佚名

There are many TV programs on Chinese cuisine, but few are like A Bite of China. The seven-part high-definition documentary offers insights into the geographical, historical and cultural dimensions of what Chinese eat.

“How to create dishes is only one aspect of food culture,” the director Chen Xiaoqing says. “The program tries to bring something new by presenting more cultural elements related to dishes, such as eating habits and the ethics of eating.”

Each episode lasts 50 minutes. Themes range from ingredients to preserved food.

One episode, for example, centers on the staple foods. It recounts Chinas history of paddy cultivation to explain why rice is the mainstay of the southern Chinese diet, while wheat flour is the foundation of the northern diet. But it goes further to break down every staple food into its various styles, such as the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Regions naan (flat bread) and Jiangsu Provinces Huangqiao sesame cakes, both of which fall under the wheat category.

The bonus is, the show is not only about dishes. “As a saying goes, ‘you are what you eat,” Chen says. “Behind the documentarys eye-popping and mouth-watering images are personal stories that reflect peoples living situations and attitudes.”

An episode about pickles, for instance, revolves around a white-collar woman in Beijing, who returns to her hometown in Jilin Province and makes pickles for the first time for her lonely mother. Another episode captures joyful moments of sons and daughters making New Year cakes (rice pudding) after they return home from various metropolises to celebrate with their parents, who have been staying in their hometown in Zhejiang Province.

A Bite of China captures social transformations while presenting food cultures, such as showing the dispersion of extended families that leave the elderly in their hometowns while other members work outside—cases in which food serves as reminders of happy times and centerpieces of reunions.

于中國(guó)美食的電視節(jié)目數(shù)不勝數(shù)，但很少有像《舌尖上的中國(guó)》這樣的節(jié)目。這部七集的高清紀(jì)錄片，從地域、歷史以及文化這幾個(gè)方面深入探討了中國(guó)人的飲食。

“如何做菜只是我們飲食文化中的一方面。”導(dǎo)演陳曉卿說(shuō)，“我們的節(jié)目試圖呈現(xiàn)出更多有關(guān)菜肴的文化元素，如飲食習(xí)慣和飲食道德?！?/p>

該片每集時(shí)長(zhǎng)50分鐘，主題涵蓋了從食材到腌制品等各個(gè)方面。

舉例來(lái)說(shuō)，有一集就主要講述了主食。這一集通過(guò)追溯水稻種植的歷史，解釋了為何南方人的主食是米飯，而北方人的則是面食。所有的主食又被進(jìn)一步細(xì)分為不同類(lèi)別，比如新疆的馕和江蘇的黃橋燒餅都被歸入面食類(lèi)。

這部紀(jì)錄片帶給我們的額外驚喜是，它并不僅僅展現(xiàn)美食?！八自?huà)說(shuō)，‘人如其食。”陳曉卿說(shuō)，“紀(jì)錄片里那些生動(dòng)鮮活、令人垂涎的影像背后，是反映了人們生活環(huán)境和生活態(tài)度的親身經(jīng)歷?！?/p>

例如，在講述腌制食品的一集中，故事圍繞一位北京白領(lǐng)女性展開(kāi)。女孩回到吉林老家，第一次為孤單的母親腌制泡菜。另一集則記錄了子女們紛紛從各大城市返回浙江老家，同父母一起過(guò)年、制作年糕的美好時(shí)刻。

《舌尖上的中國(guó)》在展現(xiàn)美食文化的同時(shí)，也捕捉到了社會(huì)的變革，例如大家庭中成員分散在各處，大家都在外工作，留下空巢老人在家鄉(xiāng)生活。這種情況下，美食可以提醒人們?nèi)プ窇浢篮脮r(shí)光，也成為家庭團(tuán)聚時(shí)的餐桌佳品。

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