology interact with each other and compete for excellence. Whiskey, brandy, vodka and Japanese sake were all introduced to China, which not only led to the emergence of new varieties of traditional Chinese liquors, but also the rapid development of old-brand liquors such as Zhuyeqing and Acanthopanax bark, each showing its advantages and characteristics. After the founding of New China, especially since the reform and opening up, China's brewing industry has ushered in an era of prosperity.

In the early 1990s, China's annual liquor production reached more than 7.2 million tons, accounting for approximately 40% of the world's total liquor production, ranking first