饮食与中国文化 一一 二者之间的关联.doc

source textfood and chinese culture - the relationship between the twoas for diet, chinese herbalists believe that, to properly treat a patient, you must know the state of the five elements in their body. a deficiency or an excess of an element can lead to illness. in the chinese kitchen: recipes, techniques, ingredients, history, and memories from americas leading authority on chinese cooking, eileen yin fei-lo provides some wonderful examples of how her grandmother used the principles of the five elements theory to cure common illnesses. treating a cough with winter melon tea and fresh water chestnuts is just one example.a detailed look at the use of five elements theory in diagnosing and treating illnesses is beyond the scope of this article. suffice to say that practitioners of traditional chinese medicine rely on it to explain the relationships between the body organs and tissues, as well as between the body and the outside environment. the table below outlines the relationship between the five elements and body parts, feelings, colors, and taste. elementyinyangfeelingscolorstasteswoodlivergall bladderragegreensourfireheartsmall intestinehappinessredbitterearthspleenstomachthoughtyellowsweetmetallungslarge intestinesorrowwhitespicywaterkidneysbladderfearblacksaltyhow would a physician use the above information to make a diagnosis? lets say a patient suddenly developed a preference for sour food. this could indicate liver problems. of course, the actual process of examining a patient and making a diagnosis is much more complex than merely consulting a chart. it requires a thorough understanding of the interaction between all the elements. because time and date of birth are also thought to play a role in an individuals state of the five elements, many physicians will consult astrological charts before making a diagnosis. five spice powder and the five elements theorywas five-spice powder the first feel good drug?although the exact origins of five-spice powder are lost to history, there is some thought that the chinese were attempting to produce a wonder powder encompassing all of the five elements. all of the five flavors - sour, bitter, sweet, pungent, and salty - are found in five-spice powder. then again, its possible that a cook accidentally stumbled upon this particular combination of spices, and realized its power to enliven the blandest dish. whatever the case, there is no doubt that five-spice powder is unique. of course, these days the specific combination of spices used to make up five-spice powder varies. in fact, some brands could more accurately be labeled seven-spice powder, since they contain seven ingredients. a standard recipe calls for fennel, cloves, and cinnamon, along with star anise and szechuan peppercorns. however, youll also find five-spice powder made with cassia (a member of the same family as cinnamon), ginger, nutmeg, and even licorice (star anise has a wonderful licorice flavor). feel free to experiment with different varieties until you find the one you like best. bottled five-spice powder can often be found at local supermarkets. however, if at all possible, i would recommend purchasing it from an asian market. youll pay less and the spice mixture will be more authentic. an added advantage is that it is frequently packaged in plastic bags, allowing the aroma to come through and giving you a chance to compare brands before buying. at home, remove from the bag and store in a dry place in a sealed jar. below ive provided a basic recipe for five-spice powder, along with several dishes that make use of its powerful flavor. but dont limit your use of five-spice powder to specific recipes - add it whenever you want to lend flavor to stir-fries, soups and red-cooked dishes. it works well with meats, and makes an excellent marinade. (youll sometimes find packages of five-spice marinade designed specifically for chicken in asian markets). just remember to use sparingly - a little goes a long way.yin and yang in chinese cookingreal knowledge is to know the extent of ones ignorance.(confucius)yin and yang. hot and cold. male and female. the philosophy of yin and yang lies at the heart of chinese culture. the first references to yin and yang come from the i ching, the five classic works compiled and edited by confucius. taken literally, yin and yang mean the dark side and sunny side of a hill. people commonly think of yin and yang as opposing forces. however, it is really more appropriate to view them as complementary pairs. the chinese believe problems arise not when the two forces are battling, but when there is an imbalance between them in the environment. floods, divorce, or even a fire in the kitchen - all can be attributed to disharmony in the forces of yin and yang.this is the traditional symbol for the forces of yin and yang, sometimes described as two fish swimming head to tail.how does the concept of yin and yang relate to food? a basic adherence to this philosophy can be found in any chinese dish, from stir-fried beef with broccoli to sweet and sour pork. there is always a balance in color, flavors, and textures. however, belief in the importance of following the principles of yin and yang in the diet extends further. certain foods are thought to have yin or cooling properties, while others have warm, yang properties. the challenge is to consume a diet that contains a healthy balance between the two. when treating illnesses, an oriental physician will frequently advise dietary changes in order to restore a healthy balance between the yin and yang in the body. for example, lets say youre suffering from heartburn, caused by consuming too many spicy (yang) foods. instead of antacids, youre likely to take home a prescription for herbal teas to restore the yin forces. similarly, coughs or flu are more likely to be treated with dietary changes than antibiotics or cough medicines. almost no foodstuff is purely yin or yang - its more that one characteristic tends to dominate. this is why there is not complete agreement among experts as to which foods exhibit yin or yang forces. it also reinforces that it is not so much the individual ingredients, as the balance and contrast between ingredients in each dish, that is important. interestingly, cooking methods also have more of a yin or yang property, as the list below demonstrates. target text饮食与中国文化 一一 二者之间的关联在饮食方面，中医认为，要合理医治一个病人，你必须要知道他们体内五种元素的状况。任何一种元素的不足或过剩都能导致疾病。在中国厨房：菜谱、技术、配料、历史，以及美国顶级权威人士关于中国烹饪的记忆里，艾琳（eileen yin fei0lo）提供了一些极好的关于她祖母是怎么样运用五行理论来治疗普通疾病的例子。比如用冬瓜茶和新鲜荸荠来治疗咳嗽。本文在此就不对如何将五行学说运用在诊断和治疗进行详细描述了。可以说中医就是靠它来解释身体器官和组织间的关系，以及身体和外部环境之间的关系。以下表格略述（列出）了五行和身体各部分、情绪（情感）、颜色和味道之间的关系。元素阴阳情绪颜色味道木肝胆囊怒绿酸火心小肠喜红苦土脾胃思黄甜金肥 大肠悲白辣水肾膀胱惧黑咸医师怎样运用以上信息来做诊断呢？比如说一个病人突然间喜欢吃酸的食物了。这个可能说明了他的肝有问题。当然，实际的给病人做检查和诊断的过程要远比仅仅参考一个图表复杂得多。这要求对所有元素之间的相互作用有通彻的理解。因为一个人出生的日期和时间也被认为在他的五行状态中起作用。因此许多医师在诊断时会参考占星图。五香粉和五行学说五香粉是第一个“好感觉”的药物吗？ 虽然五香粉的确切起源已经无从考证了，但是有一些说法是中国人曾尝试着制作一种包含着这五种元素的“非凡的粉末”。所有这五种味道酸、苦、甜、辣和咸都存在于五香粉里。还是那句话， 可能是在一次偶然的烹饪中偶然发现了这种特别的香料组合方式，并意识到这种粉末可以让乏味的菜变得美味。不管是怎样的，毋庸置疑的是五香粉是独一无二的。当然，现今特定的香料组合方式使得五香粉变得多种多样。事实上给有的品牌的五香粉标上“七香粉”会更为确切些，因为它们含有7种配料。标准的配方要求有茴香、丁香、肉桂、八角和花椒。但是你也能找到用桂皮（与肉桂属于同种类）、姜、肉豆蔻甚至甘草（八角有一种奇妙的甘草味道。你可以随意尝试不同的组合，直到找到自己最喜欢的一种。瓶装的五香粉一般可在当地超市找到。但是，如果条件允许的话我建议从亚洲市场里买。（这样你可以少花点钱,并且香料成分也更可信。另外一个好处是它通常是用塑料袋包装的，使得香气能透出来，让你在买之前能够进行比较。回到家后可以把