How did they cook food?
The Chinese usually cook food in the method of stir-frying. This method was invented to keep food flavours sealed in, but mostly because it's a way to cook a meal using a minimum of fuel. Although charcoal and coal, which are the main source of fuel in China, are expensive. To stir-fry you chop the ingredients into small pieces then cook and stir consistently.
Everything is cooked in a pot which is called a ding. The ding has three legs so the pot can be put on top of a fire without it over heating and melting the bottom. Food is cooked much quicker this way. As there were only a few forests in Ancient China, which meant not much wood to make fires. To save wood, the Chinese cut their food into small pieces so food could cook faster, without wasting wood. It also meant it was easier to eat your food with chopsticks.
Everything is cooked in a pot which is called a ding. The ding has three legs so the pot can be put on top of a fire without it over heating and melting the bottom. Food is cooked much quicker this way. As there were only a few forests in Ancient China, which meant not much wood to make fires. To save wood, the Chinese cut their food into small pieces so food could cook faster, without wasting wood. It also meant it was easier to eat your food with chopsticks.