Ancient Chinese food was based around rice as far back as 5000 BCE. Interestingly, the evidence from around the Yangtse River watershed points to not only boiled rice but to the fermented product that we know as rice wine. It was probably an accidental discovery, but one that has remained very popular throughout Chinese history.
Wild pig species are native to southern China and appear to have been domesticated around 2000 BCE. It’s not known at what stage hunting was replaced by domestication and farming of pigs – bones don’t tell that story – but this was probably after the introduction of chickens.
Chickens were probably adopted from the area that we now know as Thailand. These were almost certainly domesticated before pigs. Even today, Dai people (Dai and Thai being pretty much interchangeable) live in Xishuangbanna, the area bordering the modern SE Asia countries of Laos and Myanmar (Burma).
In the north, where it was too cold for rice, the local farmers grew millet and some sorghum. These could also be boiled into porridge, or fermented to produce alcohol.
One ancient Chinese food item not developed elsewhere is tofu. This fermented bean product was thought to have been made from about 1000 BCE. The soya bean is tasty and supposedly endowed with healthy characteristics. It is meant to be particularly good for diabetics. Soya milk is another product still consumed today.
Food preservation techniques allowed the ancient Chinese to keep seasonal crops year round. Salting of meat and pickling of vegetables have long added to the variety of foods, especially over the winter period. Many people still eat rice porridge with pickled vegetables for breakfast. It’s simple to prepare and easily digested.
When looking at ancient Chinese food we shouldn’t forget the popular drinks. Boiled water has always been the favourite as it has long been a principle that food and drink should be consumed when at a temperature similar to the bodies so as not to disturb the natural balance. This preference may have lead to the discovery of tea leaves as flavouring.
Certainly the early Chinese seem to have experimented with lots of plants and drying methods to produce a wide range of tasty and healthy beverages. The favourites now are:
- Green teas – especially those from Longjing near Hangzhou;
- Fermented teas – Pu’er Tea and Oolong are perhaps the most famous of these; and
- Flower teas – such as Jasmine and Chrysanthemum.
Ancient Chinese Food may not have been the most varied. This was largely because of China’s relative isolation. Only when hardy adventurers traveled along the Silk Road routes did wheat, cattle and sheep arrive in China. More variety was introduced when China expanded southwards, and especially when sea trade brought lots of exotic foodstuffs to Guangzhou (Canton) and beyond. Those developments were for later.
Ian Ford has lived in China for most of the last 7 years. He has prepared a food guide, Eating Out in China, with background information to Chinese food, over 60 recommended dishes and handy reference sheets. The sheets are for you to take on your travels and have these recommended dishes (and variations) in English, pinyin and Chinese characters. To find out more, go to http://www.eatingoutinchina.com
Article Source:
http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ian_Ford
80/20 Guide to Chinese Pronunciation — Part 1
by: Kah Joon Liow
“Just give me the basics!”
That’s what this Chinese pronunciation guide is all about.
It’s all that you need to know Chinese pronunciation to get by.
The 80% that’s important.
To speak Mandarin, the first thing to learn is Chinese pronunciation of words using the system known as pinyin.
Pinyin is the Romanized Chinese phonetic system and is the most effective aid to learning Mandarin today.
(Romanized means using English alphabets.)
Pinyin was invented in the 1950’s so that anyone, especially English speaking people, could learn Chinese pronunciation easily.
Most of the letters in pinyin have the same sounds as letters of the alphabet – with only a few exceptions.
It’s really a very practical pronunciation system.
Can you imagine an English speaker trying to pronounce Chinese characters without pinyin?
(By the way, pinyin is less complicated that the other forms of Romanization for Chinese pronunciation, Wade-Giles and Yale.)
First, “The Four Tones”
Chinese is a tonal language.
Each Chinese character is a syllable with a fixed tone.
A different tone is a different Chinese character and hence a different meaning.
Chinese pronunciation involves four tones, each indicated by a tone mark.
The tone marks are placed over the vowels. (If the letter “i” has a tone mark over it, the dot is removed.”
First Tone: a high, level tone represented by “-“ as in mā 妈 “mother”
Second Tone: a rising, questioning tone represented by “/” as in má 麻 “to have pins and needles”
Third Tone: a drawling tone falling then rising represented by “v” as in mǎ 马 “horse”
Fourth Tone: a sharp falling tone represented by Ӕ as in mà 骂 “to scold”
Each syllable is written as a combination of consonants and vowels, plus the tone mark. Some syllables don’t start with consonants. And the only consonants that come after vowels are are the nasal “n” or “ng”.
(note: from here on, I’m just going to use 1, 2 3, 4 to represent the four tones)
You can see the importance of getting the tones right to avoid misunderstandings and comic situations.
A friend of mine just learnt the words for “secretary” “mi4 shu1” and instead said “mystery book” “mi2 shu1”
I bet you’ve heard stories like that.
It will take some time to get the tones right cause they’re not “natural” to English speakers.
(English is my first language and I went through the same process even though I’m an Overseas Chinese.)
Don’t be put off by the tones.
Eventually you’ll get it. But just so you know, you don’t have to be perfect.
I have American friends living in Shanghai who get by fine with a flat tone.
Of course, breakdowns in communication arise now and then, but the Chinese people can see you’re a foreigner learning Chinese (i.e. their language) and they’ll try hard to make sense of what you say.
So, they’re doing all the “hard work”!
Get the rules and tips of using pinyin at http://www.living-chinese-symbols.com/chinese-pronunciation.html
About The Author
Kah Joon Liow
Want to learn Chinese for pleasure and profit in less time? Like to discover the culture of Chinese characters and enhance your life? Liow Kah Joon is your guide. Sign up for his free Chinese Symbols ezine at http://www.living-chinese-symbols.com.
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