Many brick and stone reliefs of the Han Dynasty portray cooking activities. A relatively famous one is the brick relief unearthed in the Qianliang Platform of Zhucheng City in Shandong Province, which depicts a scene of dozens of people cooking food.

Some scenes on bricks and stones depict ancient eating quarters; others found in Sichuan Province show people cooking inside their homes, while some buy food at the market and cook on the streets.

The picnic is another food-related theme for brick and stone reliefs. On one stone relief unearthed in Shandong Province, there are some gigots and silversides hung on a tree, with a temporary kitchen range erected under the tree and cooks preparing food. Several stone reliefs found in a tomb in Mixian County of Henan Province also vividly depict colorful cooking activities, such as meat cutting, boiling foods, roasting mutton cubes on spit, etc.

Brewing wine, preparing banquets and other cooking scenes can also be found on brick and stone reliefs of the Han Dynasty. During the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), cooks wore special high hats that were similar to those donned by cooks today.

  Foods

Some well-preserved foods were unearthed during archeological excavations. For instance, some well-sealed foods such as animal bones, lotus root chips, and roasted mutton cubes were found at the Mawangdui Site. The excavation at the site also produced some eggs stored in cases, where the eggshells were all well preserved.

A set of bamboo slips was also unearthed at the site, with the names of foods inscribed inside the tomb, including meats, drinks, staple foods, dim sum, fruit, wine, and so on. Each category contained many types of foods, ie, there were 24 thick soups accompanying meat, which included beef, mutton, pork, dog meat, chicken and fish. Barbecue, braised meats, hams and brawn can also be found on the list. The records are very detailed, listing 19 types of condiments. They show that ancient people enjoyed a high dietary standard and paid much attention to food quality.

Statistics show that meats buried at the Marwangdui Site can be categorized into 70 types and 17 kinds according to different cooking techniques.

Excavations at other sites also produced some unique traditional foods, many of which did not have written records. The findings included roasted meat cubes on a spit, hot pot, jiaozi (dumplings), dim sum, and even canned foods.

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