中美飲食文化差異英語論文

CulturaldifferencesbetweenChinaandAmerica

---differenceincultureoffood

GeTianyu

Abstract

"foodistheheaventothehuman".Sincehumanbeingsappearedontheearthmillionsyearsago,wehavehadfoodeverydaytosatisfytheneedofenergy.Becauseoftheinfluenceofreligion,climate,andregion,differentcountrieshavedifferentdietarycultures.

China,whichhasahistorylongerthanfivethousandyears,isoneofthebiggestcountriesintheworld,andtheUnitedStatesisthesupercountrythathasagreatinfluencetothewholeworld.Westudythesedifferencesandthenfindoutthepointsthatcanbedigested,inordertofacilitatethecommunicationaboutculturesbetweenChinaandtheUnitedStates.BytheanalysisofthedifferencesbetweenChineseandAmericandietarycultures,wecancomprehendtherespectiveculturaltraditionsofChinaandthewestandwecanalsoimproveandcreatethenewcultureofChina.Inmypaper,Iwouldliketodiscussthedifferenceoffoodbetweenthetwocountries.

KeywordsChinaAmericafood

Introduction

Becauseofthelongdistance,theisolationofhundredsofyearsmakestheUnitedStatesandChinabetoomuchdifferentintheircultures.Althougheverycountryandsocietymustevolvebyfood,foodcultureisnotthesameandthepositionsoffoodindifferentculturesarealsodiverse.Chinahasbeenevolvingmorethanfivethousandyears.Itisthecountrywithalargepopulation,soitisanlargeagriculturalcountryandhasplentyoffoodresourcestofeeditspeople.So,inChina,foodhasalwaysbeingputatthehighestpositionofthecountry.Differently,theUnitedStateswasbornandbredbypolityandeconomy.Itenjoysaexcellentreputationofthehighlevelofitspolityandeconomy.TheAmericansdidnotpaytheirwholeattentiontofood.InthecultureofAmerica,foodisjustasmallpartofpeople’sdailylife.Thedifferentdegreesthatpeoplefocusonfoodleadtodifferentfoodcultures.

Receivingtheinfluenceofrespectiveculturaltradition,theChineseandwesterndietaryculturehashaddifferent

collectiveemotionalexchanges.

2.2DietpatterninAmerica

ThemoreobviousdifferencebetweenChineseandAmericandietarypatternsisbuffetdinnerwhichispopularinAmerica.Thismethodistodisplayallfood,andeverybodypicksnotfixedinhisorherplacestoeat.Theywalkfreely.Thisapproachcanprovidetheemotionalinteractionbetweenindividuals;theyneverneedtoputeverywordonthetable.Thisalsoshowsawesternpersonalityandself-respect.However,alltheeatingwithoutjamminglackstherealaffectivetoneliketheChinesepeople.SomepeoplewanttoputthebuffetintheChinesefood,butIthinkitisnotfeasible.TheChinesepeopledrinkandeataroundthetabletoshowharmonyandunity,butthebuffethasbrokensuchpattern.Itraisesthepersonalindependenceandself-mentionedatthefirstplace.ThisistheoppositeofthescaleofthegreatunityofallChinesetraditionalculture.

3.DietAttribution

Americandiettendstobescientificandrational,buttheChinesediettendstobeartandsentimental.Duringtheunderdevelopederaofdiet,thesetwotrendshaveonlyoneaim–toliveandneverbehungry.Andwhenthedietarycultureisfulldeveloped,thetendencyisshowninthisdifferentpurpose:theformerisinthedevelopmentofnutrition,thelatterisexpressedasthestressontheflavor.

Therefore,thefocusofAmericandietisonlytheextensionoftheoriginaldietpracticality.TheemphasisontheflavorofChinesecuisinecatersthediettotheartsfield.InChina,eatingisnotmeanttohaveenough.Sometimesweeatthoughwearefull.Weareoverloadedwithfood.Why?Sayingbluntly,itistoappreciatetheartofcooking.ComparedtotherationaldietintheUnitedStates,itisnotonlywaste,butalsoharmfultothehuman’sbody.

4.Diettableware

4.1thedifferencesofthediettableware

Inthespaceofdiettableware,thedietculturaldifferencesaremoreobvious.Asweknow,ChinesepeopleincludingsomeAsiancountries,usechopsticks,spoon.Whentheyhaveamealalsousebowl.ButhowaboutAmericans?Theyuseplate,knifeandforktoeat,thereusespecializedspoontodrinksoup.Chopsticksandknife,forkaretwokindsofrepresentativetablewareoftheeastandthewest.TheyaffectedthedifferentlifestylesofChinaandAmerica,representingtwokindsofdifferentwisdom.

4.2thedevelopmentofforkandknife

Asweknow,theemergenceofknifeandforkismuchlaterthanchopsticks,itwasoriginallytheancientnomadicoriginandtheEuropeanlifestyle;theycarryknivestolive,andoftencookedthemeat,thencutofftoeat.Aftersettlethecity,theknivesandforksintothefamilykitchen,atthistime,peoplejustdonothavetocarrythem.Westernpeoplehavebeenusingknifeandforkjustforfourorfivehundredyearsofhistory.Comparedwiththesimplechopsticks,knifeandforkaremuchmoresophisticated.

4.3theadvantageofchopsticks

Differentpeoplehavedifferentviews,itisdifficulttodrawtheconclusionsthattherelationshipofthinkingmethodbetweenchopsticksandknifeandfork.However,thereisscientificbasisofusingchopsticksisbettertrainingyourthinkingability.Fromaphysiologicalpointofview,whenyoueatingwithchopsticks,itaffectthehumanbodyofthirtyjointsandfiftymuscles.So,stimulatingtheactivityofbrainsystems,itbringsagilityandquickthinking.Thereisnodoubtthatthechopstickshavethescientificprinciples.

Conclusion

Bythetextfromthisthesis,wecaneasilyfindthattherestillexistingvariousdifferencesbetweenChineseandAmericandietarycultures.ButwiththedevelopmentofculturalcommunicationbetweenChinaandtheUnitedStatesandalongwiththestrengtheningofcommunicationbetweenChinaandtheUnitedStates,Chinahasimportedvariouskindsofwesternfood,suchasthe"KFC""DICOS","McDonald".Thesearenewmarkswhichrepresentwesternfoodcultureexchangesandinfiltration.

Theimpactbroughtbyeconomicglobalizationisstrongeranddeeperthantheinternationalization.Economicglobalizationisadouble-edgedsword.Ononehand,itbringsthevitalityofeconomicgrowth,ontheotherhand,thedominantculturehasbeenputintoothercountriesthroughstrongeconomicandinfiltratedeverycorneroftheglobe.Therefore,theculturalcommunicationfocusonhowtoassimilateadvantagesoftheothercountries’culture,abandonitsshortcoming,andlearnhowtotransformandmakeitlocalized.Allcountriesneedtostudytheissue.SointhefaceofthedietaryculturalexchangeproblemsbetweenChinaandtheAmerica,weshouldfindeachone'sadvantagesanddrawthemutualadvantages.WhenChinacanlearnfromthepointthatwesterndiet