法定语文事务署通讯.doc

法定語文事務署通訊 OFFICIAL LANGUAGES AGENCY NEWSLETTER 文訊 WORD POWER 第七期 二零零一年十二月 Issue No.7 Dec. 2001 民以食為天 中國人愛吃，也懂得吃。 民俗學家和文字學家都說：從某種詞彙的數量，可以窺見文化的特色。翻開辭書，“食”和“口”字部首下的字，數量不少，大多與“吃”有關。從“水”、從“火”、從“酉”（音“有”）的字，不是林林總總的美食佳餚、炊具飲器用字，就是煎、炒、煮、炸、炆、燜（音“悶”）、炖、熘（音“漏”）、蒸、煨（音“偎”）等烹飪方法的專用名詞，五花八門，直是廚藝薈萃。中國文化十分着重“吃”，而“吃”的文化深層意義，更在在體現於中國人的日常生活中。 碰面寒暄，中國人總愛說：“吃了飯沒有？”開門七件事“柴米油鹽醬醋茶”，沒有一樣不與“吃”沾上關係。從早到晚，早點、午飯、點心、晚飯、夜宵，說吃，一天何止三餐？紅事喜酒，白事解穢，婚喪以至敍舊、接風、餞行，都離不開吃。果腹要吃，食補、食療更要吃得講究。 中國人吃飯是圍坐一桌，端上來的菜餚是大家共享的。吃飯，也大有文章。飯桌上座位的安排，主客分明，尊卑有別；進食次序和禮節，馬虎不得。聯絡感情、談生意經，要請吃飯。酒逢知己，千杯不醉，披肝瀝膽也少不了吃喝的份兒。秦末劉邦、項羽的鴻門宴，觥籌間暗藏殺機，吃得夠驚心動魄吧！清代的滿漢全席，珍饈美饌連嘗數天，豪華程度登峯造極。 飯桌上可以閑話家常，傾蓋交心，也可以解決國家大事：宋太祖趙匡胤杯酒釋兵權，君臣暢飲的筵宴不就成了政治舞台嗎？《尚書》把做宰相比作“和羹調鼎”，《老子》明言“治大國若烹小鮮”，烹飪文化的政治作用可謂發揮極致。 吃的滋味，不外酸、甜、苦、辣、鹹。人生種種，何嘗不是五味調和的百般滋味呢？還是幽默大師林語堂說得好：“我們的生命並不在上帝的掌握中，而是在廚子的掌握中。”人生的盛宴，甘苦備嘗，是喜是悲，總由不得人呢！ Food is Heaven All Chinese are born gourmets. Eating is their favourite pastime. Rich and poor, Chinese people enjoy good food, cheap and expensive alike. Not only do they enjoy eating, they also like to talk about food, comment on restaurants, boast of their culinary skills Food is just an integral part of Chinese culture. Chinese concepts of food are very interesting, if not incredible. All foods, for instance, are by nature divided into two main categories according to Chinese traditional medicine: ‘hot’ and ‘cold’ (not in the thermal sense, nor spicy). In between, some are graded as ‘warm’, ‘cool’ or ‘neutral’, depending on their ‘hotness’ or ‘coldness’. ‘Hot’ food causes thirst and will probably damage the throat and skin if too much is taken. ‘Cold’ food causes problems to the stomach and should be avoided by those with weak digestion. Examples of ‘hot’ food include lychee, mango and spicy foods while melon, American ginseng and bitter foods are typically ‘cold’. The Chinese believe in food curing. Different foods have different medicinal or remedial properties. The key to good health is simply to strike the right balance be