Epicures contend that roast duck is most palatable in three seasons, namely winter, spring and autumn. The reason is that the flesh of Beijing duck is full and tender during winter and spring. In the fall the sky is clear and seems higher as a result, the air is refreshing, and both the temperature and humidity are appropriate for making roast duck. What is more, duck are generally fat and stout at that time.
August is the time when air is crisp and temperate for the season. It is the proper occasion for tasting roast Beijing duck. How can you count yourself as one who has been to Beijing if you have not eaten any roast Beijing duck?
Both roast Beijing duck(Peking Duck) and American roast turkey originated from the roast goose of the Mediterranean regions. Birds were the aid and gift that God gave man. But man likes to eat only those birds that are big and fleshy. The goose is a fleshy fowl and is also the special product of the Mediterranean regions. When it is roasted for food, its meat is delicious and tender. Therefore, roast goose is a traditional dish in Europe and is widely recognized as a delicacy.
When Europeans arrived in America, they found that the bird which God gave them as a gift this time was the turkey. So they ate roast turkey and offered thanks to God. After learning of the origin of roast turkey you would find it easier to accept as true the following story about roast duck. The roast goose of the Western world may be considered in a sense the progenitor of the roast duck of China. The technique of roasting the goose was twice passed on to China---once during the Yuan Dynasty, when China was ruled by Mongols, and later again during the Qin Dynasty, when China was under the rule of the Manchurian conquerors. The Mongolian Empire occupied an enormous territory extending from the east of China westward to the regions of the Mediterranean Sea. This was the reason why people of the Western world, such as Marco Polo, could have come to China. They brought to China quite a lot of the culture of the Western world, including the cannon and the roast goose. How did it come about that roast goose was transformed into roast duck? The cause of the transformation was no different from that of the transformation of roast goose into roast turkey.
Chinese people began to domesticate wild duck two thousand years ago, but European people did not do that. Instead, they domesticated the goose very early. As China had specialized in producing duck for thousands of years, this fowl became a special product of the country and was preferred by Chinese people to the goose, which was generally not in favor. Furthermore, the duck used for producing roast duck was of an excellent species bred painstakingly by Chinese over a long period of time. The scientific name of the species is Beijing duck. It was imported by the United States in the year 1874 under the name of Peking duck, and thereafter it came to be spread all over the world. Nevertheless, the duck of this species being bred in China now is still reputed to be the best.
At the time of the Tang Dynasty (618~907AD), the preparation of food became almost the same as that of today. Cooked rice, congee, steamed bread, boiled dumplings with meat and vegetable stuffing, steamed stuffed buns, noodles and other foods served in soup were all in supply.
Chinese people attach great importance to care of health and cure of disease in the processing and serving of foods, which is termed "diet therapy".
Efforts are made to achieve for every meal the purpose that staple and non-ataple foods should be truly complementary, that cold and hot dishes should be properly matched, that there should be foods which are cooked and foods which are eaten in a raw state, foods which are boiled until they are dry and foods which are boiled but with a lot of water or milk left in them, foods which are sweet and foods which are salty, and there should be dishes of meat, fish, etc. and dishes of vegetables. A high degree of unity of opposites is generally revealed in the profusion and diversity of quantities of foods and sizes of plates and bowls.
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