Ancient Chinese Food Culture Reflected in Chinese Characters -Focusing on Cooking Methods and Utensils

한자에 반영된 고대 중국의 음식문화-요리 방법과 도구를 중심으로

The purpose of this paper is to study the shape and meaning of the 15 Chinese characters reflected by the ancient Chinese cooking methods and utensils, and to understand their cultural implications. In Chapter 2, the characters 炮, 炙, 蒸, 煮 were analyzed. Both 炮 and 炙 symbolize the way meat is roasted on fire, but their difference is the specific way of cooking, 炮 was used to describe a way to bake hairy animals with daubed with mud. 蒸 was used to describe a way to cook food with water vapor that is generated when heat is applied to the water. This was not a frequently used recipe in the early days because it required a lot of effort. 煮 was used to portray a way to boil food by adding water, and is shaped like a figure of a pottery put in fire. In Chapter 3, the characters 鼎, 鬲, 鑊, 甑, 俎, which are related to cooking utensils, and 簋, 豆, 爵, 斝, 卣, 壺, which related to tableware, were analyzed, 鼎 was not only used as a cooking utensil, but was also a sign of status and political functioning. 鬲, 鑊 had meanings of "sot," or iron pot, but 鬲 had bent legs, while 鑊 had no legs. From the combination of the character 曾 and the radical 瓦, there is a high possibility that 甑 was a steamer, likely made by ceramics. 俎 was used to imply a cutting board and utensils used in ancestral rites to offer animals in ancient china. 簋 and 豆 meant circular dishes, and were utensils used in ancestral rites in ancient China. 爵 meant a liquor glass shaped like sparrow beak. Because 爵 looked like a sparrow, 爵 was used as 雀 in Song dynasty. 斝 meant a liquor glass that was cast in jade and had two poles. 卣 meant a liquor barrel with a round shape, 壺 had the meaning of a jar, but in ancient China, it meant a bowl for food.