A Study Of Chinese Cuisine Culture During Seasonal Festivals In Southern And Northern Dynasties Based On "A Record Of The Age Of Jingchu"

"A Record Of The Age Of Jingchu",the first local annual folklore ethnography of China,fully shows the folk culture and rituals in the Wei Jin and Southern and Northern Dynasties.One of its major components is the culinary habits in different times and seasons.This dissertation aims to sort out and sum up some of the culinary habits that have been mentioned in "A Record Of The Age Of Jingchu".Meantime,the author tries to make a sketch of the basic culinary habits in this typical period of ancient China from the following four aspects:eating,symbolic eating,eating behavior and food processing.The seasonal monsoon climate and the settled farming mode have a great influence on people’s concept of time in ancient China.Grasping the periodic influence of the natural order on production,people began to initiatively coordinate with the nature.The four seasons are different,which is reflected in "A Record Of The Age Of Jingchu" as eating accordingly to the four seasons.The traditional time system on the basis of "monthly decree" had changed in the mid Han Dynasty from to the secular seasonal festival system.During the Wei Jin Southern and Northern Dynasties,the traditional Chinese festival system had been basically formed,which had also had an impact on the culinary habits.The festivals and customs pictured in the "A Record Of The Age Of Jingchu" already had its fixed practice.At the same time,some recreations had been newly created.During the Wei Jin Southern and Northern Dynasties,the new social ethics and morals had been setting up.And generally speaking,people of all the social classes were free in mind and were allowed to chase their own religious beliefs.As a unique ideology,religion sprouts from people’ s daily life and in verse produces a mysterious and huge impact on people’s lifestyle.It can be seen from "A Record Of The Age Of Jingchu”that religious beliefs were diverse in the way of eating then.On the other hand,the Wei Jin Southern and Northern Dynasties was also a period of division and war,an era of cultural exchange and national integration as well.Governed by the southern rulers for long,the Jiangnan area was relatively independent from the North,which made different folklore cultures possible to appear.The division brought some bright sides,too.Migration and integration of ethics had contributed greatly to the exchange and integration of culture.It promoted the change of people’s lifestyle as well.During this period,stimulated by the cultural exchange between the North and the South,China and foreign countries,the culinary habits also turned the page.