"Food is the first necessity of the people." -anonymous
Chinese food has always been part of the Chinese culture for a long time. In fact, food is very much part of the Chinese people culture and way of life. Due to its long history, Chinese food or cuisine is very much affected by the local history and geography.
Food in China is a communal affair. Chinese food is often taken together as a family unit with the emphasis on shared dishes. Only the rice or buns are served individually; everything else is shared from a communal bowl, including the main soup.
It is always a Chinese culture to greet each other while sitting down for a meal and wait for everyone to be seated before a meal can start. The most senior or elderly person at the table will take the first bite and only then, will the rest of the diners join in.
The Chinese culinary culture has a distant source and has been developed for many centuries. The legend has it that the Chinese cooking culture originated with Yi Yin, a virtuous and capable minister of the Shang Dynasty (ca. 15th to 11th century B.C.). It can be seen that China initiated the culinary art as early as the Shang and Zhou (ca. 11th century to 221 B.C.) times.
Chinese cuisine generally can be classified into two categories, which are Southern and Northern. In general, the southern dishes emphasize freshness and tenderness. Due to the cold weather, northern dishes are relatively oily, and the use of vinegar and garlic tends to be quite popular. As far as staple food is concerned, people in North China favour noodles, dumplings and other staple food made from flour while the majority in the South almost consume rice daily.
