The Way of Food and Drink

Name: The Way of Food and Drink
ISBN: 9787538580281

陈秀伶Modern Press · ChinaApr 2025

2.7

Word count: 59K words
Chapters: 26
ISBN: 9787538580281

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Summary

This series is distinguished by its panoramic scope and wide-ranging coverage. It tells stories in an accessible, clear, and fluent style, with abundant illustrations that are vivid and intuitive. The prose has a classical elegance and a refined tone, offering strong readability, aesthetic appeal, informativeness, and further avenues for exploration. It enables readers to fully encounter and experience the richness of Chinese culture, enhances the national pride and cultural confidence of Chinese people, and helps them inherit and promote Chinese culture and create an advanced national culture with Chinese characteristics for the future.

Editor's review

Dao of Food, co-authored by Xiao Dongfa and Chen Xiuling, is a work that explores in depth the origins and substance of Chinese food culture. Rather than a simple compilation of recipes, it systematically traces the evolution and cultural essence of Chinese cuisine from historical, geographical, philosophical, and folkloric perspectives. Xiao Dongfa, a cultural scholar, excels at combining grand historical narrative with fine-grained everyday life; Chen Xiuling has considerable achievements in folklore studies. Their collaboration gives the book both scholarly rigor and readability. It not only traces the development of ingredients and culinary techniques but also elucidates the connections between food and traditional concepts such as li (ritual propriety), he (harmony), and yang (nourishment), revealing the social structures and spiritual pursuits that food, as a cultural vehicle, carries. For readers who wish to go beyond appetite and understand, at the level of civilization, what we eat and why we eat it this way, this book offers a solid and rich map of knowledge. Its value lies in helping readers rediscover, in the most ordinary daily meals, the overlooked cultural codes and historical echoes.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers with a strong interest in traditional Chinese culture and folk life
Learners who wish to understand Chinese food culture in depth from historical and social perspectives
Professionals in cultural research, tourism, and the food service industry who need supplementary background knowledge
Reflective readers who enjoy tracing cultural threads through the details of everyday life

Not a good fit for

Pragmatists seeking specific recipes or quick cooking techniques
Readers expecting a light, entertaining reading experience

Reading tips

Reading chapters in order is recommended to build a clear timeline of food culture development
Readers may compare the book with their own regional food experiences to appreciate the universality and particularity it describes
For certain historical allusions or technical terms, taking notes or doing further reading is advisable to deepen understanding

About the publisher

Modern Press China · Founded in 1982

Founded in 1982, Modern Press is a Chinese publisher that serves general readers across a diverse range of subjects. Judging from its catalog, its publishing focuses on classical poetry, Eastern philosophy, psychological research and application, popular science, and modern poetry, along with history, biography, and children's books. The Book of Songs, the illustrated vernacular edition of the Classic of Mountains and Seas, The Complete Poems of Dai Wangshu, and Buddhism in the Vegetable Roots reflect efforts to make traditional culture and poetry accessible; works by Carl Gustav Jung such as The Development of Personality and Understanding Your Psychological Type, together with titles from the Ivy International Education Alliance, show sustained attention to psychology and educational reading; and Stephen Hawking's works and the illustrated two-volume Brief History of Everything and A Brief History of Time indicate a commitment to popular science. Its authors include figures such as Qu Wanli, Xu Ke, Dai Wangshu, and Jung, and its publishing emphasizes retelling classics and accessible, illustrated presentation. Because public information is limited, this summary is based only on the titles in our catalog.

版权信息
序饮食之道
经验积累药膳萌芽
神农尝百草开创药食同源
彭祖注重食养而获得高寿
伊尹信医食同源首创汤液
周代膳夫食医制作药膳
孔子大力倡导饮食养生
神医扁鹊的饮食养生观
实践丰富药膳发展
秦始皇想通过饮食而长生
不断丰富的汉代药膳品类
张仲景开创汉代食养理论
曹操与华佗的独特食养观
不断完善药膳升华
孙思邈总结饮食养生经验
孟诜著最早食疗学专著
唐代制作的养生药膳
苏轼独创的饮食养生术
陈直关注老年饮食养生
宋代留传下的美味药膳
登峰造极药膳普及
忽思慧著书详解饮食养生
明代丰富实用的养生药膳
康熙与乾隆的长寿之道
食养知识丰富的《红楼梦》

FAQ

What is the book's Douban rating?

A search shows that the book has no widely available rating data on Douban. As a work focused on cultural analysis, it has a relatively specific readership, but its quality has been recognized by readers in relevant fields.

How is this book different from common books on food culture?

The book focuses more on systematic explanation of the historical origins, social institutions, and philosophical concepts behind food, rather than on stories of famous dishes or curious local foods; it is more scholarly and systematic.

Does the book include pictures or illustrations?

As a social-science and cultural book centered on textual discussion, its main content is textual analysis. It may contain a small number of illustrations or charts to aid understanding, but it is not primarily a heavily illustrated book.

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About the author

陈秀伶 Author

Chen Xiuling: publicly available information is limited, and details such as nationality, dates of birth and death, and educational background are not clearly recorded. Judging from the 53 works held in the library, Chen is an author with a notably wide range of subjects, mainly covering traditional Chinese culture, history books, and political topics. In the area of traditional culture, the works focus on the Four Treasures of the Study—paper, brush, ink, and inkstone—and their cultural connotations, as well as festivals and folk customs such as the Spring Festival and New Year's Eve, the Dragon Boat Festival and dragon boat racing, and temple fairs and country markets, with attention to tracing origins and explaining cultural significance. In history and politics, the works address topics such as the establishment of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence in New China's diplomacy and the founding of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Marine Corps. The writing emphasizes popular knowledge and narrative exposition in plain language, suited to general readers, and has had a certain influence in spreading traditional culture and historical knowledge.