Chinese 24 Solar Term Dishes (Sichuan Cuisine)

Brief introduction

This book consists of two parts. The first part briefly expounds the origin and development of the 24 Solar Terms， as well as the five aspects of Sichuan food materials， Sichuan food regimen， Sichuan food customs and Sichuan tea and wine. The second part takes each solar term as the object， introducing the poetry， phenology， food material production， dietary regimen and dietary customs of each solar term， as well as the creative dishes developed for each solar term.

About the author（s）：

Du Li

Professor of Sichuan Tourism University， director of the Sichuan Cuisine Development and Research Center， academic and technical leader of Sichuan Province， vice chairman of the Food Culture Committee of Global Chinese Food Federation， vice chairman of the Sichuan Folk Custom Society， and member of the Expert Committee of China Cuisine Association. Her main works include Comparison of Chinese and Western Food Cultures， Dissemination of Chinese Food Civilization on the Silk Road， Introduction to Sichuan Food Culture， Bashu Food Culture， Chinese 24 Solar Term Dishes， etc.

Chen Zuming

Deputy director and culinary professor of the Sichuan Cuisine Development and Research Center of Sichuan Tourism University， registered Master Of Chinese Cuisine， senior technician of Chinese cuisine， senior assessor of the National Vocational Appraisal， registered referee of the China Cuisine Association， member of the China Nutrition Society， and lecturer of provincial teaching team. He lectures on Cooking Technology， Sichuan Cuisine Production Technology， Kitchen Operation Management and other courses; he edited and participated in more than ten books such as Chinese 24 Solar Term Dishes （Sichuan Cuisine）， 1888 Delicious Sichuan Dishes， etc.

The foundation of culture lies in the ground where we stand; culture comes from exploration， creation， summary and inheritance of people. The prosperity of Bashu culture is up to both profound retrospection into Bashu culture and the constant embracing of foreign cultures.

The 24 Solar Terms is the epitome of Chinese civilization. It symbolizes the great achievements of astronomy， geography and agriculture. It regulates the agricultural schedule according to climate. The complete records of the 24 Solar Terms can be found in Huai Nan Tzu written by Liu An， king of Huainan in the early Western Han Dynasty.

However， it is not until 104 BC that the 24 Solar Terms had acquired official recognition and been published. The calendar was formulated by Lao Xiahong of Langzhong， Sichuan. It has been more than 2，000 years since the establishment of the 24 Solar Terms， which have been guiding China’s agricultural production and people’s daily life， condensing the scientific wisdom and cultural essence of the Chinese nation. It is a great contribution of the Chinese nation to human civilization. It entered the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2016.

Each phrase in the 24 Solar Terms represents the changes of time， climate and phenology. According to the unity of man and nature， adapting to the laws of nature， the wise Chinese people have formed a series of folk customs associated with the 24 Solar Terms， including farming， clothing， dieting， health preservation and sacrificial activities.

As far as diet is concerned， due to the changes in different solar terms， the natural growth of food materials also changes accordingly. The Chinese people follow the dietary concepts of “correspondence between man and nature” and “dialectical diet”， so they have been constantly creating some unique dietary customs and dishes corresponding to different solar terms. With the 24 Solar Terms being included in the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity， various parts of the country are actively carrying out the excavation， sorting， inheritance and innovation of solar terms， and the 24 Solar Terms Dishes system is taking shape.

The outbreak of the COVID-19 at the beginning of the Rat Year has brought a serious impact on the economy and society of China. The catering industry has suffered huge losses. At the same time， the central government is making a great effort to promote the construction strategy of double city economic circle in Chengdu-Chongqing region， which has brought major development opportunities for Sichuan and Chongqing.

Under this historical background， the World Federation of Chinese Catering Industry， Ziyang Municipal People’s Government， Sichuan Tourism University， etc. jointly organized the Chinese Solar Term Dishes Conference， which is of great significance promoting the confidence of the catering industry， the economic and social recovery and development， and pushing forward the excellent traditional culture.

Led by Professor Du Li and Professor Chen Zuming of Sichuan Tourism University， Chinese 24 Solar Term Dishes （Sichuan Cuisine） is edited to meet the demands of its readers.The book not only systematically sorts the cultural connotations of the 24 Solar Terms in China， but also uncovers the food customs and cultural traditions of the 24 Solar Terms in Sichuan Province， especially Ziyang City. The book showcases the 24 Solar Terms dishes in Sichuan style， with strong local characteristics based on the representative raw materials of Ziyang and other seasonings in Sichuan Province.

It is clear to see that the Chinese 24 Solar Term Dishes （Sichuan Cuisine） is beneficial to the public， as it helps enhance the cultural spread and international image of Ziyang cuisine and Sichuan cuisine， and is an excellent demonstration of inheriting Chinese food civilization. I hope that in the near future， through the hard work of the national catering people， the Chinese 24 Solar Terms dishes will gain a worldwide popularity.

As a huge agricultural country， China has attached great importance to agricultural production since ancient times. In order to improve agricultural production， it is very important to predict the weather accurately. After a long period of observation and practice， our ancestors gradually summed up the laws of weather changes and formulated the 24 Solar Terms to guide agricultural production. The 24 Solar Terms， as a traditional astronomical and humanistic calendar phenomenon， has lasted for thousands of years and represents a precious cultural and scientific piece of Chinese heritage.

The 24 Solar Terms are the special terms in the lunar calendar that show the change of nature and synchronizes it with the calendar. The 24 Solar Terms starts from the Beginning of Spring and end in the Greater Cold. It represents a knowledge hierarchy. In order to create the knowledge hierarchy， the ancient people followed farming seasons and recognized time， climate and phenology by observing celestial motion. Every term represents a different change in time， climate or phenology. The 24 Solar Terms also express the unique concept of time between man and the universe. They not only guide agricultural production， but also affect the daily life and cultural concepts of Chinese people. They have created the special terms culture and dietary regimen of Chinese people， such as “pasting spring poems” at the Beginning of Spring， gaining weight at the Beginning of Autumn， etc. In Sichuan， the eating customs also vary by each term. For example， there is a custom of tasting a fresh delicacy at the Beginning of Autumn. After the Beginning of Autumn， rice is harvested in lots of parts in Sichuan. People cook the newly harvested grains. Following the old custom， before tasting a fresh delicacy， people would offer cooked rice to their ancestors， the god of grain and the land. Another example is the custom of eating wonton in the Winter Solstice and noodle soup in the Summer Solstice in some parts of Sichuan. In the plain of western Sichuan， there is also a custom of eating mutton soup during the Winter Solstice. When eating， Chinese people not only devote particular attention to the relationship between man and the universe， dialectical diet， and harmony of five flavors， but also emphasize eating at the proper time， following the natural order， and choosing proper food ingredients to make dishes for eating according to different seasons. Herein appears the Chinese 24 Solar Terms dishes.

In October， 2020， Ziyang City hosted the first Chinese 24 Solar Term Dishes Conference. It was another great event after the 2nd World Sichuan Cuisine Conference in 2019. It was a conference that could promote the confidence of the catering industry， helping it to recover from the impact of COVID-19. Ziyang is located in the midwest of Sichuan and the west bank of Tuojiang River. It is the regional central city of Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Circle. Ziyang has a humid climate， varied terrain， and crisscross rivers. It is an important developed agricultural area which has produced abundant high-quality food ingredients for many many years. Relying on its rich natural resources， long history and culture， Ziyang has created a distinctive and colorful cuisine under the guidance of the government with the market， enterprises and the people. Ziyang cuisine has become the representative of Sichuan’s 24 Solar Terms diet.

In 2019， Sichuan Tourism University has cooperated with the Ziyang Municipal Bureau of Commerce to publish Ziyang Food Culture， which comprehensively and systematically sorted out" Ziyang food culture and achieved good results. In 2020， the two parties cooperated again to publish the Chinese 24 Solar Term Dishes （Sichuan Cuisine） for the first Chinese 24 Solar Term Dishes Conference.

This book is the result of joint efforts between the Sichuan Cuisine Development Research Center of Sichuan Tourism University and the Ziyang Municipal Bureau of Commerce. It has established a project team including experts and scholars in food culture， diet therapy and health preservation， cooking technology， food creativity and English translation. The team also includes culinary masters， art designers and translators. Through literature collection and field research， the team has collected and sorted out the materials about the 24 Solar Terms diet from ancient times to the present， especially focusing on the study of the 24 Solar Terms diet and health preservation folk customs of Ziyang and Sichuan Province.

Based on this， the framework of the book was designed and perfected after repeatedly soliciting opinions and suggestions. After that， while compiling the first draft of the book， the team introduced" concepts such as the Chinese 24 Solar Terms diet and theory of health preservation. Combining the 24 Solar Terms diet custom and cultural traditions in Ziyang and the whole of" Sichuan， the book takes seasonal and local materials as the main ingredients， improving and developing the 24 Solar Terms dishes （48 types of Ziyang solar terms dishes and 24 other varieties of Sichuan cuisine）. We wrote down and enriched the book with them， and then submitted to the leaders and experts of both parties for comments and suggestions. Finally， the final draft was formed and translated into English.

The book Chinese 24 Solar Term Dishes （Sichuan Cuisine）， is designed by Du Li， who is responsible for its overall planning. The book is divided into two parts. The first part summarizes the origin and development of the 24 Solar Terms， and also includes Sichuan cuisine’s ingredients， regimen， food customs， and tea and liquor.

The second part goes deeper into each solar term， and is divided into another two sections： the first section describes the poetry， phenology， food material production and dietary customs of each solar term; the second section describes the creative dishes developed by each solar term. Among them， the first section is mainly written by Wang Shengpeng， Zhang Qian， Zheng Wei， Liu Junli， Zhan Ke， etc. The creative research and development of the 24 Solar Terms dishes and the second section of the manuscript in the second part are mainly completed by Chen Zuming， Luo Wen， Ran Wei， Feng Minghui， Qiao Xing， Xu Xiangbo， Zhan Songcheng， Chen Lilan， etc. Finally， the Chinese version was collated and reviewed by Du Li， corrected by Zhang Qian and He Shu， and translated into English by Zhang Yuan， Yin Chuan， Li Xiaoxiao， Peng Shilong， Wang Chang and Zhang Qi， etc. Cheng Rongwei designed and photographed the creative dishes， and Chen Xiao was responsible for information collection， communication and coordination， etc. The book is rich in content， illustrated and written in both Chinese and English. It is academic， practical and interesting. It not only inherits and carries forward traditional Chinese culture， but also helps the world understand China better， as well as promote the international dissemination of Chinese culture and Chinese catering culture. This book also promotes the development and orderly transformation of seasonal and local specialty dishes， and promotes special food and tourism developed in Ziyang and even in Sichuan.

Chinese 24 Solar Term Dishes

（Sichuan Cuisine）

Du Li， Chen Zuming

Sichuan Science and Technology Press

September 2020

258.00 （CNY）