從世界觀看中國飲食文化的特色

Characteristics of Chinese Dietary Culture from a Global Perspective

石毛直道(Ishige Naomichi)

《中國飲食文化學術研討會論文集》 第1屆 (1993/07) Pp. 127-139

https://doi.org/10.6641/PICCFC.1-8.1993.01.08

摘要

本文將探討包括中國在內的東亞細亞飲食文化在歐亞大陸的傳統農耕文化圈中的地位。進一步比較在東亞的中國、朝鮮半島、日本三者的飲食文化，以顯示中國飲食文化的特色。缺乏所謂畜牧（pastoralism）謀生形態，乃東亞、東南亞傳統農耕文化的特徵之一。在中國版圖中，長城以北及青藏高原以西是屬於橫跨歐亞大陸東西的畜牧地帶。而長城以南的漢族文化最繁榮的地帶屬非畜牧地帶。在中央亞細亞、西亞細亞、北非洲、歐洲等地的農耕地區乃農業和畜牧結合方式。他們雖也食用畜牧獸之肉，但在日常飲食生活中，乳汁和乳製品為比肉類更重要的動物性蛋白質的來源。唐朝時由於受到中亞的影響，曾有一部分人士欣賞過乳製品的記錄，但並未落實。一般認為東亞和東南亞的居民過著缺少享用乳食品的生活。以主要農作物及其烹調方法而言，在歐亞大陸之西側，以各種麥類為主要作物，將麥磨成粉製成食物。而東亞和東南亞以稻米為主要作物的地帶，則以粒食為原則。稻米須煮熟或蒸熟後食用，使用蒸的方法是東亞特有的烹調技術，可能起源於中國。位於亞洲大陸的印度屬稻米和麥的粒食和麥的粉食兩者的混合地帶。在東亞的華北地區，雖也有小麥的粉食地帶，但是他們並不用烘焙而用蒸熟。蒸饅頭及煮麵的方法是中國人發明的粉食法。西方世界的釀酒方法有以葡萄酒為代表的果子酒及以啤酒為代表的利用穀物發芽時的糖化作用以釀酒二種。而在東亞地方，果子酒不曾發達，代之用麴子使穀物醱酵釀酒為主流。這種利用麴子起醱酵作用的食品製造技術是東亞的特色。尤其用黃豆醱酵作成的醬類食物的發達極為可觀。「醬」可以說是萬能調味料，在其他地區幾乎找不到類似醬的食品。在東亞開發出來的黃豆，含有品質良好的蛋白質，除了做醬之外，最重要的食品是加工後的豆腐。東亞的居民將黃豆視為「田中之肉」。與酒並列為重要飲料的茶，自中國流傳到其他東亞民族中，然後普及到全世界。至於飲食的方式，在十七至十八世紀歐洲人在餐桌上普遍使用刀叉匙進食之前，在東亞以外的地區都用手取食。使用筷子夾食的習慣，始自古代中國，早被各民族採用。隨著筷子的使用，碗型餐具在此地區發展成為主食和湯類的容器。如上所述，在東亞地區的飲食文化的共通性，多半源自中國文明。這巨大文明的分布圈，也是曆書的共用地帶。因此每逢重陽節等曆書上的重要節日，在東亞各地均能見到類似的節令食物。與世界其他地區比較時，顯示其具有共通性飲食習慣的文明圈中，屬東亞民族範圍內者有中國的漢族和深受其影響的若干少數民族地區（在地理上，雖屬中國範圍，但也有如蒙古族等保有獨自飲食習慣的少數民族）、北越、朝鮮半島、日本等。這些自古受到中國式飲食文化之影響的地域，各自建立了其民族獨特的飲食文化。此種演變猶如在這些地域受到中國文字文明的影響而各自創造出獨特的文字一樣。例如朝鮮半島的諺文（朝鮮文字）、越南的字喃、日本的片假名和平假名均屬平行之現象。由與東亞其他地區之比較，可列舉若干中國飲食文化的特徵。茲因越南的飲食文化，地方性變化頗大，所以我們省去不提，為了簡化論題，以朝鮮半島和日本作為討論的對象。位於東亞的中國、朝鮮、日本三國均深受佛教禁止殺生的影響。在中國，僧侶須茹素禁止肉食，不過一般眾可以吃肉。在朝鮮半島，政府曾有一時期禁止民眾肉食，但在原為畜牧民族的元朝統治下，回復了肉食。反觀日本，則直到十九世紀末葉，原則上仍禁止肉食。在此情況上，動物性食物在中國以豬為主，在朝鮮半島以牛為主，而日本，因為傳統上日本人不吃畜肉，所以魚成為唯一的動物性食物了。因此在日本有關魚類的烹調方法極為發達，尤以生魚料理為最高級。海岸線較長的朝鮮半島和日本，大都吃海產魚，吃淡水魚的習慣不多。但是在中國大陸，除了近海地區以外，以吃淡水魚為主。中國曾有吃生肉、生魚的習慣，但自古以來，中國人即有不用火煮熟者不可食用的觀念，所有的食物必須加熱煮熟後食用。並且除冷盤以外的菜肴，都是要熱吃。這種進食方式與朝鮮半島和日本的進食方式顯有不同。朝鮮半島習慣預先把所有菜肴排列在餐桌上再行進食，而日本則考慮到可以冷食的烹調法。中國有世界上最精繳的火候技術烹調法。尤其是使用油脂來炸、妙、爆、煎時需考慮火候，並且幾乎每樣菜要用油來調理。中國人烹調時使用的泊，除了植物油以外喜用豬油。朝鮮半島則愛用胡麻油，極少使用動物性油脂。日本是傳統上選擇不用油脂的調理技法。必須在狹小的國土內尋求烹調材料的日本和朝鮮半島，多採用生鮮食物。但擁有廣大國土的中國，食物需要保存和運送，所以乾貨占很大比例。並且除了對人體有害者以外，中國人有把任何東西都變成食物的習性，所以擁有世界上烹調材料的範圍最廣大的飲食文化。希望靠食補來達成「長生不老」的道教式飲食觀念是中國人的傳統，再加上與本草學之結合，認為所有食物都其有藥效。所以將各種食物相互配合食用，以維持人體的健康，治病的「藥食一如」的觀念也產生了。因為食用材料和調配的方式繁多，加上各地區都有期特色，所以中國菜的種類非常多，但是廚房用具卻簡單且少。反觀日本人則有依照烹調技法創造出各種道具的傾向。中國人則不靠道具，僅使用簡單的工具，憑本身的技法作出多樣菜看。中國自戰國時代開始，使用筷子和湯匙飲食。古時用湯匙吃副食品及米飯，直到明朝使用筷子吃飯。湯匙就成為專用以喝湯的餐具。不過在朝鮮半島，仍保有中國的古老習慣，用湯匙吃飯。日本人不用湯匙，他們以木碗盛湯，直接用口啜飲。米飯和湯類分別盛在小碗中，其他副食（菜肴）盛在大型碗盤上，各自用筷子進食的方式，大概是宋朝以後，人們坐在椅子土面對餐桌進食時才開始普及的。朝鮮半島和日本的傳統進食方式是承繼了古代中國的習俗，把所有食物個別盛放，置於小几上，人們席地而坐，各自取食屬於自己的一份食物。在朝鮮半島發展出金屬製食器，進食時只用筷子和湯匙將食物送人口中，不把食器拿起。而多用木製碗的日本則拿起食器進食。儒教之長幼有序、男女有別的觀念影響了東亞的飲食禮節。古時中國的大家庭用餐時分男班和女班。根據《朱子家訓》的道德律，繼承儒教觀念尤強的朝鮮李王朝所訂定的用餐規則，非但男女須在不同的場所進食，並且同性也要按輩分區別。在日本，由於儒教觀念較少滲透一般民眾生活，全體家人在同一房間內用餐，唯坐位有男女、長幼之別而已。到了今世紀後半，各國間都出現家庭的民主化，家人間桌用餐的情景已極普遍。不過雖然進食的方式已起了變化，其烹調方法則尚少有變化。尤其在中國，很少將外來菜肴引進家庭內的日常生活之中。在日本，因鑒於傳統的菜肴缺少使用肉類和油脂，已積極引進源自歐美、中國、朝鮮等的菜肴。韓國雖設有日本之顯著，也在漸漸採用歐美、日本的食物了。至於中國家庭內，幾乎見不到學作外國菜的風尚。這大概是因為中國的飲食文化中，傳統的烹調技術體系已極完整，外來的文化不容侵入使然。

並列摘要

This paper discusses the status of East Asian dietary culture that includes China in the traditional agricultural circle of the Eurasian Continent. It then goes a step further to compare the diteary cultures of China, Korean and Japan, showing at the same time the characteristics of the dietary culture of China. The lack of pastoralism has been one of the characteristics of the traditional subsistence economy of East Asia and Southeast Asia. Within the territory of China, the region north of the Great Wall and west of the Ch'inghai -Tibetan Plateau belongs to the pastoral zone that connects the east and west of the Eurasian Continent. The most prosperous region of the Han culture to the south of the Great Wall lies within the non-pastoral zone. The farming areas of Central Asia, West Asia, North Africa and Europe have adopted a combined form of agriculture and pasturage. Milk and milk products have been an important source of animal protein. However, occasionaly, the meat of livestock was also consumed eaten. In historical records it was found that, during the T'ang Dynasty, while milk products were used by only a few people, dairy products never became popular. In Japan during the Nara and Heian periods a type of milk product called ＂Su＂ was available to the royal court. On the Korea Peninsula, a type of milk gruel was used by the royalty. Various kinds of wheat are the principle crop in the west of the Eurasian continent. The wheat is ground into flour which is usually baked into bread. In East and Southeast Asia, rice is the major crop and is commonly consumed as a whole grain. Rice must be boiled or steamed before it is eaten. Steaming rice is peculiar to East Asia, and probably originated in China. The Indian Sub-continent is a mixed area that consumed rice in the form of a whole grain, and wheat in the form of powder. In East Asia, there are some regions such as Northern China where they eat whole grain wheat. They steam it as mantou. They do not bake bread. Eating wheat in the form of noodles was invented in China. There are three methods of making noodles. In the first method, after adding water to the flour, the dough is rolled out into a long rope-like shape. There are 2 methods for stretching the dough. One system is called la-mien拉麵, where the dough is stretched by hand. The other system is called hsien-mien線麵, where the dough is stretched using sticks. In the Western World, there are two ways of producing alcohol. Wine or spirits are made from fruit such as the grape. Beer is made through saccharification by fermenting grains. Fruit wine, however, has never been common in East Asia, but mould Wrang字麯is used instead to ferment grain into alcohol. This food producing technique of fermentation using mould is common to East Asia. The development of various kinds of sauces made from fermented soybean is especially characteristic of East Asia. As a seasoning for dishes, foodstuffs like these sauces are almost unheard of in other regions. The soybean developed in East Asia contains proteins of good quality. In addition to sauc it is processed into beancurds which people of East Asia look upon as ＂meat from the soil.＂ Tea, a beverage as important as wine, was introduced to the other peoples of East Asia before it spread to the whole world. As for the ways foods and beverages were consumeel, bare hands were used to put food directly into the mouth before forks and knives were used commonly by Europeans between the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The custom of picking up food with chopsticks started in pre-Han China, but was soon adopted by East Asian peoples of various races. With the use of chopsticks, eating utensils in the shape of bowls have became the vessel for the staple food and soups. As described above, similar aspects among the differet cultures in the region of the East Asia have mostly originated from China. This gigantic distribution circle of diverse cultures also Shares in the use of the same calendar. This is why on such important holidays such as the Chung Yang Festival, very similar feast foods can be seen throughout East Asia. Comparisons with other regions of the world show that cultural circles which demonstrated common dietary customs to those of East Asian peoples include the Han people of China and a number of minority peoples deeply influenced by it, as well as North Vietnam, the Korean Peninsula, and Japan. (Even though they belong to China geographically, there are some minority peoples like the Mongols that retain their particular dietary customs.) Though under the impact of Chinese dietary culture since ancient times, these regions have developed unique dietary cultures of their own. The evolution is just like the particular written languages created under the influence of the character script of China, such as the languages of Yienwen (Korean) of the Korean Peninsula, Tzu Nam of Vietnam, as well as the katakana and hiragana scripts of Japan. A number of characteristics of the Chinese dietary culture can be listed after they are compared with those of other regions of East Asia. In order to fous the scope of our discussion, we have left out Vietnam because of its great variation with location, and we have confined our topic to the Korean Peninsula and to Japan. The three countries of China, Korea and Japan located in East Asia have all been profoundly influenced by the Buddhist commandment prohibiting the slaughter of aminals. In China, monks and nuns must observe the ban on meat-eating of any kind, but this restriction does not apply to ordinary people. In Korea, though a ban had been imposed by the government for a period, meat-eating was restored under the rule of the mongolian Yuan Dynasty, which originally was a pastoral people. Japan, however, had in principle prohibited the eating of meat until the end of the nineteenth century. Because of these circumstances, pork has been the principle animal food the in China, compared to that of beef on the Korean Peninsula. And because the Japanese traditionally do not eat the meat of farm animals, fish has become the principle form of meat. This is why culinary methods for fish have been especially well developed in Japan, with sashimi at the top of the list. Both having long coastlines, the peoples on the Korean Peninsula and in Japan eat mostly sea fish rather than fresh-water fish. But fresh-water fish are eaten in mainland China, except for the coastal areas. In spite of ancient habits of eating raw meat and raw fish that once prevailed in China, the Chinese have come to accept the concept of never eating anything before it is cooked. That means everything must be heated and cooked before it is eaten. And all dishes are eaten while they are hot, except for hors d'oeovres. This is quite obviously different from the customs of the Korean Peninsula and from Japan, since it is the custom in Korea to put all dishes on the dining table before eating thus lefting them cool down, while cold foods are acceptable in Japan. The Chinese possess the most delicate culinary skills in controlling the degree of cooking (heat or temperature). The heat or temperature demands special consideration when deep-frying, stir-frying, (cooking and frying with oil or fad, and nearly all dishes require oil for cooking. Besides vegetable oil, the Chinese love to use lard in cooking. Koreans are fond of linseed oil and use very little animal fat or oil. The Japanese, in contrast, traditionally choose not to use any oil or fat. Japanese and Koreans must search for cooking ingredients on very little land, and use mostly raw and fresh foods. But for China which is large in territory, foods need to be preserved and transported, so dried goods constitute a very large proportion. Also, because the Chinese have the habit of turning everything into food, they have developed a dietary culture that embraces the most comprehensive range of ingredients for cooking. The Taoist dietary concept, of striving for ＂immortality＂ through the eating of nutritious foods, has been traditional for the Chinese. Supported by the knowledge of materia medica, the Chinese think that all foods have a healing effect, and have irouped different foods together for healthful eating. The concept of ＂medicine and food are the same or have the same source＂ is thus born. Because of the multiplicity of food ingredients and cooking methods, plus the uniqueness of regional cooking, there are many kinds of Chinese cuisines. But the tools the Chinese chefs use have remained few and simple. In contrast, the Japanese have a tendency to create all sorts of cooking apparatus according to their cooking skills. The Chinese, however, rely not on diterentiated utensils on but on simple tools and their own skills to produce the variety of dishes. Chopsticks and soup spoons have been used in China since the Warring States period. Soup spoons were used to eat non-staple foods and rice in ancient times, and it was not until the Ming Dynasty that chopsticks were used to eat rice, making the soup spoon a utensil used only for soup-drinking. The age-old Chinese custom of eating rice with a soup spoon is preserved nevertheless in Korea. The Japanese don't use soup spoons for soup, they just put the soup in to a wooden bowl and sip it directly. Rice and soup are put in small bowls, while the other non-staple foods( the dishes)are served in large bowls or on plates. The custom of eating separately with chopsticks probably started to become common after the Song dynasty when people began to sit on chairs and to eat facing the dining table. Traditionally, the Koreans and Japanese followed the ancient Chinese custom of putting all foods separately on small tray-tables while people sat on the ground and took of the portions of food allotted to each individual. Metal eating vessels were developed on the Korean Peninsula. The Koreans just put the food into their mouths with chopsticks and soup spoons without lifting the vessels. But the Japanese, using wooden bowls most of the time, lift the vessels when they eat. The Cofucianist concept of ＂protocol for the senior and the junior＂ member as well as that of ＂distinction between males and females＂ have exerted profound influence on the eating manners of East Asia. In ancient China, a large family would divide into a male group and a female group for meals according to the moral laws stipulated in Chu-tzu Chia-hsün(The Family Teachings of Master Chu). Under the dining regulations established by the Yi Kingdom of Korea that upheld an even stronger ideology of Confucianism, not only must males and females eat in separate rooms, but seniority must be observed even for members of the same gender. In Japan, because Confucianism had not filtered into the lives of the common people, it has been customary to have the entire family dining in the same room, observing only the seating order according to sender and age. But in the latter half of this century, families in all countries have been democratized, and it has become common practice for the entire family to eat all together at the same table. However, even though dining protocol has changed, meal-preparation seldom does, especially in China where very few foreign dishes have been introduced into the daily cuisine of its people. Japan, because her traditional dishes contain little meat and oil, has started actively to introduce foods originated in Europe, the United States of America, China and Korea. Korea has also been gradually adopting foods from Europe, America and Japan, even though not as visibly. As for Chinese families, the study of foreign cuisines has hardly become a fashion. This is probably a natural outcome of the fact the Chinese dietary culture had long since developed into a system so refined in traditional cooking techniques that there is little room for new customs from outside.