A Bite of China, first appeared on May 14, 2012, is a documentary which focused on the Chinese people's pursuit of food and life, and immediately caught people's attention the time it was shown on the television.
There is an old saying in China: food is the soul of the people. Chinese people always enjoy joy and lively atmosphere, especially the one who live in the countryside. Thus, with the combination of food and lively atmosphere, township kitchen plays an important role in the daily life of rural people.
In their own courtyard, setting up a shed, building up a hearth, setting a round table, neighbors, friends and relatives gather together cheerfully to attend the banquet.
The village banquet is not only economical and practical than the restaurant, but also has brilliant atmosphere. This is exactly the reason why it is deeply loved by the rural people, thus forming the special township kitchen culture.
Township Chef, shot by Liu Pudong
Chinese culture has a long history and there are various kinds of cultures still existing in our modern life.
Chinese people is particular about the rules of cooking meal, such as slip, braise, burn, boil, steam, fry, crisp, stewed, grilled, burst, casserole, wire drawing and so on, let alone its way to prepare for the ingredients and its method to differ and handle the temperature.
Chinese cooking has passed down from generation to generation for thousands of years from our ancestors, and it has constantly evolved and improved in the river of history.
Chinese people enjoy the procedure of preparing for the delicate food, from north to south, from traditional “Four noted cuisines” to the special documentary of Chinese food, from domestic influence to its spreading abroad, Chinese people incisively and vividly demonstrates its great zeal on food. Just like professional cook in the restaurant, cook in the township also needs to well master the methods of cooking, in this case there is no lowliness and nobleness between them.
Township of kitchen has the character of embodying people's longing for a better life.
People in the past may not imagine what living standard we have now. In the past, it is a crazy dream for Chinese people to eat fatty meat in both city and countryside. However, people in the township can not only eat them but also gather together and hire a cook to present the most delicious food they once desired.
We can say township kitchen is the symbol of ever better life. It is a reward they give to themselves for the hard work they made in the past, and it is also an encouragement that leads them to march forward for a bright future.
Shot by Yang Tao, Guangzhou Daily
Township kitchen has the character of innovation.
Inheritance is not only imitation, but constantly finds ways to enliven tradition with new meanings. No one can guarantee that a course with the same name would taste exactly like that in ancient time.
The innovation shows different tastes people have in different ages, and also reflects the true essence of the era. Due to the special mission that our Chinese send on the village banquet, every course we eat can be deservedly called artwork. Thus, the cook in the township is seen as an artist with exquisite emotion, he tends to spend hundreds of times to absorb the essence of ancient times and modern life and finally perfectly create the production.
Innovation means it has the blood of the past form, although the frame structure has changed, the cook has changed, so do the facilities and equipment, we all know there is one thing that will never change -- the spirit.
On the one hand, the master passed on his skill to his disciples, on the other hand the spirit of township kitchen has thus passed down from generation to generation.
Township kitchen has the characteristics of inclusiveness and emotional sustenance.
On the inclusive side, it doesn’t stress the importance of luxury hardware so that people can choose to hold a village banquet wherever and whenever they want. Just like a note, cook in the township can dance and sing to the movement of the rural people. Farther more, rural people mostly choose to live from what the land can provide, so, the foods in rural areas are healthy, fresh and natural. Plus, just because of the inclusiveness it has, it can own lots of characters.
On the side of emotional sustenance, we can say that people not only eat the food but much more taste the deep emotion behind it. It’s the cook’s emotion, the banquet’s emotion, the wind’s emotion and even the season’s emotion. People always have a certain reason to hire a cook and hold the banquet, such as for weddings or funerals. The cook needs to deeply understand the theme of the banquet, uses limited food materials to express the main emotion. At the same time, all the guest can sit together to share the feelings they have while they’re eating at the special place.
Shot by Yun Fei, Pan Gao, Hainan Daily
What does township kitchen actually is? Is it a kitchen built in the township? Is it a kitchen with a cook and some cookers?
It is commonly explained as a container that contains a group of people who can prepare food for a village feast and flexibly control the rhythm of the banquet.
However, it is definitely not a simple kitchen, from my perspective, it is more like a container that covers the culture that bears the weight of rural people’s soul and is always developing, growing and enriching. It is a special mark that whenever we think about it, we will feel that the flavor has left in our mouse and on our lips and lingers in our mind for a long time.
Township kitchen culture is quite small compared with the magnificent Chinese culture. However, even the smallest part of the culture can tell a wonderful story of China.
(By Luo Yuelu)
