Differences between Chinese and American food culture

“This was the routine of the old China trade. These were the commodities traditionally brought to China and traditionally carried away. And at the heart of the trade was tea. It came from no other place. India did not then produce any, nor Ceylon, Java, or Formosa; Japan was inaccessible; the world perforce drank China teas. Above all, the English drank them” (17).

Common food that Chinese heritage usually consume are peanuts, soybeans and grains. The Chinese culture believes in steaming most of their foods and only fried what is needed. They believe drinking something cold can damage and out balance their body system. When it is suppertime, everyone joins in at the middle of a table and food is served among the most important guest there, then someone signals everyone to eat. It is important for the Chinese heritage to uphold their health. The Chinese people try to keep their body well-balanced with a healthy diet. A healthy diet will aid and prevent imbalances and indigestion (Purnell, 2013).

Food is closely related to people's lives and it is considered the most important element in Chinese culture. Chinese food is famous all over the world too. American Chinese cuisine differs significantly from the traditional Chinese cuisine and even though the variation in taste can be so it is still attractive to many people. When it comes to food, Chinese people always care about the color, taste, smell and shape of Chinese dishes. In 1784, a group of passengers on the ship Empress of China became the first Americans to land in China and they were also the first group of people to eat Chinese food; it was the

Saberi, H. (2010). Tea Comes to the West. In Tea:A Global History. [Adobe Digital Editions Version]. Retrieved from http://site.ebrary.com/

After reading this article, I’ve realized that the idea of food, eating, and even the type of food is different when compared to different cultures. Specifically, the article talks about food as an identity, as survival, as a status, as a pleasure, as a community, and as humanity. For each of these main ideas, the article gives an example of each culture and what they do differently with food. One that I though was really cool was how in China, people would rather eat unique textured foods such as Jellyfish and pig ears, instead of something that has a unique taste. After reading this, I began to thinking that this was the complete opposite compared to the American culture. This is because we will usually eat foods for taste and when we eat

Every time I come home from college, my family and I would go out to yumcha or, as directly translated from Cantonese, to “drink tea. However, drinking tea is only one component of yumcha. To yumcha is to converse with company over a meal of many small dishes and hot tea. Going yumcha is social activity brought to the United States by the people from the Guangdong region of China, also known as Cantonese people. When they immigrated to the United States, yumcha became an important tradition because it also enabled Cantonese parents to socialize their children into the Chinese culture through the language and social practices involved in the meal and the ritual and meaning surrounding the tea. However, to Chinese-Americans such as myself, going yumcha with native Chinese people also emphasized my American identity due to my food choices. Yet when I go yumcha with non-Chinese people, I become distinctly aware of my Chinese identity when they fail the language or rituals of this tradition. The only time when I do not feel alienated during yumcha is when I go with my other

Tea: Tea began as a luxury drink, and then trickled down to become the beverage of the working man. The story of tea is the story of imperialism, industrialization, and world domination. According to Chinese tradition, the first cup of tea was brewed by the emperor Shen Nung. Before tea was a beverage, it was used for medicinal purposes and foodstuff. Tea became a daily drink in China around the third century A.D. As the Industrial Revolution of 18th and 19th centuries gained steam, tea provided some of the fuel. Factory workers stayed alert during long, monotonous shifts thanks to welcome tea breaks. The beverage also had unintended health benefits for rapidly growing urban areas. Chewing leaves and rubbing them on wounds were ways that tea was used for medicinal purposes.

Grains like rice, wheat and millet were staple items in the Ancient Chinese diet. They also ate plenty of meat including pork, chicken, duck, goose and dog. Vegetables included yams, soy beans, turnip as well as spring onions and

The Tea that reach America from china inspired new addictions, new trade connections and new forms of luxury, new social critiques and simmering provincial inferiority. Many caffeinated drinks had come before the tea however this was a new drink to the English-speaking world. Nevertheless, this drink did not come without its own problems (50).

It also served as a food stuff, until it became a drink. According to Monks ( Buddhist) tea help with meditation, so it play an important part in Buddhism. Tea was used socially, people in both China and Japan, also in England would gather together for tea parties. While at these tea parties, people would have enjoy a cup of tea which helped the mind to stimulate intellectual conversations and debates. People drank a lot of tea because it help prevent waterborne disease. It served as a the main trade for China and Japan.

Looking at the years of progression of food in china it started with Chinese imperial food originated around the Zhou Dynasty 11th century B.C. – 476 B.C. Although China’s dietetic culture developed and grew prior to the Zhou Dynasty, it truly flourished during the Zhou, Qin, and Han dynasties 1122 B.C. – 220. (www.china.org.cn/english/imperial/25995.) But when we look at the food today it has a mix of diversity of mix culture with the main ideas of the imperial dinning back in Zhou dynasty. We can look at food like curry which came from India and the Chinese culture took the spice and added to its food but also remembering the balance of sweet and sour and hot and spicy as well as tart. We can also look at the U.S.A and seeing the

As many Americans love to, Chinese people love to eat too. Rather than greeting people with “How

An “ancient legend in China, is that tea was discovered accidentally by the Emperor Shen Nong in 2737 B.C.E.” According to the website, www.mightyleaf.com “The emperor was boiling water under a tree and leaves fell into the pot,” and thus the legend of how drinking tea started. According to historical documents, China is the first culture to drink tea or to utilize it in religious or cultural ceremonies. The practice of sharing tea began among family members, neighbors, and friends as a social interaction. In an early Chinese dynasty, the Emperor Song Huizong wrote about the “problems that can degrade the flavor, such as using an inferior product or improperly processed leaf.” (Hinsch 77) Even poems penned in China discussed the growing and drinking of tea.

Culture is the specifications and information about a specific group of people, distinct by everything from religion, language, cuisine, life lifestyle and more. Today, we are living in the world that have thousands of cultures, that we have less information about that. China and the United States are the two large countries in the world that they both have cultures which are good recognized through away the world. There are many differences between China and the United States, however, there are many causal factors that form the culture of these two countries.

Knowing Chinese tea culture thoroughly is a wise way for people to explore the Chinese society and culture. As a traditional drink, it has been planted and consumed for over five thousands years. The climate of China is perfect for growing tea, which leads to large quantities and good quality of tea. According to the line diagram, “Dynamics of manufacture of tea in China, thousand tons” there were about 1,200 thousands tons of tea manufactured in 2008, which made China the biggest tea manufacture country in the world. As we can see, tea has a special position in Chinese society. Due to its popularity, Chinese tea gradually raises international interest, and leads China to be a more influential country in the