The Revolution of 1911
led by Dr. Sun Yat-sen was one of the greatest events in modern Chinese history, as it overthrew the 200-odd-year-old Qing Dynasty, ending over 2,000 years of feudal monarchy, and established the Republic of China.
New-Democratic Revolution
The May 4th Movement of 1919 is regarded as the ideological origin of many important events in modern Chinese history. Its direct cause was the unequal treaties imposed on China after the First World War. Under the influence of Russia's October Revolution of 1917, 12 delegates, including Mao Zedong, representing Communist groups in different places throughout the nation, held the First National Congress in Shanghai in 1921 to found the Communist Party of China.
—The May 4th Movement of 1919 is regarded as the ideological origin of many important events in modern Chinese history. Its direct cause was the unequal treaties imposed on China after the First World War. Out of strong patriotism, students initiated the movement, and it further developed into a national protest movement of people from all walks of life.
—It also marked the introduction into China of various new ideologies, among which the spread of Marxism-Leninism was worthy of special mention. Under the influence of Russia’s October Revolution of 1917, 12 delegates, including Mao Zedong, representing communist groups in different places throughout the nation, held the First National Congress in Shanghai in 1921 to found the Communist Party of China (CPC).
—The Chinese people led by the CPC underwent successively the Northern Expeditionary War (1924-27), War of Agrarian Revolution (also known as "Ten-Year Civil War," 1927-37), War of Resistance Against Japan (1937-45) and War of Liberation (1945-49). Owing to the cooperation and joint resistance of the CPC and Kuomintang, the Japanese aggressors were defeated. But shortly after the anti-Japanese war, the Kuomintang launched a civil war. After the three-year War of Liberation led by the CPC, the Kuomintang government was overthrown in 1949.
—On October 1, 1949 a grand ceremony was witnessed by 300,000 people in Beijing's Tiananmen Square, and Mao Zedong, chairman of the Central People's Government, solemnly proclaimed the founding of the People's Republic of China.
—Amazing achievements were made during the First Five-Year Plan period, from 1953 to 1957. The average annual increase rate of the national income reached over 8.9 percent. China established basic industries necessary for full industrialization hitherto non-existent domestically, producing airplanes, automobiles, heavy machinery, precision machinery, power-generating equipment, metallurgical and mining equipment, high-grade alloy steels and non-ferrous metals.
—In 1979, China instituted a guiding policy of “reform and opening to the outside world” under Deng’s leadership, and the focus was shifted to modernization. Major efforts were made to reform the economic and political systems. China was step by step establishing a road with Chinese characteristics, a road that would lead to socialist modernization. Profound changes have come about in China since the country embarked on the policy of reform and opening-up. The situation in the country is the best ever, characterized by a swiftly and vigorously advancing economy and markedly improved living standard.
—Chinese Parties Communist Party of China (CPC) 民革Revolutionary Committee of the Chinese Kuomintang 民盟Chinese Democratic League 民建China Democratic National Construction Association 民进China Association for Promoting Democracy 农工党Chinese Peasants and Workers Democratic Party 致公党China Zhi Gong Dang 九三学社Jiu San Society 台盟Taiwan Democratic Self-Government League
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
The Brief History Of China
The Brief History Of China
Prehistoric and Ancient History (1.7 million years ago-476 B.C.)
China's earliest primitive human discovered so far is known as "Yuanmou Man," a fossil anthropoid unearthed in Yuanmou in Yunnan Province who lived approximately 1.7 million years ago. The better-known "Peking Man," discovered in the Zhoukoudian area in the suburbs of Beijing, lived about 600,000 years ago. Peking Man was able to walk upright, make and use simple tools, and make fire.
The brief history of China
1、Xia dynasty
The first dynasty of Chinese history. The Xia Dynasty started in 2070 B.C. The center of Xia was the western section of modern Henan Province and the southern section of modern Shanxi Province with a sphere of influence that reached the northern and southern areas of the Yellow River. It was in this period that the slave society began to appear.
2、Shang dynasty
They were the most advanced bronze-working civilization in the world; Shang remains provide the earliest and most complete record of Chinese writing ,scratched out on the shoulder blades of pigs for oracular purposes.
Its civilization was based on agriculture, augmented by hunting and animal husbandry. Two important events of the period were the development of a writing system, as revealed in archaic Chinese inscriptions found on tortoise shells and flat cattle bones, and the use of bronze metallurgy.
•A number of ceremonial bronze vessels with inscriptions date from the Shang period; the workmanship on the bronzes attests to a high level of civilization.
3、Zhou Zhou were much more "Chinese" than the Shang . They used a father-to-son succession system. They weren't too keen on human sacrifice.
However, they weren't as good at working bronze as the Shang. Still, it would be centuries before the West was able to cast bronze as well as the Zhou. Some, scholars believe that the Xia, the Shang, and the Zhou actually were three different cultures that emerged more or less at the same time in different areas of the Yellow River valley. And the historical record supports this view -- the Shang were conquered from outside by the Zhou, as the Xia had been conquered from the outside by the Shang.
- The Western Zhou (1046-771 B.C.) Dynasty saw further development of slave society.
- This era was followed by the Spring and Autumn (770-476 B.C.) and Warring States (475-221 B.C.) periods when silk production advanced and steel production started.
- This era also produced the philosophers Lao Zi, Confucius, Mencius and Mo Zi, as well as the military scientist Sun Wu, author of the Art of War.
4- Qin Dynasty
In 221 B.C., Ying Zheng, ruler of the State of Qin and a man of great talent and bold vision, ended the 250-odd years of rivalry among the independent principalities during the Warring States Period, and established the first centralized, unified, multi-ethnic feudal state in Chinese history — the Qin Dynasty (221-206 B.C.).
—He called himself Qin Shi Huang or "First Emperor of Qin." He standardized the written script, weights and measures, and currencies, and established the system of prefectures and counties. The sovereigns of the next 2,000-odd years followed the feudal governmental structure established by him.
—He mobilized more than 300,000 people over a period of a dozen years to build the Great Wall, which stretches for 5,000 km in northern China.
—Qin Shi Huang had the work on his enormous mausoleum started early in his reign. When they were unearthed in 1974 in Xi'an, the terracotta warriors of the "underground army" of some 8,000 vivid, life-sized pottery figures, horses and chariots guarding the mausoleum at the Qin Shi Huang tomb site amazed the world.
5- Han Dynasty
Liu Bang established the powerful Han Dynasty in 206 B.C. During the Han Dynasty, agriculture, handicrafts and commerce flourished, and the population reached 50 million. During the most prosperous period of the Han Dynasty, Emperor Wudi (140-87 B.C.) expanded from the Central Plains to the Western Regions (present-day Xinjiang and Central Asia).
—Emperor Wudi dispatched Zhang Qian twice as his envoy to the Western Regions, and in the process pioneered the route known as the "Silk Road" from Chang'an (today's Xi'an, Shaanxi Province), through Xinjiang and Central Asia, and on to the east coast of the Mediterranean Sea. China's silk goods were traded to the West along the Silk Road.
—As contacts between the East and West increased, Buddhism spread to China in the first century.
— In 105, an official named Cai Lun invented a technique for making fine paper, leading to a revolution in communications and learning.
Prehistoric and Ancient History (1.7 million years ago-476 B.C.)
China's earliest primitive human discovered so far is known as "Yuanmou Man," a fossil anthropoid unearthed in Yuanmou in Yunnan Province who lived approximately 1.7 million years ago. The better-known "Peking Man," discovered in the Zhoukoudian area in the suburbs of Beijing, lived about 600,000 years ago. Peking Man was able to walk upright, make and use simple tools, and make fire.
The brief history of China
1、Xia dynasty
The first dynasty of Chinese history. The Xia Dynasty started in 2070 B.C. The center of Xia was the western section of modern Henan Province and the southern section of modern Shanxi Province with a sphere of influence that reached the northern and southern areas of the Yellow River. It was in this period that the slave society began to appear.
2、Shang dynasty
They were the most advanced bronze-working civilization in the world; Shang remains provide the earliest and most complete record of Chinese writing ,scratched out on the shoulder blades of pigs for oracular purposes.
Its civilization was based on agriculture, augmented by hunting and animal husbandry. Two important events of the period were the development of a writing system, as revealed in archaic Chinese inscriptions found on tortoise shells and flat cattle bones, and the use of bronze metallurgy.
•A number of ceremonial bronze vessels with inscriptions date from the Shang period; the workmanship on the bronzes attests to a high level of civilization.
3、Zhou Zhou were much more "Chinese" than the Shang . They used a father-to-son succession system. They weren't too keen on human sacrifice.
However, they weren't as good at working bronze as the Shang. Still, it would be centuries before the West was able to cast bronze as well as the Zhou. Some, scholars believe that the Xia, the Shang, and the Zhou actually were three different cultures that emerged more or less at the same time in different areas of the Yellow River valley. And the historical record supports this view -- the Shang were conquered from outside by the Zhou, as the Xia had been conquered from the outside by the Shang.
- The Western Zhou (1046-771 B.C.) Dynasty saw further development of slave society.
- This era was followed by the Spring and Autumn (770-476 B.C.) and Warring States (475-221 B.C.) periods when silk production advanced and steel production started.
- This era also produced the philosophers Lao Zi, Confucius, Mencius and Mo Zi, as well as the military scientist Sun Wu, author of the Art of War.
4- Qin Dynasty
In 221 B.C., Ying Zheng, ruler of the State of Qin and a man of great talent and bold vision, ended the 250-odd years of rivalry among the independent principalities during the Warring States Period, and established the first centralized, unified, multi-ethnic feudal state in Chinese history — the Qin Dynasty (221-206 B.C.).
—He called himself Qin Shi Huang or "First Emperor of Qin." He standardized the written script, weights and measures, and currencies, and established the system of prefectures and counties. The sovereigns of the next 2,000-odd years followed the feudal governmental structure established by him.
—He mobilized more than 300,000 people over a period of a dozen years to build the Great Wall, which stretches for 5,000 km in northern China.
—Qin Shi Huang had the work on his enormous mausoleum started early in his reign. When they were unearthed in 1974 in Xi'an, the terracotta warriors of the "underground army" of some 8,000 vivid, life-sized pottery figures, horses and chariots guarding the mausoleum at the Qin Shi Huang tomb site amazed the world.
5- Han Dynasty
Liu Bang established the powerful Han Dynasty in 206 B.C. During the Han Dynasty, agriculture, handicrafts and commerce flourished, and the population reached 50 million. During the most prosperous period of the Han Dynasty, Emperor Wudi (140-87 B.C.) expanded from the Central Plains to the Western Regions (present-day Xinjiang and Central Asia).
—Emperor Wudi dispatched Zhang Qian twice as his envoy to the Western Regions, and in the process pioneered the route known as the "Silk Road" from Chang'an (today's Xi'an, Shaanxi Province), through Xinjiang and Central Asia, and on to the east coast of the Mediterranean Sea. China's silk goods were traded to the West along the Silk Road.
—As contacts between the East and West increased, Buddhism spread to China in the first century.
— In 105, an official named Cai Lun invented a technique for making fine paper, leading to a revolution in communications and learning.
Three Kingdom Period
-While there was a great deal of political activity occurring during this period, most of it, consisting as it was of various wars between different kingdoms (one of the great novels of China, The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, is about this period), was not important to the later development of China.
-Perhaps its greatest accomplishment was to reinforce in Chinese thought the importance of having "one Emperor over China, like one sun in the sky."
Tang Dynasty
After the Han Dynasty came the Three Kingdoms Period (220-265), the Jin Dynasty (265-420), the Southern and Northern Dynasties (420-589) and the Sui Dynasty (581-618). Then came the Tang Dynasty, established by Li Yuan in 618 with its capital at Chang'an (Xi'an).
-The Tang dynasty, with its capital at Chang’an, the most populous city in the world at the time, is regarded by historians as a high point in Chinese civilization-
- equal, or even superior, to the Han period.
- Its territory, acquired through the military exploits of its early rulers, was greater than that of the Han.
- Agriculture, handicrafts and commerce flourished; technologies for textile manufacturing and dyeing, pottery and porcelain production, smelting and shipbuilding were further developed.
- Woodblock printings of dictionaries and almanacs and Buddhist scriptures were in circulation.
- The Grand Canal also helped the flow of merchandise. Chang'an became a cultural and international trade center and — along with Luoyang, Yangzhou, and Guangzhou — a major commercial center.
- During the Tang Dynasty cultural relations were established with many countries, including Japan, Korea, India, Persia and Arabia.
- By the 660s, China's influence had firmly taken root in the Tarim basin and Ili River valley in today's Xijiang in the West, even extending to many city-states in Central Asia.
- The Tang are considered to be one of the great dynasties of Chinese history; many historians rank them right behind the Han. They extended the boundaries of China through Siberia in the North, Korea in the east, and were in what is now Vietnam in the South.
- The first is the Empress Wu, the only woman ever to actually bear the title 'Emperor' .The second was the An Lushan Rebellion, which marked the beginning of the end for the Tang.
Song Dynasty :-
The Song dynasty ranks up there with the Tang and the Han as one of the great dynasties. Fifty years after the official end of the Tang, an imperial army re-unified China and established the Song dynasty. A time of remarkable advances in technology, culture, and economics, the Song, despite its political failures, basically set the stage for the rest of the imperial era.
China in the Song Dynasty was in the forefront of the world in astronomy, science and technology. Bi Sheng invented movable type printing in the 1040s, ushering in a major revolution in the history of printing.
Yuan Dynasty
In 1206, Genghis Khan established the Mongolian Khanate. In 1271, Kublai, conquered the Central Plains, founded the Yuan Dynasty and made Dadu (today's Beijing) the capital. Kublai ended the centuries-long situation in which many independent regimes existed side by side by forming a united country that brought Xinjiang, Tibet and Yunnan under its sway.
- During the Song-Yuan period, the "four great inventions" in science and technology of the Chinese people in ancient times — papermaking, printing, the compass and gunpowder — were further developed, and spread abroad.
- The reluctance of the Mongols to hire educated Chinese for governmental posts resulted in a remarkable cultural flowering; for example, Beijing Opera was invented during the Yuan.
Ming Dynasty
In 1368, Zhu Yuanzhang established the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) in Nanjing, reigning as Emperor Taizu. When his son and successor Zhu Di (1360-1424) ascended the throne, he built and expanded the palaces, temples, city walls and moats in Beijing. In 1421, he officially moved the capital to Beijing.
- During his reign, he dispatched Zheng He to lead a fleet of many ships to make seven far-ranging voyages.
- Passing the Southeast Asian countries, the Indian Ocean, Persian Gulf and Maldives Islands, Zheng He explored as far as Somalia and Kenya on the eastern coast of Africa. These were the largest-scale and longest voyages in the world before the age of Columbus.
- The Ming rulers distinguished themselves by being fatter, lazier, crazier, and nastier than the average Imperial family.
- After the first Ming Emperor discovered that his prime minister was plotting against him, not only was the prime minister beheaded, but his entire family and anyone even remotely connected with him. Eventually, about 40,000 (no, that is not a misprint) people were executed in connection with this case alone.
Qing Dynasty
In 1644, the Manchus took over China and founded the Qing dynasty. The Qing weren't the worst rulers; under them the arts flowered and culture bloomed. Moreover, they attempted to copy Chinese institutions and philosophy to a much greater extent than then the Mongols of the Yuan.
—The best known of the Qing Dynasty emperors, Kangxi restored the central empire's rule over Taiwan, and resisted invasions by tsarist Russia. To reinforce the administration of Tibet, he also formulated the rules and regulations on the confirmation of the Tibetan local leaders by the Central Government. He effectively administered over 11 million sq km of Chinese territory.
Modern Period
During the early 19th century, the Qing Dynasty declined rapidly. Britain smuggled into China large quantities of opium, and in response the Qing government imposed a ban on the drug. In an effort to protect its opium trade, Britain launched a war against China in 1840, which led to the Qing government's signing with the British government the Treaty of Nanking, a treaty of national betrayal and humiliation. Many countries, including Britain, the United States, France, Russia and Japan forced the Qing government to sign various unequal treaties following the Opium War. China was gradually relegated to a semi-colonial, semi-feudal country.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Folk-Festivals of China
Origin of Festivals
- Has a very long histroy.
- When people had a bountiful harvest,they gathered and celebrated their good fortune with gala performannces. When disasters struck, they offered sacrifices to the gods and their ancestors,hoping for a blessing.
- The change of the seasons, flowers in spring,and the bright moon in autumn could all arouse their longing for a more beautiful life.
- Thus, creative activities were held to signify these events, Gradually these activities developed into festivals .
Spring Festivals
- Evolved from an activity known as the Winter Sacrifice.
- As the cold winter began to recede and the warm spring was about to begin,the people of an entire clan gathered together.
- They brought out their bounty from hunting,fishing and the field.They thanked the gods for the blessings of nature, including the mountains, rivers, the sun,moon and stars,They thanked their ancestors,Then they shared and enjoyed the sumptuous bounty of the land, sea, air and fields as they ate, danced and sang heartily.
- Based on the lunar calendar,the Spring Festival marks the beginning of the Chinese Lunar New Year.
- In Chinese, we also say Guo Nian, meaning keeping off the monster of Nian.
- The popular legend about the origin of Nian
- Nian was afraid of three things:the red color,a bright flame,and a loud noise.
- Painted their door red,burned a fire in front of their door-ways,stayed up all night beating on things to make a loud noise.
- This is how the Chinese people began to set off firecrackers for the Spring Festival.
Food of Spring Festival
- Dumplings:reunion
- Noodles:longevity
- New year cakes and Tongyuan
a New Year visit
Recreational activities
- Dragon Dance and Lion Dance
- Walking on stilts
Nowadays something have been changed
- Using telephone to convey greetings
- Travelling during the new year holidays
- Firecrackers are banned in some big cities
-It seems that all our traditions are facing new challenges. Maybe when the children of the next generation grow up, they can only learn about Chinese traditions from books.
Yuanxiao Festival
On the 15th day of the first Chinese lunar month people began preparing for the Spring Festival about 20 days befor. However, after the Yuanxiao Festival, everything returns to normal.
Yuan means first,while xiao means night. Yuanxiao is the first time when we see the full moon in the new year. It is traditionally a time for family reunion. The most prominent activity of the Yuanxiao Festival is the displaying of all types of beautiful lanterns. So the occasion is also called the Lantern Festival.
Origin of the Lantern Festival (religious worship)
Taiyi, the God of Heaven in ancient times. God of Heaven controlled the destiny of the human world. He had sixteen dragons at his beck and call and he decided when to inflict drought,storms, pestilence upon human beings.Beginning with Qinshihuang, the first emperor to unite the country, all subsequent emperors ordered splendid ceremonies each year. The emperor would ask Taiyi to bring favorable weather and good health to him and his people. Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty directed special attention to this event. In 104 BC,he proclaimed it one of the most important celebrations and the ceremony would last throughout the night.
Another legend associates the Lantern Festival with Taoism. Tianguan is the Taoist god responsible for good fortune. His birthday falls on the 15th day of the first lunar month. It is said that Tianguan likes all types of entertainment. So followers prepare various kinds of activities during which they pray for good fortune.
Another important part of the Lantern Festival,or Yuanxiao Festival is eating small dumpling balls made of glutinous rice flour. We call these balls Yuanxiao.
Obviously, they get the name from the festival itself.
Qingming Festivals
- Qingming,meaning clear and bright, is the day for mourning the dead .
- It falls in early April every year.
- It corresponds with the onset of warmer weather, the start of spring plowing, and of family outings.
•The Qingming (Pure Brightness) Festival is one of the 24 seasonal division points in China, falling on April 4-6 each year. After the festival, the temperature will rise up and rainfall increases. It is the high time for spring plowing and sowing. But the Qingming Festival is not only a seasonal point to guide farm work, it is more a festival of commemoration.
•Qingming is not just a day of remembrance, it is also a day to celebrate the coming of spring, often by going out for a picnic. With the coming of spring, nature wakes up, dressing the world in green. All is new, clean and fresh.
•Qing ming has also been a favorite subject for painting
Springtime, especially in North China, is the windy season, just right for flying kites. It is not surprising that kite flying is very popular during the Qingming season.
The biggest kite could be a hundred meters long, made of A hundred sections to form a dragon or even a centipede. The annual Weifang Kite Festival held every April in East China's Shandong Province has become a major event, attracting thousands of tourists and kite flying competitors all over the world.
•The Qingming Festival sees a combination of sadness and happiness.
•This is the most important day of sacrifice. Both the Han and minority ethnic groups at this time offer sacrifices to their ancestors and sweep the tombs of the diseased. Also, they will not cook on this day and only cold food is served.
•On each Qingming Festival, all cemeteries are crowded with people who came to sweep tombs and offer sacrifices. Traffic on the way to the cemeteries becomes extremely jammed. The customs have been greatly simplified today. After slightly sweeping the tombs, people offer food, flowers and favorites of the dead, then burn incense and paper money and bow before the memorial tablet.
•In contrast to the sadness of the tomb sweepers, people also enjoy hope of Spring on this day. The Qingming Festival is a time when the sun shines brightly, the trees and grass become green and nature is again lively.
•Since ancient times, people have followed the custom of Spring outings. At this time tourists are everywhere.
•The Qingming Festival is also a time to plant trees, for the survival rate of saplings is high and trees grow fast later. In the past, the Qingming Festival was called "Arbor Day". But since 1979, "Arbor Day" was settled as March 12 according to the Gregorian calendar.
Duanwu Festivals
- The Duanwu Festival falls on the fifth day of the fifth month of the Chinese lunar calendar.
- For thousands of years, Duanwu has been marked by eating Zongzi and racing dragon boats.
•The taste of Zongzi, a pyramid-shaped dumpling made of glutinous rice and wrapped in bamboo or reed leaves to give it a special flavor, varies greatly across China.
•Zongzi is often made of rice mixed with dates in Northern China, because dates are abundant in the area. Eastern China’s Jiaxing County is famous for its pork-stuffed Zongzi. In the southern province of Guangdong, people stuff Zongzi with pork, ham, chestnuts and other ingredients, making them very rich in flavor. In Sichuan province, Zongzi is usually served with a sugar dressing.
•Most people still maintain the tradition of eating Zongzi on the day of the Duanwu Festival. But the special delicacy has become so popular that you can now buy it all the year round.
- Dragon boat racing is quite a spectacle, with drums beating, colorful flags waving, and thousands of people cheering on both sides of the river.
- Nowadays, it has become a popular sporting activity in Southern China. International dragon boat races are held in Guangzhou and Hong Kong every year.
Double-Seventh Day
- The Double-Seventh Day refers to the seventh day of the seventh month on the Chinese lunar calendar.
- The day is not as well-known as many other Chinese festivals. But almost everyone in China, young and old, is very familiar with the story behind this festival.
•A long long time ago, there was a poor cowherd, Niulang. He fell in love with Zhinu, “the Girl Weaver". Virtuous and kind, she was the most beautiful being in the whole universe. Unfortunately, the King and Queen of Heaven were furious finding out that their granddaughter had gone to the world of Man and taken a husband. Thus, the couple was separated by a wide swollen river in the sky and can only meet once a year on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month.
•This sad love story has passed down from generation to generation. It is well known that very few magpies are seen on the Double－Seventh Day. This is because most of them fly to the Milky Way, where they form a bridge so that the two lovers might come together. The next day, it is seen that many magpies are bald； this is because Niulang and Zhinu walked and stood too long on the heads of their loyal feathered friends.
- The Double-Seventh Day is not a pulic holiday in China. However, it is still a day to celebrate the annual meeting of the loving couple, the Cowherd and the Girl Weaver. Not surprisingly, many People consider the Double-seventh Day the Chinese Valentine's Day.
Mid-Autumn Festival
- Chinese ancestors believed that the seventh, eighth, and ninth lunar months belong to autumn. So the Mid-Autumn Festival falls on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month.
- Mid-Autumn Festival celebrations date back more than 2,000 years. Chinese emperors prayed to Heaven for a prosperous year. They chose the morning of the 15th day of the second lunar month to worship the sun and the evening of the 15th day of the eighth lunar month to hold a ceremony in praise of the moon. Every year the emperor would offer a sacrifice to the moon.
- In mid-autumn, farmers have just finished gathering their crops and bringing in fruits from the orchards. They are overwhelmed with joy when they have a harvest and at the same time, they feel quite relaxed after a year of hard work.
- So the 15th Day of the eighth lunar month has gradually evolved as a widely celebrated festival for ordinary people.
- Night falls. The land is bathed in silver moonlight. Families set up tables in their courtyards or sit together on their balconies, chatting and sharing offerings to the moon.
Legends about the moon
- A long, long time ago, ten suns in the sky
- The King of Heaven sent Hou Yi down to the earth to help.
- When Hou Yi arrived, he took out his red bow and white arrows and shot down nine suns one after another. The weather immediately turned cooler. Heavy rains filled the rivers with fresh water and the grass and trees turned green. Life had been restored and humanity was saved.
- One day, a charming young woman, Chang'e makes her way home from a stream, holding a bamboo container
- A young man comes forward, asking for a drink. When she sees the red bow and white arrows hanging from his belt, Chang'e tealizes that he is their savior, Hou Yi.
- Inviting him to drink, Chang'e and gives a beautiful flower to him as a token of respect. Hou Yi, in turn, selects a beautiful silver fox fur as his gift for her.
- This meeting kindles the spark of their love. And soon after that, they get married.
- In order to enjoy his happy life with Chang'e forever, Hou Yi decides to go to the Kunlun Mountains for elixir
- Out of respect for the good deeds the has done, the Western Queen Mother rewards Hou Yi with elixir, and tells him:If you and your wife share the elixir, you will both enjoy eternal life. But if only one of you takes it,that one will ascend to Heaven and become immortal.
- Hou Yi and his wife decide to drink the elixir together on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month when the moon is full and bright.
- A wicked and merciless man killde Houyi and forced Chang'e to give him the elixir, Without hesitating, Chang'e picks up the elixir and drinks it all and ascended to the which is nearest to the earth.
Moon-cake
- People in different parts of China have different ways to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival. But one traditional custom has definitely remained and is shared by all the Chinese. This is eating the mooncake.
- In the 14th century, Chinese peasants could no longer bear the cruel rule of the Mongolians. They secretly planned an uprising on the night of the Mid -Autumn Festival. The peasant leaders took advantage of the custom of sending moon-cakes as festive presents. They left messages on paper about the plan and placed the messages under the moon-cakes. So all the peasants were informed about the uprising and finally, they won the battle.
- Has a very long histroy.
- When people had a bountiful harvest,they gathered and celebrated their good fortune with gala performannces. When disasters struck, they offered sacrifices to the gods and their ancestors,hoping for a blessing.
- The change of the seasons, flowers in spring,and the bright moon in autumn could all arouse their longing for a more beautiful life.
- Thus, creative activities were held to signify these events, Gradually these activities developed into festivals .
Spring Festivals
- Evolved from an activity known as the Winter Sacrifice.
- As the cold winter began to recede and the warm spring was about to begin,the people of an entire clan gathered together.
- They brought out their bounty from hunting,fishing and the field.They thanked the gods for the blessings of nature, including the mountains, rivers, the sun,moon and stars,They thanked their ancestors,Then they shared and enjoyed the sumptuous bounty of the land, sea, air and fields as they ate, danced and sang heartily.
- Based on the lunar calendar,the Spring Festival marks the beginning of the Chinese Lunar New Year.
- In Chinese, we also say Guo Nian, meaning keeping off the monster of Nian.
- The popular legend about the origin of Nian
- Nian was afraid of three things:the red color,a bright flame,and a loud noise.
- Painted their door red,burned a fire in front of their door-ways,stayed up all night beating on things to make a loud noise.
- This is how the Chinese people began to set off firecrackers for the Spring Festival.
Food of Spring Festival
- Dumplings:reunion
- Noodles:longevity
- New year cakes and Tongyuan
a New Year visit
Recreational activities
- Dragon Dance and Lion Dance
- Walking on stilts
Nowadays something have been changed
- Using telephone to convey greetings
- Travelling during the new year holidays
- Firecrackers are banned in some big cities
-It seems that all our traditions are facing new challenges. Maybe when the children of the next generation grow up, they can only learn about Chinese traditions from books.
Yuanxiao Festival
On the 15th day of the first Chinese lunar month people began preparing for the Spring Festival about 20 days befor. However, after the Yuanxiao Festival, everything returns to normal.
Yuan means first,while xiao means night. Yuanxiao is the first time when we see the full moon in the new year. It is traditionally a time for family reunion. The most prominent activity of the Yuanxiao Festival is the displaying of all types of beautiful lanterns. So the occasion is also called the Lantern Festival.
Origin of the Lantern Festival (religious worship)
Taiyi, the God of Heaven in ancient times. God of Heaven controlled the destiny of the human world. He had sixteen dragons at his beck and call and he decided when to inflict drought,storms, pestilence upon human beings.Beginning with Qinshihuang, the first emperor to unite the country, all subsequent emperors ordered splendid ceremonies each year. The emperor would ask Taiyi to bring favorable weather and good health to him and his people. Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty directed special attention to this event. In 104 BC,he proclaimed it one of the most important celebrations and the ceremony would last throughout the night.
Another legend associates the Lantern Festival with Taoism. Tianguan is the Taoist god responsible for good fortune. His birthday falls on the 15th day of the first lunar month. It is said that Tianguan likes all types of entertainment. So followers prepare various kinds of activities during which they pray for good fortune.
Another important part of the Lantern Festival,or Yuanxiao Festival is eating small dumpling balls made of glutinous rice flour. We call these balls Yuanxiao.
Obviously, they get the name from the festival itself.
Qingming Festivals
- Qingming,meaning clear and bright, is the day for mourning the dead .
- It falls in early April every year.
- It corresponds with the onset of warmer weather, the start of spring plowing, and of family outings.
•The Qingming (Pure Brightness) Festival is one of the 24 seasonal division points in China, falling on April 4-6 each year. After the festival, the temperature will rise up and rainfall increases. It is the high time for spring plowing and sowing. But the Qingming Festival is not only a seasonal point to guide farm work, it is more a festival of commemoration.
•Qingming is not just a day of remembrance, it is also a day to celebrate the coming of spring, often by going out for a picnic. With the coming of spring, nature wakes up, dressing the world in green. All is new, clean and fresh.
•Qing ming has also been a favorite subject for painting
Springtime, especially in North China, is the windy season, just right for flying kites. It is not surprising that kite flying is very popular during the Qingming season.
The biggest kite could be a hundred meters long, made of A hundred sections to form a dragon or even a centipede. The annual Weifang Kite Festival held every April in East China's Shandong Province has become a major event, attracting thousands of tourists and kite flying competitors all over the world.
•The Qingming Festival sees a combination of sadness and happiness.
•This is the most important day of sacrifice. Both the Han and minority ethnic groups at this time offer sacrifices to their ancestors and sweep the tombs of the diseased. Also, they will not cook on this day and only cold food is served.
•On each Qingming Festival, all cemeteries are crowded with people who came to sweep tombs and offer sacrifices. Traffic on the way to the cemeteries becomes extremely jammed. The customs have been greatly simplified today. After slightly sweeping the tombs, people offer food, flowers and favorites of the dead, then burn incense and paper money and bow before the memorial tablet.
•In contrast to the sadness of the tomb sweepers, people also enjoy hope of Spring on this day. The Qingming Festival is a time when the sun shines brightly, the trees and grass become green and nature is again lively.
•Since ancient times, people have followed the custom of Spring outings. At this time tourists are everywhere.
•The Qingming Festival is also a time to plant trees, for the survival rate of saplings is high and trees grow fast later. In the past, the Qingming Festival was called "Arbor Day". But since 1979, "Arbor Day" was settled as March 12 according to the Gregorian calendar.
Duanwu Festivals
- The Duanwu Festival falls on the fifth day of the fifth month of the Chinese lunar calendar.
- For thousands of years, Duanwu has been marked by eating Zongzi and racing dragon boats.
•The taste of Zongzi, a pyramid-shaped dumpling made of glutinous rice and wrapped in bamboo or reed leaves to give it a special flavor, varies greatly across China.
•Zongzi is often made of rice mixed with dates in Northern China, because dates are abundant in the area. Eastern China’s Jiaxing County is famous for its pork-stuffed Zongzi. In the southern province of Guangdong, people stuff Zongzi with pork, ham, chestnuts and other ingredients, making them very rich in flavor. In Sichuan province, Zongzi is usually served with a sugar dressing.
•Most people still maintain the tradition of eating Zongzi on the day of the Duanwu Festival. But the special delicacy has become so popular that you can now buy it all the year round.
- Dragon boat racing is quite a spectacle, with drums beating, colorful flags waving, and thousands of people cheering on both sides of the river.
- Nowadays, it has become a popular sporting activity in Southern China. International dragon boat races are held in Guangzhou and Hong Kong every year.
Double-Seventh Day
- The Double-Seventh Day refers to the seventh day of the seventh month on the Chinese lunar calendar.
- The day is not as well-known as many other Chinese festivals. But almost everyone in China, young and old, is very familiar with the story behind this festival.
•A long long time ago, there was a poor cowherd, Niulang. He fell in love with Zhinu, “the Girl Weaver". Virtuous and kind, she was the most beautiful being in the whole universe. Unfortunately, the King and Queen of Heaven were furious finding out that their granddaughter had gone to the world of Man and taken a husband. Thus, the couple was separated by a wide swollen river in the sky and can only meet once a year on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month.
•This sad love story has passed down from generation to generation. It is well known that very few magpies are seen on the Double－Seventh Day. This is because most of them fly to the Milky Way, where they form a bridge so that the two lovers might come together. The next day, it is seen that many magpies are bald； this is because Niulang and Zhinu walked and stood too long on the heads of their loyal feathered friends.
- The Double-Seventh Day is not a pulic holiday in China. However, it is still a day to celebrate the annual meeting of the loving couple, the Cowherd and the Girl Weaver. Not surprisingly, many People consider the Double-seventh Day the Chinese Valentine's Day.
Mid-Autumn Festival
- Chinese ancestors believed that the seventh, eighth, and ninth lunar months belong to autumn. So the Mid-Autumn Festival falls on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month.
- Mid-Autumn Festival celebrations date back more than 2,000 years. Chinese emperors prayed to Heaven for a prosperous year. They chose the morning of the 15th day of the second lunar month to worship the sun and the evening of the 15th day of the eighth lunar month to hold a ceremony in praise of the moon. Every year the emperor would offer a sacrifice to the moon.
- In mid-autumn, farmers have just finished gathering their crops and bringing in fruits from the orchards. They are overwhelmed with joy when they have a harvest and at the same time, they feel quite relaxed after a year of hard work.
- So the 15th Day of the eighth lunar month has gradually evolved as a widely celebrated festival for ordinary people.
- Night falls. The land is bathed in silver moonlight. Families set up tables in their courtyards or sit together on their balconies, chatting and sharing offerings to the moon.
Legends about the moon
- A long, long time ago, ten suns in the sky
- The King of Heaven sent Hou Yi down to the earth to help.
- When Hou Yi arrived, he took out his red bow and white arrows and shot down nine suns one after another. The weather immediately turned cooler. Heavy rains filled the rivers with fresh water and the grass and trees turned green. Life had been restored and humanity was saved.
- One day, a charming young woman, Chang'e makes her way home from a stream, holding a bamboo container
- A young man comes forward, asking for a drink. When she sees the red bow and white arrows hanging from his belt, Chang'e tealizes that he is their savior, Hou Yi.
- Inviting him to drink, Chang'e and gives a beautiful flower to him as a token of respect. Hou Yi, in turn, selects a beautiful silver fox fur as his gift for her.
- This meeting kindles the spark of their love. And soon after that, they get married.
- In order to enjoy his happy life with Chang'e forever, Hou Yi decides to go to the Kunlun Mountains for elixir
- Out of respect for the good deeds the has done, the Western Queen Mother rewards Hou Yi with elixir, and tells him:If you and your wife share the elixir, you will both enjoy eternal life. But if only one of you takes it,that one will ascend to Heaven and become immortal.
- Hou Yi and his wife decide to drink the elixir together on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month when the moon is full and bright.
- A wicked and merciless man killde Houyi and forced Chang'e to give him the elixir, Without hesitating, Chang'e picks up the elixir and drinks it all and ascended to the which is nearest to the earth.
Moon-cake
- People in different parts of China have different ways to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival. But one traditional custom has definitely remained and is shared by all the Chinese. This is eating the mooncake.
- In the 14th century, Chinese peasants could no longer bear the cruel rule of the Mongolians. They secretly planned an uprising on the night of the Mid -Autumn Festival. The peasant leaders took advantage of the custom of sending moon-cakes as festive presents. They left messages on paper about the plan and placed the messages under the moon-cakes. So all the peasants were informed about the uprising and finally, they won the battle.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Chinese Food
The Introduction of Chinese cuisine
- China covers a large territory and has many nationalities, hence a variety of Chinese food with different but fantastic and mouthwatering flavor.
- Since China's local dishes have their own typical characteristics, generally, Chinese food can be roughly divided into eight regional cuisines, which has been widely accepted around.
- Certainly, there are many other local cuisines that are famous, such as Beijing Cuisine and Shanghai Cuisine.
1- Shandong Cuisine
- Consisting of Jinan cuisine and Jiaodong cuisine, Shandong cuisine, clear, pure and not greasy, is characterized by its emphasis on aroma, freshness, crispness and tenderness.
- Shallot and garlic are usually used as seasonings so Shangdong dishes tastes pungent usually.
- Soups are given much emphasis in Shangdong dishes. Thin soup features clear and fresh while creamy soup looks thick and tastes strong.
- Jinan cuisine is adept at deep-frying, grilling, frying and stir-frying while Jiaodong division is famous for cooking seafood with fresh and light taste.
- Shandong is the birthplace of many famous ancient scholars such as Confucious and Mencius.
- Much of Shandong cuisine's history is as old as Confucious himself, making it the oldest existing major cuisine in China.
- But don't expect to gain more wisdom from a fortune at a Shandong restaurant in the West since fortune s aren't even indigenous to China.
- Shandong is a large peninsula surrounded by the sea to the East and the Yellow River meandering through the center.
- Seafood is a major component of Shandong cuisine. Shandong's most famous dish is the Sweat and Sour Carp. A truly authentic Sweet and Sour Carp must come from the Yellow River. But with the current amount of pollution in the Yellow River, you would be better off if the carp was from elsewhere.
- Shandong dishes are mainly quick-fried, roasted, stir-fried or deep-fried. The dishes are mainly clear, fresh and fatty
- Qingdao Beer
- Major characteristics of Shandong Cuisine:
1) Prepared with a wide variety of materials. Jiaodong dishes are mainly made of aquatic products .
2) A pure, strong and mellow taste, rather than a mixed taste. Chefs are good at using onions and seasonings.
3) Shandong Cuisine is known for its excellent seafood dishes and delicious soup.
4) Chefs excel at preparing clear, smell, crisp, tender and delicious dishes by frying, stirring and steaming.
- Famous dishes: Stir Fried Prawns, Fried Sea Cucumbers with Onions, Sweet and Sour Carp, Large Jiaodong Chicken Wings, Taishan Fish with Red Scales, etc.
2- Sichuan Cuisine
- Sichuan Cuisineis one of the most famous Chinese cuisines in the world.
- Spicy and pungent flavor, Sichuan cuisine, prolific of tastes, emphasizes on the use of chili. Pepper and prickly ash also never fail to accompany, producing typical exciting tastes.
- Besides, garlic, ginger and fermented soybean are also used in the cooking process. Wild vegetables and animals are usually chosen as ingredients, while frying, frying without oil, pickling and braising are applied as basic cooking techniques.
- It cannot be said that one who does not experience Sichuan food ever reaches China.
- If you eat Sichuan cuisine and find it too bland, then you are probably not eating authentic Sichuan cuisine.
- Chili peppers and prickly ash are used in many dishes, giving it a distinctively spicy taste, called ma(slight numb sensation) in Chinese.
- Sichuan hot pots are perhaps the most famous hotpots in the world, most notably the Yuan Yang (mandarin duck) Hotpot half spicy and half clear.
The main- characteristics of Sichuan Cuisine:
1) Prepared with a wide variety of ingredients.
2) Presenting various shapes and tastes, and famous for spicy food, fish-flavored shredded pork and food with odd taste.
3) Boasting numerous cooking techniques, such as stir frying, frying, stir-frying before stewing, and braising.
Famous dishes: Stir-fried Diced Chicken with Chilli and Peanuts, Stir-fried Bean Curd in Hot Sauce, Fish-flavored Shredded Pork, Rice Crusts and Sliced Pork, Stir-fried Sliced Beef, etc.
3- Guangdong Cuisine
- Cantonese food originates from Guangdong, the southernmost province in China.
- The majority of overseas Chinese people are from Guangdong (Canton) so Cantonese is perhaps the most widely available Chinese regional cuisine outside of China.
- Cantonese are known to have an adventurous palate, able to eat many different kinds of meats and vegetables.
- In fact, people in Northern China often say that Cantonese people will eat anything that flies except airplanes, anything that moves on the ground except trains, and anything that moves in the water except boats.
- Cantonese food is easily one of the most diverse and richest cuisines in China. Many vegetables originate from other parts of the world. It doesn't use much spice, bringing out the natural flavor of the vegetables and meats.
- Tasting clear, light, crisp and fresh, Guangdong cuisine, familiar to Westerners, usually chooses raptors and beasts to produce originative dishes.
- Its basic cooking techniques include roasting, stir-frying, sauteing, deep-frying, braising, stewing and steaming. Among them steaming and stir-frying are more commonly applied to preserve the natural flavor. Guangdong chefs also pay much attention to the artistic presentation of dishes.
Famous dishes: Fried Bean Curd and Fresh Shrimps, Baiyun Pig‘s Trotters, Roast Piglet with Crisp Skin, Dongjiang Salted Chicken, Refreshing Beef Balls, Taiye Chicken, Fried Jelly Fish, etc.
4- Fujian Cuisine
- Consisting of Fuzhou Cuisine, Quanzhou Cuisine and Xiamen Cuisine, Fujian Cuisine is distinguished for its choice seafood, beautiful color and magic taste of sweet, sour, salty and savory.
- The most distinct features are their "pickled taste".
Fujian Cuisine have the following characteristics:
1) Chefs are skilled in the use of a kitchen knife, full of interest.
2) The Fujian people are peculiar about soup, which is full of changes.
3) A wide variety of seasonings are used, with unique characteristics.
4) Dishes are meticulously prepared, refined and graceful.
5) Fujian Cuisine is characterized by clear, refreshing, delicious and light tastes, slightly sweet and sour.
Typical famous dishes: Monk Jumps over Wall, sea clams in Chicken Soup, Litchi Pulp, Fragrant Sliced Snails ,Fried Oyster, Lightly Fried Dumpling, Clam Cakes, Thousand Layer Cake, Meat Balls, Taiji Smashed Taro.
5- Jiangsu Cuisine
- Jiangsu Cuisine, also called Huaiyang Cuisine, is popular in the lower reach of the Yangtze River.
- Aquatics as the main ingredients, it stresses the freshness of materials. Its carving techniques are delicate, of which the melon carving technique is especially well known.
- Cooking techniques consist of stewing, braising, roasting, simmering, etc. The flavor of Huaiyang Cuisine is light, fresh and sweet and with delicate elegance.
- Jiangsu cuisine is well known for its careful selection of ingredients, its meticulous preparation methodology, and its not-too-spicy, not-too-bland taste.
- Since the seasons vary in climate considerably in Jiangsu, the cuisine also varies throughout the year. If the flavor is strong, it isn't too heavy; if light, not too bland.
The main characteristics of Jiangsu cuisine:
1)Distinguished for exquisite ingredients, freshness and aliveness.
2)High cutting techniques.
3)Have a good command of duration and degree of heating.
4)Good at keeping the original taste one particular taste for one dish. All dishes have light, mellow and refreshing tastes. Yangzhou Cuisine is light and elegant; Suzhou Cuisine is slightly sweet; and Wuxi Cuisine is fairly sweet.
5)Pay great attention to soup, which is strong but not greasy, and delicious.
•Famous dishes: Butterfish in Creamy Juice, Steamed Large Meatballs, Fragrant and Soft Silverfish, Crystal Pig‘s Trotters, Well-known snacks include Dumplings with Juicy Crab Meat Filling, Noodles in Clear Soup, Jadeite Steamed Dumplings with the Dough Gathered at the Top, etc.
6- Zhejiang Cuisine
- Of a large number local cuisine styles, Zhejiang Cuisine occupies an important position and mainly consists of Hangzhou, Ningbo, Shaoxing and Wenzhou cuisine styles, each having its own local characteristics.
- Hangzhou Cuisine, the representative of Zhejiang Cuisine, is delicious, light, crisp, elegant and highly finished. Ningbo local dishes are delicious, tender, soft and refreshing.
Shaoxing Cuisine, includes various kinds of local dishes, which are soft and aromatic with original soup light oil, and a heavy taste. Chefs are forbidden to use peppers. Wenzhou Cuisine, also I,nown as On Cuisine, is known for delicious seafood and light and delicious dishes.
Famous dishes: West Lake Sour Fish, Dongpo Pork, Longjing Shrimp Meat, Jiaohua Young Chickens, Steam Rice Flower and Pork Wrapped by Lotus Leaves, Braised Bamboo Shoots.
7- Hunan Cuisine
Hunan Cuisine has three characteristics:
1) Skilful use of a kitchen knife, a delicious taste and a beautiful shape.
2) Known for sour and spicy dishes by adding various kinds of seasonings.
3) Adopting a wide variety of techniques.
Famous dishes: Spicy Young Chicken, Fried Fish Slices, Steamed Soft-Shell Turtle, Steamed Cured Meat, Huofang Whitebait, Dongting Fat Fish Maw, Jishou Sour Meat, Oily and Spicy Tender Bamboo Shoots, and Chinese Chestnuts and Hearts of Cabbages.
8- Anhui Cuisine
- Anhui Cuisine has the following four characteristics:
1) Using a wide variety of ingredients.
2) Adopting unique techniques.
3) Paying great attention to nutritious food.
4) Offering various kinds of dishes, some of which are full of local flavor.
Famous dishes: Milky Fat Fish King, Stewed Mati Soft-shelled Turtle in Clear Soup, Guest Welcoming Pine, Crucian Carp in Earthen Pot, Fuliji Chicken, Red Bayberry and Glutinous Rice Balls, etc. Local snacks include Butterfly Noodles, White Gourd Dumplings, Frozen Rice Sugar, Tunxi Liquor-saturated Crabs, etc.
- China covers a large territory and has many nationalities, hence a variety of Chinese food with different but fantastic and mouthwatering flavor.
- Since China's local dishes have their own typical characteristics, generally, Chinese food can be roughly divided into eight regional cuisines, which has been widely accepted around.
- Certainly, there are many other local cuisines that are famous, such as Beijing Cuisine and Shanghai Cuisine.
1- Shandong Cuisine
- Consisting of Jinan cuisine and Jiaodong cuisine, Shandong cuisine, clear, pure and not greasy, is characterized by its emphasis on aroma, freshness, crispness and tenderness.
- Shallot and garlic are usually used as seasonings so Shangdong dishes tastes pungent usually.
- Soups are given much emphasis in Shangdong dishes. Thin soup features clear and fresh while creamy soup looks thick and tastes strong.
- Jinan cuisine is adept at deep-frying, grilling, frying and stir-frying while Jiaodong division is famous for cooking seafood with fresh and light taste.
- Shandong is the birthplace of many famous ancient scholars such as Confucious and Mencius.
- Much of Shandong cuisine's history is as old as Confucious himself, making it the oldest existing major cuisine in China.
- But don't expect to gain more wisdom from a fortune at a Shandong restaurant in the West since fortune s aren't even indigenous to China.
- Shandong is a large peninsula surrounded by the sea to the East and the Yellow River meandering through the center.
- Seafood is a major component of Shandong cuisine. Shandong's most famous dish is the Sweat and Sour Carp. A truly authentic Sweet and Sour Carp must come from the Yellow River. But with the current amount of pollution in the Yellow River, you would be better off if the carp was from elsewhere.
- Shandong dishes are mainly quick-fried, roasted, stir-fried or deep-fried. The dishes are mainly clear, fresh and fatty
- Qingdao Beer
- Major characteristics of Shandong Cuisine:
1) Prepared with a wide variety of materials. Jiaodong dishes are mainly made of aquatic products .
2) A pure, strong and mellow taste, rather than a mixed taste. Chefs are good at using onions and seasonings.
3) Shandong Cuisine is known for its excellent seafood dishes and delicious soup.
4) Chefs excel at preparing clear, smell, crisp, tender and delicious dishes by frying, stirring and steaming.
- Famous dishes: Stir Fried Prawns, Fried Sea Cucumbers with Onions, Sweet and Sour Carp, Large Jiaodong Chicken Wings, Taishan Fish with Red Scales, etc.
2- Sichuan Cuisine
- Sichuan Cuisineis one of the most famous Chinese cuisines in the world.
- Spicy and pungent flavor, Sichuan cuisine, prolific of tastes, emphasizes on the use of chili. Pepper and prickly ash also never fail to accompany, producing typical exciting tastes.
- Besides, garlic, ginger and fermented soybean are also used in the cooking process. Wild vegetables and animals are usually chosen as ingredients, while frying, frying without oil, pickling and braising are applied as basic cooking techniques.
- It cannot be said that one who does not experience Sichuan food ever reaches China.
- If you eat Sichuan cuisine and find it too bland, then you are probably not eating authentic Sichuan cuisine.
- Chili peppers and prickly ash are used in many dishes, giving it a distinctively spicy taste, called ma(slight numb sensation) in Chinese.
- Sichuan hot pots are perhaps the most famous hotpots in the world, most notably the Yuan Yang (mandarin duck) Hotpot half spicy and half clear.
The main- characteristics of Sichuan Cuisine:
1) Prepared with a wide variety of ingredients.
2) Presenting various shapes and tastes, and famous for spicy food, fish-flavored shredded pork and food with odd taste.
3) Boasting numerous cooking techniques, such as stir frying, frying, stir-frying before stewing, and braising.
Famous dishes: Stir-fried Diced Chicken with Chilli and Peanuts, Stir-fried Bean Curd in Hot Sauce, Fish-flavored Shredded Pork, Rice Crusts and Sliced Pork, Stir-fried Sliced Beef, etc.
3- Guangdong Cuisine
- Cantonese food originates from Guangdong, the southernmost province in China.
- The majority of overseas Chinese people are from Guangdong (Canton) so Cantonese is perhaps the most widely available Chinese regional cuisine outside of China.
- Cantonese are known to have an adventurous palate, able to eat many different kinds of meats and vegetables.
- In fact, people in Northern China often say that Cantonese people will eat anything that flies except airplanes, anything that moves on the ground except trains, and anything that moves in the water except boats.
- Cantonese food is easily one of the most diverse and richest cuisines in China. Many vegetables originate from other parts of the world. It doesn't use much spice, bringing out the natural flavor of the vegetables and meats.
- Tasting clear, light, crisp and fresh, Guangdong cuisine, familiar to Westerners, usually chooses raptors and beasts to produce originative dishes.
- Its basic cooking techniques include roasting, stir-frying, sauteing, deep-frying, braising, stewing and steaming. Among them steaming and stir-frying are more commonly applied to preserve the natural flavor. Guangdong chefs also pay much attention to the artistic presentation of dishes.
Famous dishes: Fried Bean Curd and Fresh Shrimps, Baiyun Pig‘s Trotters, Roast Piglet with Crisp Skin, Dongjiang Salted Chicken, Refreshing Beef Balls, Taiye Chicken, Fried Jelly Fish, etc.
4- Fujian Cuisine
- Consisting of Fuzhou Cuisine, Quanzhou Cuisine and Xiamen Cuisine, Fujian Cuisine is distinguished for its choice seafood, beautiful color and magic taste of sweet, sour, salty and savory.
- The most distinct features are their "pickled taste".
Fujian Cuisine have the following characteristics:
1) Chefs are skilled in the use of a kitchen knife, full of interest.
2) The Fujian people are peculiar about soup, which is full of changes.
3) A wide variety of seasonings are used, with unique characteristics.
4) Dishes are meticulously prepared, refined and graceful.
5) Fujian Cuisine is characterized by clear, refreshing, delicious and light tastes, slightly sweet and sour.
Typical famous dishes: Monk Jumps over Wall, sea clams in Chicken Soup, Litchi Pulp, Fragrant Sliced Snails ,Fried Oyster, Lightly Fried Dumpling, Clam Cakes, Thousand Layer Cake, Meat Balls, Taiji Smashed Taro.
5- Jiangsu Cuisine
- Jiangsu Cuisine, also called Huaiyang Cuisine, is popular in the lower reach of the Yangtze River.
- Aquatics as the main ingredients, it stresses the freshness of materials. Its carving techniques are delicate, of which the melon carving technique is especially well known.
- Cooking techniques consist of stewing, braising, roasting, simmering, etc. The flavor of Huaiyang Cuisine is light, fresh and sweet and with delicate elegance.
- Jiangsu cuisine is well known for its careful selection of ingredients, its meticulous preparation methodology, and its not-too-spicy, not-too-bland taste.
- Since the seasons vary in climate considerably in Jiangsu, the cuisine also varies throughout the year. If the flavor is strong, it isn't too heavy; if light, not too bland.
The main characteristics of Jiangsu cuisine:
1)Distinguished for exquisite ingredients, freshness and aliveness.
2)High cutting techniques.
3)Have a good command of duration and degree of heating.
4)Good at keeping the original taste one particular taste for one dish. All dishes have light, mellow and refreshing tastes. Yangzhou Cuisine is light and elegant; Suzhou Cuisine is slightly sweet; and Wuxi Cuisine is fairly sweet.
5)Pay great attention to soup, which is strong but not greasy, and delicious.
•Famous dishes: Butterfish in Creamy Juice, Steamed Large Meatballs, Fragrant and Soft Silverfish, Crystal Pig‘s Trotters, Well-known snacks include Dumplings with Juicy Crab Meat Filling, Noodles in Clear Soup, Jadeite Steamed Dumplings with the Dough Gathered at the Top, etc.
6- Zhejiang Cuisine
- Of a large number local cuisine styles, Zhejiang Cuisine occupies an important position and mainly consists of Hangzhou, Ningbo, Shaoxing and Wenzhou cuisine styles, each having its own local characteristics.
- Hangzhou Cuisine, the representative of Zhejiang Cuisine, is delicious, light, crisp, elegant and highly finished. Ningbo local dishes are delicious, tender, soft and refreshing.
Shaoxing Cuisine, includes various kinds of local dishes, which are soft and aromatic with original soup light oil, and a heavy taste. Chefs are forbidden to use peppers. Wenzhou Cuisine, also I,nown as On Cuisine, is known for delicious seafood and light and delicious dishes.
Famous dishes: West Lake Sour Fish, Dongpo Pork, Longjing Shrimp Meat, Jiaohua Young Chickens, Steam Rice Flower and Pork Wrapped by Lotus Leaves, Braised Bamboo Shoots.
7- Hunan Cuisine
Hunan Cuisine has three characteristics:
1) Skilful use of a kitchen knife, a delicious taste and a beautiful shape.
2) Known for sour and spicy dishes by adding various kinds of seasonings.
3) Adopting a wide variety of techniques.
Famous dishes: Spicy Young Chicken, Fried Fish Slices, Steamed Soft-Shell Turtle, Steamed Cured Meat, Huofang Whitebait, Dongting Fat Fish Maw, Jishou Sour Meat, Oily and Spicy Tender Bamboo Shoots, and Chinese Chestnuts and Hearts of Cabbages.
8- Anhui Cuisine
- Anhui Cuisine has the following four characteristics:
1) Using a wide variety of ingredients.
2) Adopting unique techniques.
3) Paying great attention to nutritious food.
4) Offering various kinds of dishes, some of which are full of local flavor.
Famous dishes: Milky Fat Fish King, Stewed Mati Soft-shelled Turtle in Clear Soup, Guest Welcoming Pine, Crucian Carp in Earthen Pot, Fuliji Chicken, Red Bayberry and Glutinous Rice Balls, etc. Local snacks include Butterfly Noodles, White Gourd Dumplings, Frozen Rice Sugar, Tunxi Liquor-saturated Crabs, etc.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
