As the ancient Chinese proverb goes, "The masses regard sufficient food as their heaven.", food is one of the most important necessities for the Chinese people in their lives. Chinese are innovative, they created all kinds of cuisine in different ages through their ardent love for cooking. However, how could people bake biscuits in the 16th century without the invention of electronics? How could they make ice cream before the presence of refrigerators? From dynastic period to the present, Chinese cooking technology had developed over time.
During the time of the old dynasties, Chinese cooking technology was inefficient but elaborate. In the monarchical government system, most Chinese people tried various ways to ingratiate the emperor in order to get the reward or to earn favor. Jia Qing-ling, who is a history professor in Qing-hua University, lists the dishes that Song emperor was served during the Spring Festival. "The bear's-paw was braised just right, matsutake[a kind of mushroom which is prized by Chinese] and abalone were stewed in a pot with enticing smell; a little glass bowl of cubilose [edible bird's nests] was set in front of each chair, the texture of it was visitable; the fins, scallops, and crabs were cooked with eagles, all kinds of delicacies were full of the dinner table. For desserts, there were hundreds of small dishes which contained a variety of fruits, pastries, breads and stream buns around the table. They were all from Mr. Li!"(Jia1) This banquet is described by a farmer who visited the Song emperor with an expensive meal as a gift, which is the typical way to honor the emperor. It shows that the ingredients Chinese people used in the old period were precious, the cooking skills were also complex. They tried their best to make the best cuisine so that they could receive praise from the emperor. Honoring the emperor is one of the reasons why Chinese cuisine developed so much in such a short time.
