An analysis of the international visibility of Chinese traditional food.

Because of the limitations on disciplines and data, little research has been done on the food culture, especially on its extensive historical prevalence. Employing the big data from million books in Google corpus, we measured the appearance frequency of the traditional Chinese food in English literatures from 1700 to 2000. In this research, we claim that the commonness of Chinese food can stand for its international visibility. The study indicates that the dumplings and the moon cakes have higher visibility in the food related to the traditional festivals; and among the eight major cuisines in China, the Hunan cuisine and the Sichuan cuisine are more flavored. Some daily cuisines are also analyzed. We conclude that the international visibility of Chinese traditional food does not depend on its original carrier, but on its prevalence on the dining table of Chinese families and the raw material utilized. Based on the above findings, the possibility of applying for the United Nations′ intangible cultural heritage is analyzed, and the independence of traditional food should be emphasized.