Cultural Differences in Diets Between China and the West

1、AcknowledgmentsThank you for giving me the chance to achieve my paper and to make a conclusion for my four years study. I have gained more knowledge and friends than I supposed.My most sincere thanks are due to my supervisor, Hu Xiaorong, for her helps on my paper. Whats more, I also want to give my

2、 thanks to other teachers and my classmates who gave me much help. Thank you!AbstractAt present, China as the worlds second largest economy, is playing an increasingly important role in the international stage. At the same time, with the increasingly frequent economic exchanges, cross-cultural commu

3、nication as an indispensable important link also gradually revealed its special function in the process of intercultural communication, the communication of diets is an important and popular activities. But due to the ddifferent historical roots, cultural origin and geographical features, China and

4、the West have the different cultural background and distinctive ethnic colors. This also resulted in the Western diet culture has distinctive national character and diversity. Because of different food cultures, Westerners will sometimes encounter some problems even to have some misunderstandings in

5、 the process of communication. This paper analyses the differences between China and the West in the concept of diets, contents of diets, methods of diets and cooking methods from the perspective of intercultural communication, revealing the causes of cultural differences in diets between China and

6、the West. And further expounds some problems in the process of cross-cultural communication should be paid attention to because of the diet cultural differences . At the same time, it shows that Chinese and Western food cultures will be the trend of increasingly integrated and common development.Key

7、 Words: dietetic cultures；China and the West ;differences ;cross-cultural communication摘 要目前，中国作为世界第二大经济体，在国际舞台上发挥着日益重要的作用。 与此同时，伴随着日益频繁的经济交往，跨文化交际作为其中不可或缺的一个重要环节也逐渐显露出其特殊的作用。而在跨文化交际的过程中，饮食的交往已然成为一项关键且受人重视的活动。但由于中西方间存在着历史根源，文化起源，地域特征等多方面因素的差异。造就了中西方不同的文化背景与各具特色的民族色彩。这也导致中西方的饮食文化具有鲜明的民族性与多样性。由于饮食文化的不

8、同，中西方人在交流的过程中有时会遇到一些问题更甚是产生一些误解。本文拟从跨文化交际的角度，分析中国与西方国家在饮食观念，饮食内容，饮食方式，烹饪方法等方面存在的差异，揭示形成中西方饮食文化差异的原因，并进一步阐明在跨文化交流的过程中因饮食文化差异所需要注意的一些问题。同时表明中西饮食文化将日益融合，共同发展的趋势。关键词:饮食文化;中西方;差异;跨文化交际Cultural Differences in Diets Between China and the West-A Cross-cultural Communication PerspectiveTOC o 1-3 h z u HYPERL

9、INK l _Toc25994 1. Introduction 11.1 Definition of Diets 11.2 Definition of Cross-cultural Communication 21.3 The Relationship Between Dietetic Cultures and Cross-cultural Communication 22. Differences in the Performance Between Chinese and Western Diets 32.1 Differences in Origin 32.2Differences in

10、 Diet Concepts Between China and the West 52.2.1 Nutrition and Dainty 52.2.2 Individualism and Collectivism 62.2.3 Norm and Randomness 62.3 Differences in Contents 62.3.1 Raw Materials 62.3.2 Structures 72.4 Differences in Methods 72.4.1 Dinning Way 72.4.2 Table Wares 82.4.3 Dinning Etiquette 82.5 D

11、ifferences in Cuisine 93.Reasons for the Differences Between Chinese and Western Dietetic Cultures 93.1 The Impact of the Histories 93.2 The Impact of the Geographical Environment 103.3 The Impact of the Economic System 103.4 The Impact of Religion 114. Some Problems in Cross-cultural Communication

12、115. Conclusion 11Bibliography 13Cultural Differences in Diets Between China and the West-A Cross-cultural Communication Perspective1. IntroductionAlong with the acceleration of economic globalization and the increasingly frequent development of international communication, intercultural communicati

13、on activities are also increasing. Obviously, Diets, as is known to all, as an important component of intercultural communication has become increasingly respected. No matter for us or the westerners , no matter in work or in life , diets also play a pivotal and indispensable role. Therefore, the di

14、et culture is actually attracting peoples attention, which also covers extremely widespread research areas. Because of the differences in Chinese and western cultural traditions, histories and other elements, the Chinese and western dietary cultures are different in concepts ,contents ,methods and s

15、o on. Thus, It is necessary and significant to respect and understand these differences in cross-cultural communication.1.1 Definition of DietsAs a crucial component of national culture, the concept of the dietetic culture has the broad sense and the narrow sense. Dietetic culture in the traditional

16、 sense involves all kind of aspects. If the concept of dietetic culture is expanded ,which not only includes the development and utilization of the ingredients, application and innovation of diets ,production and consumption of diets, but also including service and hospitality; operation and managem

17、ent of catering industry and dietetic industry. The aspects of peace and prosperity, literary arts and the relationship between the realm of life are even referred into the dietetic culture. In the narrow sense, dietetic culture is based on the similarities between food and cooking, while cooking cu

18、lture refers to the combination of material wealth and spiritual wealth created by people in the long-term production and processing of food .To put it simply, it says that dietetic culture is the knowledge, which relates to material, cookers, gastronomy and other aspects, concerning what to do , ho

19、w to do, why to do. In the broad sense ,its the knowledge ,which involves food varieties dietetic vessels, customs and services . It talks about what to do, how to eat and why to eat for human beings. Thus , it can be showed that the dietetic culture is also a extremely inclusive and rich connotatio

20、n of the concept. Affected by the geographical environment, regional characteristics, cultural history and other differences , China and the West has a big difference in the cultural level . And the overall cultural background of dietetic culture is affected by the nature , it also displayed a signi

21、ficant difference.1.2 Definition of Cross-cultural CommunicationThis concept was first proposed by American linguists, Dwell Hymes .It refers to any people who have differences in language and cultural background of communication or native speakers and non-native speakers . Because of the different

22、national survival, material, social and religious environment, local customs and many contextual factors, the different cultural background causes that the way people speak or habits are not the same .In his view, the communicative competence includes not only the comprehensive and mastery of a form

23、 of language,but also the understanding and grasp about when and where, and in what manner to use appropriate language form of communicative knowledge . Intercultural communication is a form of global communication. Actually, it is used to describe the wide range of communication problems that natur

24、ally appear within an organization made up of individual from different religious , social ,ethnic and educational backgrounds. In this sense ,it seeks to understand how people who from different countries and cultures communicate and perceive the world around them .Intercultural communication is al

25、so referred to as the base for international business. There are several cross-cultural services provide around who can assist with the development of intercultural communication skills.1.3 The Relationship Between Dietetic Cultures and Cross-cultural CommunicationPeter Newmark said, “food is the mo

26、st sensitive thing in the national culture, is also the most important means of expression.” It also has defined the way of peoples life style. In this case, what is more important than to eat and to drink in the life?As it is mentioned by Athenaeus in his song, “our life will continue without poetr

27、y, music and art; our life will go on without conscience and love, our life can get along without friends and books ,but our human life, as a civilized people, can not go on without cook and delicacy.” This poem is a little biased, but strongly points out that hunger breeds discontentment ,the timel

28、ess truth. It is also the perfect interpretation of the delicacy ,which brings us the strong sense of joy. This idea agreed with thinker Confucius, the great philosopher of our country in the spring and Autumn period. As an ancient civilization with five thousand years of cultural heritage, Chinese

29、food culture is profound, which not only contains the traditional raw materials, cooking methods, food collocation and other aspects of the elements, but also conveys the Chinese nations unique Oriental and cultural elements to world.2. Differences in the Performance Between Chinese and Western Diet

30、sWith regard to the differences between Chinese and Western Food Cultures , everyone in our minds always holds the various viewpoints to its factors and appearances. Affected by geographical location, customs and other factors , China forms the unique and exclusive features and beauties in cultures.

31、 It is even more in the aspect of diet. Chinas dietetic culture has very early origin , long history and rich species, which all shows its broad and profound contents to the world without any exception. The Western diet is influenced by its colonial history , environment and other factors, which als

32、o continuously developed and updated. And with some eating habits of their own, it is also formed a distinctively western food culture in the West. All kinds of factors make a great difference between Chinese and Western food culture. This part will be based on various factors, emphatically elaborat

33、ing the specific performances of cultural differences in diets between China and the west .It mainly will be divided into the origin, concepts, contents, ways and methods of cooking( five aspects) to further clarify.2.1 Differences in OriginChinese and Western cultures have always been the two major

34、 factions in worlds cultures. Food cultures occupy an extremely significant position in the two categories of Chinese and Western cultures. The cultural differences between Chinese and western lead to the distinct dietetic cultures. Among them, the different origin is one of the most important perfo

35、rmances.As the representative of the western countries, the dietetic culture of European countries and the United States date back to the stone age. With the germination of the bourgeoisie, the development of the historical process , the dietetic cultures of the West continue to move forward . Early

36、 civilization in the western world was first produced in the coast of the Aegean Sea. On account of the extremely sparse population, most people lived by hunting and gathering . Then, the western food is mostly carnivorous dishes. This period can also be described as the period of cold viands. In th

37、e early period, people can not grasp the skill about making a fire, so people only mainly rely on natural fire. But this phenomenon in the stone age has been changed, people are capable of making fire and cooking food will gradually becomes an important trend. At the same time, the stove also become

38、 an important tool for cooking .The plant foods gradually walk into peoples life. However, people are still playing the role of hunters, fishermen and gatherers.About 5500 BC, with a series of sharp changes, the Neolithic period began. The development of settlement makes people bid farewell to the h

39、unters and gatherers living. In the meantime ,the food of the plant becomes stronger than the original. In addition, many kinds of wild fruits have become one of the menu of people, but the fruits for food are systematically planting have reached about 500 BC.In contrast, China, the origin of dietet

40、ic cultures is different from that of the United States and Europe. As one of the four ancient countries, Chinas civilization originated in basin of the Yellow River and the Yangtze River. Therefore, the distinctive agricultural civilization was formed in China . Originally, people do not understand

41、 the artificial fire and cooking food. Diet is savage and does not belong to the diet cultures. Then, making fire was invented by Suiren later ,they started to make fire by rubbing sticks and cooked into the stone cooking era. It has laid the material foundation for a great leap in the history of hu

42、man diets. Then, The diets was developed from Fuxi and The Yan Emperor Shennong, etc. Shennong also has laid a very important foundation for the Chinese diet cultures .After this period, people not only know what should be eat but also know how to cook.After entering the Zhou and Qin Dynasties, Chin

43、a enters into the formation period of Chinese food cultures. During the spring and Autumn period, the production of grain vegetables are basically general. Archaeological data confirmed that the history of cultivation of rice in China has been 10000 years. As a kind of crop, wheat has become an impo

44、rtant food raw material in the basin of the Yellow Riverand the Yangtze River at least in the Spring and Autumn Period. The fruits and vegetables, poultry and livestock as peoples food have been recorded in the spring and Autumn period to the Han Dynasty . A well-known saying in Internal Canon of Hu

45、angdi ,a book in the spring and Autumn period in Han Dynasty also tells the Chinese dietetic structures and features. The saying is “Rices and Grains as The Principal Food, the five kinds of fruit to assist , the five kinds of domestic animals to supplement, five kinds of vegetables to enrich .”2.2D

46、ifferences in Diet Concepts Between China and the WestThe concept is the most ingrained thing for every nation or people, and is the direct guide to personal behaviors. Obviously, in respect of diet, China and the west also have the different ideas.2.2.1 Nutrition and DaintyThe Western diet is more

47、about nutrition. As it is known, westerners pay more attention to diet science and nutrition . The nutrition of the diet should be arranged in the first position regardless of the diet color, the taste and so on . The western diet concepts have the obvious pragmatism color. They emphasize on adequat

48、e nutrition, equal calories and suitable proportion between vegetables and meats more than the taste of food . French, as the leading number of great diet country , also never gives up nutrition as the first principle in their diet.On the contrary, Chinese pay more attention to the great look and ta

49、ste in dishes. The old said that “People set food as first ,while taste is the most important of food.” It originally expresses that Chinese pay attention to delicious taste more than nutrition. Although Chinese also advocate the dietotherapy and feed raise, dainty is still occupied the fundamental

50、state in diets .In daily life , people always say that “it is delicious”, or “this dish is not delicious” when people taste the cooked food. It is illustrated that peoples the first evaluating standard to a dish is its taste . Few people says “ it is nutritive” when they eat a cooked diet. However,

51、it also suggests that people are fond of gaining physical and mental satisfaction by enjoying the dishes. From Chinese diets, it is easy to see, people emphasize more abundant diet taste by using ingredients ,elements ,the thickness of collocation.2.2.2 Individualism and CollectivismIndividualism is

52、 one of outstanding characteristics in western dietetic cultures. In the west ,people hold that themselves is the overriding part in dining. Whether they feel satisfied to this meal is the most important thing . They usually order the food what they really want instead of following others advices. I

53、n movies, on television ,it is observed that every one will look at the menu and order their favorite food ,then ,giving the menu to the next one.In China, the concept of collectivism is deep-rooted in peoples life . It is not difficult to find that all peoples feeling to the meal is settled into th

54、e first. The Chinese cuisines pay attention to the five flavors into one. whether we use enough materials and flavors, they will be mix together ultimately, which embodies a holistic thinking.2.2.3 Norm and RandomnessWith the diet of the western tends to be more specific and scientific,it is likely

55、to find a rule in the process of dining in the west.In the western diet, they are particular about the sequence of meals. The sequence approximately is Snacks (cold)at first, then, a soup, next is hot food (in primary and secondary order) .Finally, fruit snacks and black coffee will be showed to us.

56、 It is obviously seen that the west have s set of rules about their diets. And the locating places and using methods of tableware is also attached importance.Chinese diet ,however, has great randomness. It rarely be required what must be eat on first ,or people should use the specified tableware to

57、eat the specified dish. People can eat every dish if they want. People can drink coffee or tea while they are eating . They dont have the constraint about the sequence of meals.2.3 Differences in Contents2.3.1 Raw MaterialsChina is the country based on agricultures. This feature reflected in the mat

58、erials is particularly prominent. Chinese traditional ingredients mainly is the cereal, especially rice and wheat, which are the most common in peoples life. It is the basis for human survival, the dietetic materials of China mainly are vegetables and cereals, but meats are relatively few.At this po

59、int, the west is not the same with China, they are adhering to maritime civilization. In the early age, they hunted, fished and made other related activities. Therefore the raw meat occupies an important position in their diet, like beef, pork, fish and so on. But vegetables and rice are relatively rare in their diets.2.3.2 StructuresAs mentioned in above ,rice and wheat are the staple food in China .At the same tim