Meaning of Food in Chinese New Year: Research Proposal

Introduction

According to Bing-zhong (2007), Chinese New Year festival is usually celebrated at the beginning of a new on the tradition Chinese calendar. As with any celebrations, food plays a dominant role during celebration. Certain foods are served at a Chinese New Year dinner denote longevity, luck, and, prosperity. Some of the traditional foods, which might be at a Chinese New Year celebration, are:

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Fish

Fish in Chinese New Year is always served as a whole with head and tail attached to streak the end of a good year and the beginning of a new one. Moreover, the word Fish in Chinese sounds stands for plenty and wishes.

Dumplings

Dumplings are considered lucky due to the historical resemblance to Chinese currency.

Noodles

They are symbol of long life. The length of the noodles is equivalent to long life in Chinese culture; hence, it is delusory to cut noodles.

Lettuce

Lettuce is related to wealth and prosperity, it word lettuce is Chinese stands for rising fortune.

Significance of the Topic

Firstly, since the initiation Chinese New Year celebration, over 3800 years ago, this celebration has grown in its significance not only in China but also across the universe, such holiday tend to assist spread Chinese culture worldwide.

Secondly, the reason why this topic is important is that is meant to educate the young people of Chinese community of this celebration that rooted from the ancestor worship of the ancient Shang dynasty people since it forms important part of their culture. Finally, the topic is meant to sharpen the knowledge of Chinese people on the type of food found in their culture. Hence, the aim of this study is to:

• To educate the meaning of food
• Promote Chinese food culture
• To educate public what is the different between south (Guangdong) and north (Shanxi) food.

Chinese New Year's Eve Food and Its Meaning for Chinese New Year‘s Eve for Chinese People

Under this section, I shall discuss in length the type of food prepared during this festival. Those foods include, Tangyuan, fish Jiaozi, and, Niangao. Eberhand (1952) asserts that, this festival means reunion for Chinese people and a new starting point, summary of last year, since in China, the Spring Festival is the last day of the year of the Chinese lunar calendar. It pulls the spirit of every Chinese member no matter where they are and how busy they are, to get together in the Spring Festival and accompany the family to spend this wonderful time. In addition, activities that are usually accompanying this festival shall be covered as way to provide explanation as to why Chinese treasure this celebration so much.

Topics to Be Covered

Three topic will be covered under these section; History of the Chinese New Year, it meaning, and, traditions.

Background Information

For complete understanding of the Chinese New Year celebration, this study will analyze the history of Shanxi. Shanxi is a place that is located in the middle ranges of Yellow River and it is the place where Chinese Civilization started whose ownership was Jin State in the Spring and the Autumn period which is called Jin in short form.

Shanxi has a museum has a long history of food culture, specifically it is popular for fried flatbread, sour tastes, and, noodles. Moreover, it is famed for utilizing local produced vinegar such as Huaiyang cuisine, though its flavor is completely different (Eberhand, 1952). During the Ming（明代 and Qing（清代 Dynasties, the Shanxi diet engrossed the benefits of Beijing, Shandong, Sichuan, and Henan cuisine and joined with the local diet of Shanxi, which end up forming a Jin cuisine (晉菜system.

Conclusion

This report will focus on the South（Guangzhou）and the North food（Shanxi）in Chin. Those two places are rich of a wide range of knowledge related to ancient Chinese food and varieties of food found in the culture of Chinese community. South (Guangzhou) and Shanxi are both museums, though they have different audiences. For instance, the audiences of the South are Macau. In addition, the kinds of food that are found in those two places differ in name and flavor. Due to the dissimilarity in food found in two regions, it helps to educate the public on different dishes found in Chinese culture.

Reference

Bing-zhong, G. A. O. (2007). Two New Year Celebrations in the Chinese Calendar as One Rite of Passage: A Representation of the Relation of New Year and Spring Festival [J]. Journal of Renmin University of China, 1, 49-55.

Eberhand, W. (1952). Chinese Festivals. H. Schuman.