A Brief History of Chinese Food
(中國的食物的歷史)
Adapted from the book The Devil’s Chow: A Chinese Food History
Chinese food history is long and illustrious. From the rustic millet porridge of Neolithic times to the magnificent crispy skinned Peking duck of today’s banquet palaces, the story of Chinese food is a great, epic tale. How did it evolve over thousands of years to become the extraordinary cuisine we know today?
The Origins of Chinese Food and Agriculture
Most of the foundational ingredients of Chinese cuisine can be traced to the Neolithic (11500–2000 BC), when millet, rice, pigs, poultry and fish were domesticated. Though cattle, goats and sheep were also tamed during this period, early Chinese farmers focussed on cereal cropping rather than pastoralism or mixed farming, as in densely populated areas, China already lacked the land to support large herds of ruminant livestock. Intensive grain cropping therefore proved much more productive, and millet or rice became the primary food sources.
The grain Neolithic folk boiled or steamed, was supplemented with vegetables, and meat sourced from creatures that could be raised in confined spaces: pigs, poultry and fish. People cooked and ate food with their hands, stones, shells, sticks, and occasionally with spoons, knives or forks made from animal bone.
The Embryo of Modern Chinese Cuisine
The embryo of Chinese cuisine as we know it today emerged around 4,000 years ago during the Xia Dynasty. This was a time when wheat was introduced to North China. As with millet and rice, wheat was boiled or steamed.
A few hundred years later, in the Shang Dynasty (1600–1050 BC), people ate meals in individual servings from short-legged trays as they knelt on mats. Chopsticks made an appearance during this period but were used mainly in the kitchen.
Soybeans, which would become crucial to the Chinese diet, were first cultivated during the Zhou Dynasty (1050–256 BC). Before long they were being made into soy sauce, and fermented black soybeans, and once these condiments joined spring onions, Chinese chives, garlic, ginger, cassia and Sichuan peppercorns, the classic Chinese seasonings as we know them today were all in place. In North China, a reliance on hot, semi-liquid dishes like millet porridge, stews and soups led to a shift away from eating with one’s hands to using mainly spoons. However, the rice-eating folk in South China were already using chopsticks as their primary eating utensil as they were ideal for plucking clumps of rice from bowls.
A Crucial Period in Chinese Food History
The Han Dynasty (206 BC–AD 220) was a crucial period in the development of Chinese agriculture and cuisine. However, despite labour-saving innovations, China’s farming became set on a labour-intensive course that it follows to this day. During this period, wheat emerged as an important crop in North China, a development spurred by the advent of large-scale flour milling. With this, more refined and appealing wheaten products like noodles, dumplings and steamed buns became readily available. And because these were foods that could be easily handled with chopsticks, chopsticks became more important at the table. With the concurrent development of soy milk and tofu, China now had access to a major protein-packed food. The Han also oversaw a shift from a two-meal-a-day regimen to a three, and in South China, people began to drink tea. This was also when the wok was invented and food was increasingly cut into small pieces prior to cooking.
When, in the following Six Dynasties period (220–589), vegetable oil became plentiful, it joined the wok, and finely chopped ingredients to form a culinary triad that gave rise to stir-frying.
The Grand Canal Supplies Northerners with Southern Food
With the opening of the Sui Dynasty’s Grand Canal in 609, rice, the staff of life for the people of South China, became a nutritional lifeline for their Northern cousins. The Canal also helped nationalise the cuisine, breaking down the traditional north-south divide, spreading other ingredients, styles and techniques.
In the North during the Tang Dynasty (618–907), wheat consumption surpassed millet. The popularity of wheaten products and the availability of rice saw Northern diners using chopsticks semi-regularly.
The Tang Dynasty corresponded with two great epochs in Chinese history. The first, the golden age of Chinese Buddhism, produced widespread vegetarianism. The second, the heyday of the Silk Road, opened China up to new foreign culinary influences, particularly from India and Central Asia.
Modern Chinese Cuisine Takes Shape
During the Song Dynasty (907–1127), Chinese agriculture and cuisine assumed its “definitive shape.” Sorghum, mung beans, and new spices from India, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East were incorporated into the cuisine. Eating from communal dishes became the norm, further encouraging the use of chopsticks. The market for fine food and dining grew to meet the demands of a new social class of merchants, and, as a result, the modern restaurant was born. With the process of alcohol distillation now fully understood, undoubtedly, hangovers became more severe.
By the 14th century, chopsticks had become the primary eating utensil across the whole country. Important new foods such as sweet potato, corn, potato, tomato and peanuts began arriving in China from the Americas in the 16th century (mid-Ming Dynasty).
During the Qing Dynasty, artisans perfected the porcelain soup spoon in the 18th century, while the round dining table gained popularity in the 19th. Of far more significance, though, was the introduction of modern grain milling techniques that enabled the consumption of white rice to overtake wholegrain, even amongst the ordinary people. The prosperity of the early Qing resulted in a population crisis that eventually contributed to the dynasty’s downfall and the end of the traditional Chinese empire.
Key Developments during the 20th Century
The early 20th century saw the lazy Susan paired with the round dining table, creating a swivel-top dual-level dining platform. In the 1980s, the country opened its doors to foreign trade and investment, and the products of the American food giants reached China’s shores.
Adapted from the book The Devil’s Chow: A Chinese Food History by Stephen Jack, Cold Press Books, 2025.
Selected List of Sources for The Devil’s Chow:
Anderson, E. N. The Food of China. New Haven & London: Yale University Press, 1988.
Mair, H. Victor; Hoh, Erling. The True Story of Tea. London: Thames and Hudson, 2009.
Simoons, Frederick J. Food in China: A Cultural and Historical Inquiry. Boca Raton: CRC Press, Inc., 1991.
Wang, Q. Edward. Chopsticks: A Cultural and Culinary History. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2015.
See Also
Chinese Food History Timeline