What kinds of dishes are there in the eight major cuisines, and which one ranks first?

As early as the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, China's food culture had been formed, with Taigong Wang as the most representative. Then, in the Qi Huangong period of the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the flavors of northern and southern dishes in the food culture showed differences. In the Tang and Song Dynasties, southern cuisine and northern cuisine formed their own systems. The Southern Song Dynasty formed a pattern of sweet in the south and salty in the north. In the early Qing Dynasty, Shandong cuisine, Sichuan cuisine, Guangdong cuisine and Jiangsu cuisine became the most influential local cuisines at that time, and they were called "four major cuisines". By the end of the Qing Dynasty, four new local cuisines, namely, Zhejiang Cuisine, Fujian Cuisine, Hunan Cuisine and Anhui Cuisine, were differentiated and formed, which together constituted the "eight major cuisines" of traditional China cuisine.

Shandong cuisine is the first of the eight major cuisines, more because it is a symbol of China's food culture. Because the food culture itself is not determined by specific scores like sports competitions, Shandong cuisine is the first of Chinese cuisine with a long history, influence and cultural connotation. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Shandong chefs not only dominated the palace kitchen and monopolized the Beijing catering market, but also brought Shandong flavor to Beijing and Tianjin, Baishan Heishui and other vast areas through immigrants, becoming the representative of northern China cuisine. It is the cuisine with the longest history, the richest techniques, the highest difficulty and the most skillful skills. In northern cuisines, except spicy dishes, most home-cooked dishes basically have the shadow of Shandong cuisine.