The development of China cuisine can be roughly divided into four periods: Pre-Qin, Han, Wei and Six Dynasties, Sui and Tang Dynasties, Song and Yuan Dynasties, Ming and Qing Dynasties. Pre-Qin Period This refers to the historical period before the Qin Dynasty, that is, from the date of the birth of cooking to the unification of China by Qin Shihuang in 22 1 AD, totaling about 7800 years. This is the initial period of cooking in China, including the Neolithic Age (about 6000 years), the Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasties (about 1300 years) and the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period (about 500 years). (1) Neolithic cooking Because there were no characters in the Neolithic age, the general situation of cooking evolution can only be inferred from unearthed cultural relics, myths and legends and historical records of later generations. Its general outline is: 1. Most of the food raw materials are fresh water and wild animals caught by fishing and hunting, as well as domesticated livestock and collected grass fruits, which are not rich. Condiments are mainly coarse salt, but also plums, bitter fruits, herbs and wild honey. Food sources vary from place to place. 2. Cooking utensils include clay pots, pans, pans, kettles, pots, floor stoves, brick stoves and stone stoves; The fuel is still firewood; There are also rough bowls, bowls, plates and pots as utensils, and the cooking methods of fire roasting, stone burning and steaming are extensive. As for the dishes, they are also quite humble, and the best taste is the legendary "wild chicken soup" cooked by Peng Zu for Yao Di. 3. At this time, ancestors cooked only to survive; Their understanding of the relationship between food and drink and health is vague. However, judging from the myths and legends such as "Suiren teaches people to use fire", "Chaoren teaches people to build houses", "Fu teaches people to tame animals", "Shennong teaches people to farm" and "Xuanyuan teaches people culture", our ancestors' cooking activities have the nature of civilization and enlightenment. 4. In terms of food rituals, sacrifices are frequent, and people often eat to please ghosts and gods and seek their shade. Began to have the original aesthetic consciousness of diet, such as the beautification of food containers, singing and dancing when feasting, etc. This is the predecessor of later generations' banquets, and it is also an important part of their social entertainment life. In a word, Neolithic cooking is like a newborn baby, weak, naive and full of vitality, which laid a good foundation for the prosperity of food civilization in Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasties. (2) Cooking in Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasties belongs to a slave society in the history of social development, and it is also the "menarche" in the history of cooking development in China. It has made breakthroughs in many aspects and has a far-reaching impact on future generations. 1, cooking materials have increased significantly, and it is customary to name it "five". Such as "five grains" (millet, millet, wheat, rice and hemp seed), "five vegetables" (sunflower, hopus, head, onion and leek), "five animals" (cattle, sheep, pigs, dogs and chickens) and "five fruits" (jujube, plum, chestnut and leek). "Five grains" are sometimes written as "six grains" and "a hundred grains". In short, raw materials can be named "Five", which shows that food resources were abundant at that time, and artificially cultivated raw materials became the main body, and these raw materials were among the best, and they also accumulated some experience in material selection. 2. Cooking and drinking utensils have been innovated, and thin and exquisite bronzes have entered the cooking stage. There are more than 4,000 Shang and Zhou bronzes unearthed in China, most of which are cookware. The appearance of bronze eating utensils is not only limited to heat transfer, but also improves cooking efficiency and food quality. It also shows etiquette and decorative banquets, showing the special temperament of slave owners and nobles' food culture. 3. The quality of dishes has improved rapidly, and the famous "Eight Treasures of the Zhou Dynasty" has been introduced. Due to the rich raw materials and the improvement of cooking utensils, cooking technology has made great progress at this time. On the one hand, rice, porridge, cakes, snacks and other food varieties are emerging, and there are as many as 100 kinds of meat sauce products and soup dishes, and the variety of colors has greatly increased; On the other hand, roasting, stewing, roasting, boiling, steaming, pickling and other methods 10 can be better used to cook high-end dishes such as bear's paw, suckling pig, soft-shelled turtle and swan, resulting in a far-reaching "eight treasures of the Zhou Dynasty". "Eight Treasures of the Zhou Dynasty", also called "Eight Treasures for Precious Use", is a banquet specially prepared for the King of Zhou. It consists of 2 meals and 6 dishes. The specific names are: Spring Roast (rice with meat sauce), Chunmu (millet with meat sauce), Cannibal (stewed suckling pig), Cannibal (stewed ewe mutton), Daozhen (cooked by cattle, sheep and deer) and Eight Treasures of Zhou Dynasty. Eight treasures in the north of Yuan Dynasty, eight treasures in the kitchen, eight treasures in the wings and eight treasures in the barbecue in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, as well as eight treasures in the mountains, eight treasures in the water, eight treasures in the birds, eight treasures in the grass (mainly precious edible fungi), eight treasures in the Shang Dynasty and eight treasures in the grass. 4. The diet system has also made new achievements. For example, from the Xia Dynasty, the imperial palace first set up a food officer, equipped with a royal chef, and took the first step of combining food and medicine, attaching importance to the diet health care of the Empress Dowager. This system continued until the late Qing Dynasty. Another example is banquets, which are also classified according to seniority. In addition, among the people, there was an early catering industry combining slaughter, brewing and cooking, and wineries in Daliang, Yancheng, Hanhan, Xianyang, Linzi and Du Ying flourished. Therefore, the Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasties made a good start in the cooking history of China, and later generations commented that "the skills of the three generations have been passed down from generation to generation, and the cooking altar foundation has opened a new chapter". (3) Cooking in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period was a turbulent period of China's transition from slave society to feudal society. Fighting for many years, standing side by side. The war caused frequent population migration, stimulated the rapid development of agricultural production technology, and the academic thought was extremely active. At this time, many new factors appeared in cooking, which attracted the attention of later generations. 1, the main food source is artificially cultivated agricultural products. At this time, due to a large number of reclamation, water conservancy and the use of Niu Geng and iron tools, the quantity and quality of agricultural products have improved. Not only domestic animals and game are served together, but also fruits, vegetables and grains are listed in the recipe, and attention is paid to the development of aquatic resources. In many areas in the south, fish, shrimp, turtles, clams and pigs, dogs, cattle and sheep occupy an important position, which is unprecedented. 2. In some economically developed areas, iron pots (ancient cookers, with two ears at the bottom of their mouths, were put on the stove and steamed or boiled on the steamer) appeared. Compared with bronze cookware, it is more advanced, which prepares the conditions for the emergence of oil cooking. At the same time, animal fats (lard, butter, sheep oil, dog oil, chicken oil, fish oil, etc. ) and condiments (mainly meat sauce and rice vinegar) are also increasing. Pepper, ginger, cinnamon and garlic are widely used, and the cooking methods and tastes of dishes have also changed, with simple cold drinks, honey stains and fried snacks appearing. 3. After Zhou's "Food List", a novel Chu Palace banquet was set off, forming a situation in which the north and the south competed for supremacy. According to the records in The Songs of Chu, the banquets in Chu Palace include four categories: staple food (4-7 kinds), dishes (8- 18 kinds), snacks (2-4 kinds) and drinks (3-4 kinds). Among them, stewed beef tendon, roasted mutton, stewed turtle, stewed swan, cooked wild duck, braised chicken in oil, stewed turtle and steamed herring all reached a high level; Moreover, there are innovations in the combination of raw materials, serving procedures and reception etiquette, which provided a blueprint for later banquets. 4. There are differences between North and South flavors, and local cuisines are constantly emerging. Among them, the northern cuisines centered on Henan, Qin, Shanxi and Shandong are active in the Yellow River basin. It takes pigs, dogs, cows and sheep as the main ingredients, pays attention to barbecue and cooking, and advocates fresh and salty soup. Among them, southern cuisines are centered in Hubei, Hunan and wuyue, and spread all over the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. It is a freshwater fish supplemented by game. Fresh vegetables are mixed with fruits, and they pay attention to steaming and stewing. They are hot and sour, smooth and sweet, and they also like cold food. This division continued to evolve from two to four in the Han, Wei and Six Dynasties, gradually showing the embryonic form of four major cuisines. 5. Some achievements have been made in cooking theory, and Lu Lan Ben Wei and Huangdi Neijing are introduced. Lu Lan Ben Wei was later revered? Quot The Bible of Culinary World was compiled by Lv Buwei, Prime Minister of Qin State in the early Warring States Period. Its main contributions are: correctly pointing out that the nature and taste of animal raw materials are related to their living environment and food sources; This paper emphasizes the role of cooking and seasoning in cooking, introduces some methods, summarizes eight standards of vegetable quality inspection, advocates "palatability is more important", and lists famous local raw materials for chefs to choose from at that time. Huangdi Neijing was written by doctors in succession during this period, which summarized the working people's experience in fighting diseases and relied on the dialogue between Huangdi and Qi Chen Bo. It consists of Su Wen and Ling Shu, with a total of 18 volumes and 162 articles. In addition to systematically expounding the academic theory of traditional Chinese medicine, this book also discusses the physiological activities and pathological changes of the human body from the aspects of yin and yang, five elements, zang-fu organs (the general term for human internal organs in traditional Chinese medicine), meridians (the trunk and branches of human blood circulation channels), etiology and pathogenesis (the mechanism of disease occurrence and change), prevention and treatment (the basic law of treatment) and so on. The relationship between local food and health was also discussed according to the natural environment. The etiological theories of "six evils" (wind, cold, heat, dampness, dryness and fire in Chinese medicine make people sick), "seven emotions" (happiness, anger, worry, sadness, fear and shock in Chinese medicine), improper diet, fatigue and internal injuries are put forward to warn people to pay attention to drinking and self-regulation of physiological functions. These two works have a high starting point and can be classified as "world-class" scientific research achievements 2200 years ago. They drew a happy ending for the cooking in the pre-Qin period. During the Qin, Han, Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, Qin Shihuang annexed six countries in 22 1 year BC, and it ended in 589 AD when Emperor Wen of Sui unified the north and the south, with a total of 8 10 years. This period was the early feudal society in China, and agriculture, handicrafts, commerce and towns all developed greatly. Exchanges between ethnic groups and foreign exchanges are also increasingly frequent. In the feudal country where absolutism is centralized, new features of food culture are constantly emerging. In the second half of this period, wars were frequent, the regime split, and the regime changed quickly. The ruling class was drunk and decadent, seeking novelty and excitement in diet. As a result, cooking has evolved in this great social change, absorbing the essence of various regions and ethnic groups, ready for change at any time, and glowing with new vitality. (1) The expansion of cooking materials is based on the five animals, five vegetables, five fruits and five flavors in the pre-Qin period, and the food in the Han, Wei and Six Dynasties was further expanded. After Zhang Saitong visited the four regions, he introduced new vegetables such as eggplant, garlic, watermelon, cucumber, lentils and sword beans from Arabia and other places, adding vegetarian varieties. According to Salt and Iron Theory, in the winter of the Western Han Dynasty, there were sunflower, leek, water spinach and perilla (also known as perilla, seeds can be pressed for oil and young leaves can be used as medicine). Yao Minshu recorded 3/kloc-0 species of vegetables in the Yellow River basin, as well as production techniques such as seedling raising in small pots in greenhouse, collecting seeds and sprouting leeks, and collecting roots and covering the soil. Yang Xiong's "Shu Du Fu" also introduced Linggen, Cornus officinalis, bamboo shoots, lotus roots, melons, preserved fruits, peppers and eggplant produced in the land of abundance, as well as loquat, cherry blossoms, sweet persimmons and hazelnuts in fruits. Tofu, known as "vegetable meat", also originated from the Han Dynasty and was invented by the alchemist of Liu An, the king of Huainan. Soon, dried bean curd, yuba, Zhang Qian and bean curd came out one after another. At this time, the scale of condiment production expanded, and historical records recorded the grand occasion of 65,438+0,000 vats of wine, vinegar and tofu brewed by big businessmen in the first year of Han Dynasty. The Book of Qi Yaomin also collected the production methods of sugar products such as white sugar, brown sugar, amber sugar, boiled candied fruit and baked sugar. More importantly, after sesame was introduced from the western regions, people learned to use it to extract oil. From then on, vegetable oil (including soybean oil and vegetable oil, etc. It came into the cooking stage in China, which promoted the birth of oil cooking. At that time, the output of vegetable oil was very large, not only food, but also military supplies. It is said that sesame oil has played a great role in Battle of Red Cliffs. In terms of animal raw materials, pig feed has occupied the first place in the world at this time, replacing the status of cattle, sheep and dogs and becoming the protagonist in meat food. The utilization rate of other meat products is also increasing, such as milk, which can extract cheese, raw crisp, cooked crisp and crisp (cream extracted from crisp cheese). Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty dug Kunming pond in Chang 'an to raise fish for 20 kilometers, and a large number of aquatic products went on the market. For example, snakes and insects in Lingnan, shrimps and crabs in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, pheasants in southwest and bears and deer in northeast are all served in the cradle. The meat sauce recorded in Qi Yaomin's Book is made of cattle, sheep, roe deer, rabbits, fish, shrimp, mussels, crabs and other raw materials 10. In addition, in the staple food, rice products start from flour products, because rice ranks first among food crops. Mushrooms, flowers, herbs, spices, preserves, etc. It also caught the attention of the chefs.

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